It was my senior year in college at Emory University. I was hypomanic. Teetering on full-blown. There was a speaker panel going on in the auditorium. I decided to check it out. I remember initially not knowing who was there, but being drawn to a message of civil rights and unity.
Full of manic confidence, I walked up to the main speaker. I introduced myself. I told him I had dreams of fighting for civil rights. I told him I’d like to collaborate with him one day. He told me that he liked my initiative and gave me his business card:
Unfortunately, the dream of collaborating with that man ended the other day. But John Lewis was an amazing man. A civil rights icon. He walked with Martin Luther King in Selma, 1963. Was a United States Congressman for over three decades. He was awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The country lost a true American hero.
It’s hard to believe that I once came across such an important figure in our nation’s history. That I had a brief conversation with him. He believed in me enough to hand me his business card. And that was when I was manic.
When I think of all the important people and celebrities I’ve met in the past, I get sad sometimes. What was the point? Why did I shake hands with this man? What did he see in me? Will I ever reach the potential I once believe I had?
While I may not ever become an icon, I do believe that there has to be more to my story. I only pray to have a positive human impact on society one day. Give a helping hand. Advocate in areas I know a lot about. Mental health. Police brutality. Criminal justice reform. Addiction. How much or how little will depend on what God allows. I’m just taking his lead today.
Scenic Views From the Bipolar Rollercoaster 