2010 Youth of the Year, BGCC Alumna
October 23, 2006 was a rainy, windy, and cold day. Normally around the time of Halloween, the weather is warm, people are buying candy and kids are choosing costumes to wear to go trick-or-treating. On that day, I stayed in the house watching television as opposed to going outside. There was a knock on the door and I jumped up to answer it, tripping over the shoes my family often placed at the front door because we didn’t want to carry them upstairs.
I opened the door and there stood a familiar face. He was tall and dark with a black jacket and tissue in his left hand; I figured it was because his nose was running from the weather. He looked about the age of 16 and he had a short hair cut. His facial expression looked as if he had had a long day and was exhausted. He asked to come in and speak with my mom. I led him in the house and nodded towards to couch for him to sit and wait. I yelled upstairs and told my mom she had a visitor. My mom got out of bed, put on her house shoes, and carefully walked down the steep steps that I frequently hurt myself on. As my mom went downstairs I passed her on the steps to give them some privacy. I went to my room, flopped on the bed and played music on my phone.
Suddenly, a few minutes later I heard my mom come back upstairs and go into her room. She started shouting out profanity and hit the wall a couple of times. I turned off my music and put my ear to the wall. She called my name and I jumped. A million thoughts were going through my head as I walked down the hallway towards her room. I didn’t know what was going on and I started to think back to decide if I had done something wrong recently. I pushed opened her door and walked in, sitting on the end of her bed. She looked me in the eyes and told me a girl died from cancer today. That girl was my best friend.
From that day on, my best friend inspired me to go above and beyond. She is the reason that I want to go into healthcare and make a difference in people’s lives. I want to contribute to helping to save lives. I began looking at all the different career opportunities in healthcare and the healthcare administrator position caught my eye. I took the initiative and conducted a phone interview with a healthcare administrator at Manor Care located in Akron. I learned about the responsibilities, the commitment, and hours an administrator put towards that position. Speaking with the administrator, I realized that this was a career I could see myself being passionate about and I will strive for excellence to accomplish my goal.
My best friend was optimistic and made a difference in the community. I honestly feel that I am able to live the life she would have wanted and her legacy can carry on through me.
-Dajah is currently a freshman at Bowling Green State University studying Healthcare Administration. The friend referred to in the above story was also a Boys & Girls Club member prior to her death.
