Journey to the Revolution-Part 1: The Why
Over 20 million Americans over the age of 12 have an addiction.
6.8 million people with an addiction have a mental illness.
Globally, more than 300 million people of all ages suffer from depression.
Close to 800,000 people die due to suicide every year.
For every suicide there are 25 attempts.
Each suicide intimately affects at least 6 other people
Each year, 1 in 5 females and 1 in 7 males engage in self injury
90 percent of people who engage in self harm begin during their teen years
Hate crime reports have increased every year for the past 5 years
This generation is known as the most fatherless generation
I'm sure that all of us have heard at least one of these statistics. I have sat through countless assemblies about many of these topics. However, I always thought that there was never anything I could do because I was young. It was only when I entered middle school and saw how deeply many of these things affected my generation that I realized- I had to do something. I saw many self harm scars everyday. I saw them on my friend and my heart ached. I refused to sit back and watch my generation fade. My generation who carried so much fire and purpose within them. MY generation- US. WE were the ones the prophets prophesied about. The chosen ones. So I decided to do something. I decided that things had to change. And I would be the one to step up. I would be the match that ignited the wildfire. During the process of writing this book, I thought of the place our world was in. The position my generation was in. I thought about the broken, the vulnerable, the fatherless, the ones who put on smiles and do such a good job of hiding. Over the past year we have seen many rich and famous people who have taken their lives or lost it to alcohol and substance abuse. I thought about them too. I thought about how we were and are so quick to think that if a person has money and fame everything is perfect. Writing Becoming A Revolution was a journey. Yes I do mean the process of writing and editing however, more specifically the experiences I had writing the poems. I wanted this book not only to reach many but to touch and transform hearts…
