“Grew up with a single mother of three wild boys the oldest son doesn’t have the capabilities of most, and the middle child has been stuck in the street life, so I’ve just been trying to hold my mother together to relieve the stress that is brought on her since one of her sons have been sentenced to fifteen years in county jail. It’s a tough background but we have come a long way. I don’t really talk about it but that does not mean that all of this is not real life, because it is. I tend to keep everything to myself and in a different part of my mind, no one really has the same struggles or is going through the same thing. Despite the many bumps in the road, I try to not let anyone know when something is bothering me or when all I can think about is my brother, especially my family. Instead, I try and serve as the backbone for them, specifically my mom. It’s like I must be the one that brings the light into the darkness for her. It is a big role to play but I do it, everything I do is for my mom and I only want to make her proud. To relieve personal stress, I use sports specifically basketball, as my gateway. For some, basketball is just something to do when you are bored. But for me the competition of it all has become a distraction. Basketball is my s stress reliever so that I can take my mind off of what goes on at home. It helps but there are still times where the game stresses me out too and makes me lose confidence in myself and at times, I don’t know how to get it back. But that usually motivates me to want to go harder or do better.”