An Inspiring Story by DeWayne Dawkins

Occasionally I'll blog about something unrelated to entertainment industry. I came across a friends facebook page who wrote an interesting story about his life...Check it out:

"Past is Experience, Present is Experiments, Future is Expectations"

"Use your Experience in your Experiments to achieve your Expectations"

I was born on June 5, at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital to Veronica Williams and Avon Dawkins. They gave me the name DeWayne Christopher Dawkins, which means “Determination Conquers Devastation”. I spent the formative years of my life in Golden River, Above Rocks, St. Catherine. I lived in a fairly large household with an extended family consisting of my mother, maternal grandmother, four aunts, an uncle, a few cousins and a few children who were taken care of by my grandmother. My parents were not married but my father lived in the same community and so he would come to visit on a fairly regular basis. It is rather amazing that despite all of these visits and what might have been efforts at bonding, I never grew close to my father; although we are said to have a very striking resemblance.

My mother traveled to Kingston to work on a daily basis and so it was my grandmother who exercised day to day control. She instilled discipline by setting ground rules and scolding or withdrawing privileges when rules were broken. She was always of the view that one should never “spare the rod and spoil the child” and so she was never afraid to use corporal punishment to discipline her biological children. However, for us as grandchildren, corporal punishment was left to our own parents. My mother used the strap regularly but my father was never so inclined.

It is my grandmother who transmitted family values. She was head of the household and I remember her sitting up late at nights to make straw hats and purses which she sold to obtain money to meet the household’s needs. She also planted subsistence crops which she asked vendors to sell at the urban market. She taught in no uncertain way the value of hard work and financial independence. She also taught us the importance of bonding together and looking out for each other. Although not exposed to a formal education, she always insisted that we get a good education as it was the key to success. She taught us how to make do with what we had and never to envy others. I vividly remember her voice as she told us “turn yuh hand and mek fashion” and “don’t red eye people.” Those years with my grandmother were years that I thoroughly enjoyed and they have helped to shape my life in a very significant way.

I started my formal education at the age of three (3) at the Golden River Basic School. At the age of five (5), I moved on to the St. Mary’s Infant and a year later to St Mary’s All Age School. By this time my mother had moved to live in Kingston and only came home on the weekends. I saw much less of my father. I was quite anxious, and although my grandmother showed a lot of love I felt abandoned by my parents. I became very difficult to deal with at home and moreso at school. This continued until I got to grade three. By this time my younger brother was born. My mother realized the difficulties and so she took my brother and I to live with a friend of her’s in Rollington Town where I was enrolled in the Rollington Town Primary School. I saw my mother more but I missed my grandmother a lot. Moreover, the conditions under which we lived were taking a toll on me and moreso my brother. After almost two years my mother took us to live with my Aunt in Duhaney Park. However, we commuted to school in Rollington Town. This continued until the end of my common entrance year.

At the age of twelve, I embarked on a new phase of my life. I was successful in my common entrance examination and moved on to first form at Jamaica College. I remember how excited I was and how happy both my mother and grandmother were. My father had by then migrated to the United States of America and providing no financial support. I do not think that he even appreciated that I was moving on to a traditional high school and that the financial demands were very great. It was quite a struggle for my mom to provide for me and my brother who was attending Duhaney Park Primary School. My mother and grandmother counseled me, encouraging me to make use of the opportunity they were making tremendous sacrifices to provide for me. I had good intentions when I began my sojourn promising myself that I would do well and make my family proud. However, along the way I lost my focus. By the time I got to fourth form things got really bad. I was unhappy at home because I was not getting along with my stepfather and at school I was struggling to find my identify and to fit in. I found myself sucked into the company of a group of time wasters. We focused on our appearance, dress, girls, parties and everything else except school work.

Thankfully, I never succumbed to the pressure to try alcohol or drugs but I performed poorly graduating with 6 subjects in grade ones, twos and a three.
At the end of my fifth form year I went to live with my father in Philadelphia. Living with my father taught me very important lessons and was a major wake up call. It was then that I realized how privileged my life was back in Jamaica and how much better my life would have been if I had taken full advantage of my educational opportunities. I wanted to return to school but my father had no plans to finance it. He wanted me to work. However, I was determined. I always remembered my grandmother dying in my arms and admonishing me, before she took her last breath, to be good and to make something of my life. Against my father’s wishes I enrolled in Overbrook High School in Philadelphia. I became very active in athletics because I liked the sport and wanted the focus and discipline that it offered. Before long, I was excelling in both athletics and academics. I graduated as an honor roll student and also as state champion in the 400 meters hurdle and the 200 meter dash. I was also bronze medalist in the U.S. High School National Championship in the 400 meters hurdle.

