you were not a mistake you were not an
accident you were here for a reason I
know you're going through some hard
times I know life at times might feel
rough or you might feel weird or things
might be frustrating but it's not going
to always be like this your condition
it's not your conclusion I've got to
just take me five minutes to kind of
just unpack my story so that you have an
idea of who I am and why I speak with
the passion that I speak with there was
a time when I was in a really dark place
you know my mom had me when she was 16
years old I grew up without my
biological father in my life I struggled
with years for drug and alcohol abuse
and I just found myself in a really
really really weird and dark place I had
to repeat the seventh grade and when the
eighth grade came around I'll never
forget hearing at a parent-teacher
conference a teacher tell my mom that I
was a high school material and I came to
tell you that words are powerful and
when I heard that statement I remember
feeling like wow you know like I am
really really a failure you know like
it's one thing to tell a student hey
okay you're about to graduate from high
school
you're not college material you're not
gonna go to the Ivy League maybe you
should go to a tech school like I've
heard that right like different people
have different paths but but how do you
tell middle school kid that they're not
ready for high school like it affected
me and I'll never forget going that next
year and after a series of events a lot
of fighting a lot of struggling that
school in there kicking me out
they got all bent out of shape because I
cut the electricity off
the next year I went to another school
got the report card at the end of the
year and because I did not do well and I
did not put good in when I got that
final report card all s1c and my mom is
this tall but when she gets mad she
turns into the Hulk
you know and I'm thinking like this is
not gonna be pretty but I came up with a
plan I said you know what i'ma change my
grades so I went to the library I got
that right out
I brushed off all the FS in the seat I
took a fancy pin in the ruler and I put
some smaller dots and lines and I gave
myself all A's and two V's then I made a
copy of it and as soon as I got home I
gave it to my mom she took one glance
and was like boy where your real report
card at I said mom let me explain she
said no no I don't want to hear it I
know what happened say you do she said
yes you probably lost it how you always
lose stuff and you went to the office
and they had to make a copy up there so
father I said yeah yeah you know mama
she's like I'm now I'm like you know
everything she's like I know but at the
end of that summer at the end of that
summer well my real report car came in
it was really rough I'll never forget
like when I first tricked my mom and she
saw it she was like I'm so proud of you
she started crying I haven't got
emotional I was like girl told you my
mama make you proud she's hugging me I'm
hugging her we got like a breakthrough
and you're probably wondering like
Jeremy why were you crying like you know
you didn't really earn all A's and two
beans well for the first time in a long
time I didn't feel like a failure
like I actually felt successful like
worthy like I felt like I was good
enough for so I that was a bit of
emotional moment but it wasn't real
because I didn't really earn those
grades now with my school to my River
Park our home
my mom saw it she was in denial my baby
mayonnaise and B so she called to school
I was like Oh hang up the phone mama
hang up the phone and again she's in
tears but now what was once tears of joy
not was tears of sorrow tears of pain
tears of frustration and she's trying to
figure out like I wish my baby would
just get it together and I was so hurt
but I felt stuck I was depressed I was
tired I was struggling I felt like I was
an accident like what's the purpose of
life like why am I here you know I felt
like I wasn't I couldn't fit in when it
was time to read I didn't want to read
cuz somebody was gonna tease me because
I wasn't a good reader we was always
getting the fights people was bullying
me then there was a time when I was a
bully like I just struggling I was like
what's the point of it all and my mom is
a great mom so she moved me to another
school so now I'm at the school now
called Huntsville hi this is my third
school for the 9th grade now I'm at this
new school and I don't know how to
explain it to you but I got a group of
teachers I felt like they were weird
they were saying stuff like Jeremy we
believe in you I'm like me what teachers
like oh yeah Jeremy Anderson over top on
man ah this is gonna be the best year
ever
I'm like okay what teacher I had to ask
myself wait a second y'all are way too
enthusiastic did y'all get my
transcripts like y'all got the right
Jeremy they was like yeah we got the
right Jeremy but you're in a new season
now so you don't have to worry about the
past I was like yeah but you do know
about lashing yup I said you know those
two my third school it's like we're not
worried about that again Jeremy you're
in a new season now so let's not bring
all things into a new season and they
began to speak life to me they begin the
recurrence me they be get to affirm me
and because I was young and I was
immature I kind of felt like well you
don't really understand my story you
don't come for a while I come from and I
try to build the wall up but you know
we're not that wall down it's love you
know we're knock that wall down
it was perseverance you know
knock that wall down it was like
unwavering commitment and support and I
realized you can be black white purple
blue green we need each other
and if you're sewing up because you
believe in me and you see great things
inside me like maybe just maybe I could
do great things your mindset your belief
system is everything and it is so
powerful and so I came all the way from
Atlanta Georgia to tell you you are not
a mistake you are not an accident you
were here for a reason I know you're
going through some hard times I know
life at times might feel rough or you
might feel weird and things might be
frustrating but it's not going to always
be like this your condition it's not
your conclusion there is so much more
that's going to take place there is so
much more power that's inside you if you
make up in your mind I choose to believe
that I could do great things and I
promise you my young friends I got to a
point in life when I was like man I got
these teachers they must really care
like when you start having teachers that
get diagnosed with cancer but they still
show up to school one of my teachers had
arthritis so bad she couldn't even write
on the chalkboard other teacher was
going through a divorce another one that
just buried her child
I'm looking at all these teachers that's
going through life just like you just
