“I remember going to my grandma’s house … my grandma always did so much for us. Even when we were going through hardships or whatever it was, she would always make a meal for us and [fortify her] complete love. It [didn’t] matter if she had to skip a meal. Just that sacrifice had just always stuck with me. Knowing that someone loves me a lot more than I would ever love myself. It’s just something I always remember is just, the pureness of love that I would get every single time I’d go there.

“I cannot consider anyone my enemy because that’s … it doesn’t seem right. But, they could be someone who could bring adversary, but I could never see someone as my enemy because they are human just like me. So, I have to be able to respect them no matter what. I don’t have to speak to them, I just have to respect them. Doesn’t matter what they say or what they do, I have to respect someone for who they are … I am representing something that’s bigger than myself. Even if it’s representing Christ everywhere I go, or if it’s representing my family name everywhere I go, I just have to be mindful of people’s differences of who they are and forgetting about the things that could get me angry.”

By Breanna Penny