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The one person in my life that was the most influential on me was my stepdad, Timothy Thomas.

When I was about 6, going on 7, I moved here to Columbus from Youngstown, my birth town. I was, literally, messed up in the head. I didn't know who I was, I didn't care that I was always in trouble, I felt like no one was there for me, at all. I tried so hard to act like everyone else and put on this big show in order for someone to like me for me.... I didn't know that that wouldn't happen if I kept going the way I was. So I tried so hard to be the "cool" kid, someone everyone liked, but by dong that, no one liked me. And I hated it. It made me feel like taking the easy way out of life. That's how much I didn't care, but couldn't stand the fact that I cried every night from not having any real friends.

That's where Tim came in at. I moved in with him and my mom when I moved down here, and, honestly, I didn't like him at first. He was always trying to lecture me and help me, and it was because of the fact that no one else every did that with me that I didn't like him. I thought he was trying to take me away from what I knew, when really he was just trying to teach me something no one else ever did. And it scared me at first. I never listened to him, I was always in trouble with him, and I was just stupid. This was all through 2nd grade.

During the summer between 2nd and 3rd grade, of course, I was in trouble. But one day Tim came up to me and said "Do you like being in trouble?" It shocked me, because he didn't sound angry or happy. He sounded sad... Like he was failing a mission of his. I looked at him from where I was sitting, and realized just how big he was. Not just size, but knowledge as well. And that was the first time I ever said 'sir' to him. "No sir, I don't. It hurts to be in trouble." "Then why don't you try to stay out of it then?" And I realized then and there I didn't know who I was. And that hurt more than the feeling of not having a friend...I started to cry, and he held me, not as a person, but as a father... And more than that, as a friend. My first real friend ever.

After that day, even though because of the stuff I did I had to grow up faster than anyone should, I litened to everything he said. I used my head more, stopped trying to be what I wasn't, and started acting like me. And it felt good to know who I really was. I smiled more often, got honor roll every grading period from 3rd to 6th grade, and made more friends than I thought I would. I learned things, new things that I didn't notice before in just simple actions, and developed beyond what I thought I could. In learning, I began to teach others what Tim taught me. I even went beyond, far beyond the box and learned things on my own. I saw and see things for what they are, not for what someone else tells me.

Even though I was happier, I still felt bad for what I did before, how I ws towards the people around me. So I decided to take up the penance of life and atone for what I did. Ever since then, I've helped more people find themselves and gave the words of advice that most grown men today can't even comprehend. It's been a little over 10 years since that day when I was 6... 16 years old now, but I still remember that day, when I made my first true friend.... Timothy Thomas.