Osei Beneman

In His Own Words

I woke up to the worst phone call in my life. My uncle in Ghana - the man who raised me - had died. The news completely devastated me. All of the memories we shared flashed through my mind and I could not accept the reality that he was gone. All I could think is that I was cursed. First, I lost my mother and now my uncle? The only explanation I could think of was that I was cursed. I lost my mother early in my life. From that moment onward, my uncle raised me. He taught me how to be a man and always fought for me to have the best things in life. He inspired me to play soccer and always made sure I was focused on my studies. He always fought for me to have the best things in life. He inspired me to play soccer and always made sure my homework was done every night. He always told me: “A man never watches what another person is doing. Do what makes you happy because if what you do doesn’t make you happy you are just wasting time and money”. I still remember what he told me every single day which helps me keep my head up when I lose focus. His words inspired me to never give up and never lose hope. Unfortunately, his death made it hard to follow his advice. After my uncle's death, I felt like life rejected me. Why did I have to lose both my mother and my uncle? I cried for months. I felt like giving up on life and on my dreams and staying in my house alone because that is how I felt now that both my mother and uncle were gone. At school, I appeared quiet and hardworking; however, it felt like I was dying inside. I felt like there was nothing anyone could do to make me feel better. I knew that my uncle would not want me to waste my life after everything he did for me. I decided to throw myself into my schoolwork and soccer. My uncle always encouraged me to try my best in both of these fields and I took that to heart and decided that I was going to make him proud. There were times in which it was hard to keep my head up, especially without his guidance; however, with the support of my friends and teammates, I was able to get myself back on track. My uncle’s death has become a part of my history and history cannot be rewritten. It is time for me to write my future ahead of me. My uncle would not have wanted me to give up - he would have wanted me to persevere. Now I am motivated to get educated because that is the only way I can do better for myself and the next generation ahead of me. That is why I have chosen to go to college - to broaden my education in order to create a better future. I know both my uncle and my mother are not here but I know they are beside me as I take each step forward toward my future goals.