Don’t Forget to Dream

By: Joshua Coello

Hey, my name is Joshua. I’m a student at Madison Park Academy. My dream is to be a dirt bike mechanic because that’s something that I’m passionate about. It’s like when I work on bikes, I get in my zone! It’s a special thing to me. I feel I belong doing that.

I don’t have many people supporting me in school and outside of it, but I don’t mind because I feel I can make it by doing what I love. When you come from the hood, things change, feel me? It makes someone seem stronger than folks that came up easier. Folks that come from the hood got more perserverance. I want to be that person. I know I will be that person! I want people to look at me like, “Damn! If he can do it, then I can too.” We are set up to fail, so my dreams mean a lot to me. To be the one to make it out, it just means everything to me.

There’s one teacher in this school, Mr.Bey, who shows that he cares about us. He understands us. We can trust him. He’s the reason I’m in this program. If I had never met him I would probably be out in the streets doing bad but he sets us up to do good. I feel all schools should have teachers like him. We feel cared for because of him. I feel that if you love something then go ahead and do it, fam. Chase your dream because no one can dream for you. If opportunities were provided to be whatever you wanted, the hood would be full of superstars. But it’s cool because we all just gotta struggle a little more.