like me but they kept showing up so
something inside my brain said maybe I
am working something inside me said
maybe I can't do great things for them
to jump through all these hoops and go
out of their way to kind of connect with
me for them to make these sacrifices
maybe it is possible for me it's the
same way with you
[Music]
sometimes I go back to like being that
little boy in the hallway that ever
heard that teacher tell my mom that I
wasn't high school material then I have
to remind myself like no no no no no
that no that's not true I am that I
can't do that I can't achieve that
sometime I have to remind myself what am
I telling you my life can be hard life
can be rough but there's something
special and there's something powerful
about the human mind and about the human
spirit and about the human will
will you tell yourself I won't give up I
won't surrender I won't quit I'm gonna
sort of every single day and do the best
that I can and here's the beautiful
thing about you is while you're going
through your process and while you're
trying to navigate these waters and
while you're still you know trying to
tweak some stuff within yourself you
still got the power to save somebody
else's life you got the power to speak
up for others you got the power to be
the voice of reason for someone who
might be on the verge of doing something
they shouldn't do you have the power to
brighten somebody's day your words are
powerful your energy is powerful and so
I don't want you all to think that you
have to have it all together and
everything for you has to be perfect and
in order for you to be a leader no no no
no you can make an impact you can make a
difference you can save somebody's life
right now but you just being
unapologetically you and you're walking
in that calling and you speak life and
you affirm and you in the other snow I
see you and I with you and I got your
back
and you're not by yourself and I will
hold your hand as you go throughout this
journey and even though I'm struggling
by they on behalf of new
figure this thing out together
keyword together we're gonna figure this
thing out together there's something
beautiful about us having that mindset
of us being together you know saying not
black white asian Hispanic not
Republican Democrat independent not gay
or straight not like male to female like
us coming together saying man we are
human we are healed and I believe that
there is more that makes us together
there is more than we have in common
than we had that's not a common and I
believe there are differences it what
makes us both are both amazing our
differences
think about that right like there are so
many amazing things and there are so
many different amazing personalities and
there is nobody else on this planet
exactly like you and so I believe then
we make a decision that say you know
what we will come together as a people
we will come together as a nation we
will come together as a state we will
come together as the city we will come
together as a district we will come
together as a school we will come
together as a grade we will come
together as the class and we will value
each other we will speak life to one
another and we will help each other go
to that next look
you know what I'm not just a student you
don't say that just happening mean this
gray I'm not just here at the school I'm
here for a reason you don't say you got
to tell yourself man I feel like I've
been pushed down in the dirt I feel like
people have been stopping on me
I feel like stuff has been raining on me
but you didn't realize as my young
friends you was just a seed so you got
to tell yourself no no no I haven't been
pushed down on the dirt and I haven't
been stuffed on I've been planted and
I've been placing this pot for a reason
and we are at this arena here to be able
to have a conversation they say what
does it look like to go to that next
level and so I need you want to do the
same thing when you leave here if you
feel like you're in a weird place if you
feel stuck if you feel like you know
what I feel like I need some help you
get the help you need that's how you
show how strong and how bold and how
powerful you are what's the next app
that you're going to create you don't
send some time I wonder like you know I
said are you gonna come up with a cure
for Alzheimer's dementia or are you
going to come up you know saying what
something that can purify water for
people across the globe are you going to
create the next app that can connect us
are you going to be the next teacher or
superintendent are you going to be the
next leader in our community like why
I'd be wondering sometimes like what are
the great things that you're going to
accomplish and there are times when I
look at what's happening in the world
and imma be discouraged I've got a
seven-year-old daughter and a
one-year-old baby boy sometimes I look
at the crazy stuff that's happening in
this world and I'm like man what kind of
world am i racing my kids in but then
I'm encouraged because I get to come to
events like this and I get to look in
your faces and connect with you and I
have no doubt that there's great things
decides you and that you're going to
experience some amazing things inside
your life if you make a decision to say
I'm gonna speak up I'm gonna stand up
I'm gonna save a life if you tell
yourself I will be a leader if you tell
yourself I'm gonna show up every single
day of my school and I'm gonna go above
and beyond because there are some kids
and some different countries and some
different places that wish they had the
opportunity to be at my school to have
floors and lights
and screens and technology I've been
some places my young friends where I
walked in some schools in some different
countries doing some volunteer work and
I'm seeing the facilities they're here
i knows I've met some kids that would
love to come here and be able to go to a
school that has a gym or be able to go
to a school that has a seat or to be
able to go to school that has desk or to
be able to go to school where they get
their own books and there's some of
y'all tablets and all these extra things
we are so privileged what do we do with
this opportunity that we have I want to
challenge you to make the most of it to
speak life to love to encourage to wrap
your arms around those who are
struggling and you let them know you
know where you're not in this by
yourself what we're not going to do is
we're not gonna quit what we're not
going to do is we're not gonna surrender
what we're not going to do is we're
gonna just you know saying just stay in
this place we knew that eventually
things would change like eventually it's
gonna turn around for my good and we'll
be stronger from it and we'll be better
equipped and this will make us better
people now you can't always control what
happens to you my friends but you can't
control how you respond to it
[Music]