Furthermore, I was told that my father was filing for me and my brother. However, upon completing high school I discovered that this was not the case, at all. I could not move on to college which I really wanted to do and neither could I get a good job because of my status in the country. I took on a number of odd jobs in stores, as a painter, as a security guard and others. I grew to dislike my father even more. I kept thinking that if I had remained in Jamaica I would have advanced academically with the help of my mother, who was a teacher by that time, and my aunts some of whom had achieved their goals of becoming professionals (lawyer, nurse and teacher). As my resentment for my father grew I did not even want to go home in the evenings and again I found myself giving into the influences of friends who I later realized meant me no good. I started having near brushes with the law and I realized that this could not be good.

I was not a Christian before I left Jamaica. As a child I was baptized in the catholic faith but that meant nothing to me. As I got older I visited Pentecostal type churches because they were lively and I loved to see people manifesting the presence of God and speaking in tongues. However, it was not until I began to have brushes with the law that I began to take religion seriously. I found that in my moments of reflection as I pondered my life, I realized that God was the only constant, and there was a plan that he had for me. I did not know what it was but the words of S. Dagupta constantly filled my mind.
“There is a superior wisdom above us who doesn’t act according to our wishes. When your efforts fail, turn to this wisdom through meditation you will get startling answers and solutions you thought didn’t exist”.
I found that my faith grew and I felt closer to God than I have ever experienced before. I began to read my bible regularly and to experience divine answers to my prayers. One scripture that has had a lot of meaning for me is Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord; plans to prosper and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future”.
I also took an interest in motivational messages and quotes such as that of Kingsley Ajoku:
“Problems and difficulties are sure to come our way at one time or other, as long as we remain flesh and blood. But, having the understanding that our condition, at anytime in life is NEVER our portion for a life time gives us strength to press on”.

In September of 2006 I became a father of a son by an American, Sade Spencer, whom I met in high school. As he grew up the reality came to me that if I did not advance myself I would not be able to even provide for him and I would become like my father. I made a decision and began to make plans to return to Jamaica. In 2007 that plan was executed and I immediately enrolled into class at Quality Academics to get a few more subjects to complete a dream I had of pursuing sports related studies. I had applied to G.C.Foster College some time ago but I was not successful. I decided to try again and I cannot describe the joy I felt when I was accepted.

Having started G.C.Foster College I realized that I now stood at a crossroads between the end of one adventure and the beginning of another. I also realized how much I have changed. I am no longer the young immature boy who always wanted to have the latest clothes and shoes, to attend every party there was, to keep up with the latest dance moves and to get the admiration and attention of all the pretty girls. I have had numerous life experiences and I am now ready to deal with the real world. I now have the maturity and the focus to pursue my goals. I want to leave my foot prints on the sands of time, to touch the lives of others and to be a good role model for my son. I am determined now more than ever to make something of my life and I have what it takes to be the best.
Despite all these challenges and obstacles, I completed the Diploma program in April of 2011 and decided that it is my direct intention to ensure that I am adequately qualified (academically) to pursue a career in Physical Education as this is fundamental to my future success. Thus, it became imperative that I graduate beyond a Diploma in Physical Education to a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education and Science. I completed the Degree on July 27, 2012. With Lower class honors.

“I say with Elbert Hubbard (1906) that: “ The supreme prayer of my heart is not to be over learned, rich, famous, powerful or “good” but simply to be radiant. I desire to radiate health, cheerfulness, calm, courage and good will. I wish to live without hate, whim, jealously, envy or fear. I wish to be simple, honest, frank, natural, clean in mind and clean in body, unaffected- as ready to say “I do not know” if it be so, and to meet all men on an absolute equality- to face any obstacle and to meet every difficulty unabashed and unafraid. I wish others to live their lives too- up to their highest, fullest and best. To that end I pray that I may never meddle, interfere, dictate, give advice that is not wanted or assist when my services are not needed. If I can help people I will do it by giving them a chance to help themselves; and if I can uplift or inspire let it be by example inference and suggestion rather than by injunction and dictation. That is to say I desire to be radiant – to radiate life”.

If you believe that you will always
succeed with God, why can't you LIKE and share this status
and proudly write, “AMEN".


Sincerely

DeWayne C Dawkins