Student shares story of an emotional loss, finding happiness

Last month inspirational speaker Deo Mwano spoke to students about his struggles and his journey to happiness. He struck a chord in me because we had both struggled with the loss of parents and found music and dance as an escape from that.

Mwano was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and grew up there during a period of unrest, a childhood that no child deserves but not unlike my own. “I was born in a community that wasn’t nearly as bad but hearing gunshots outside my door was just a reality. When I was very young I saw one of my mother’s
friends get shot. That’s when my mother chose to get us out of there.”

When Mwano was seven, his father was assassinated for being involved with a government that no longer needed him. His mother decided that they could no longer fear for their lives and America was the best option for her children. Mwano lost his father, the head of his family, but he chose to conquer adversity.

In 2008 my mother died of a brain aneurism. Imagine a gunshot straight through my heart, because that’s what I felt that day. I was there when it happened, her life crumbled through my fingers, but this is not about sadness. I am not writing this for anyone’s pity, I am writing this so that you can read it and hopefully realize struggles are temporary.

My grandfather always says life is like a mountain range. We have our peaks and valleys, but as long as we try to stay in the calm valleys then we can be happy. Adversity is only an obstacle to make you stronger, be it the loss of a loved one or a broken bone you can never stop pushing to be better. You have to find your music and dance to it like Mwano and I.