Some books are written for the world. This one? It’s written for me first.
 
I’m a Black man, a teacher, a leader, and most of all, a work in progress. Every day I wake up and try to pour into others, to encourage my students, to uplift my peers, to stand tall when life wants me on my knees. But there are moments, quiet, heavy moments, when I realize:
 
I’m fighting to prove something to myself.
Not because I need validation from the world. But because I know I’m still healing and still growing. I'm still learning how to believe in myself.
 
 
This book is my mirror. These words are both my reminder and my release. I speak life into students daily, but I’ve learned that sometimes the loudest voice I need to hear is my own. 
Not the voice that echoes doubt or repeats trauma, but the voice that says: 
You are becoming.
Keep going.
You matter.
 
This book is for the students I see fighting silent battles. It’s for the men who feel unseen. It’s for the women who lead even while breaking. It’s for the young ones who need to know their voice matters, and the grown ones who forgot that their story still has power.
 
But most of all, this book is for me.