Ken Freemen gave a captivating and motivational speech on choices that make or break you.

He revealed to freshmen and sophomores his personal story October 28 in the gym. When he spoke you could hear the truth. His words held weight that no one had the capacity to fathom.

He began by telling how his mother was a drunk and occasionally beat him and his sister. That choice she made was the fault of her own doing. Sadness touched his voice when he told how he would shield his sister from the beatings.

Freeman’s voice was not weak while announcing such cruelty, but grew stronger despite it.He shared a memory of his child hood that was heartbreaking to hear. It started off by saying it was when his mother went on a spree of some sort and left him and his sister behind with her boyfriend. It was night time when he awoke by the piercing scream of his sister’s voice.

He rushed to her bedside only to realize there was someone else in the bed with her. His mother’s boyfriend. He was devastated at the sight, but these moments of sadness only strengthened him in the future.

He recalled a night when his mother had come home drunk and passed out on the sofa how he ran a knife up and down her skin. Knowing how easy it would be to end her fragile life, but instead he showed mercy upon her though she didn’t deserve it.

I believe he shared his tragic story because there were people in the crowd that feel the pain he endured and also probably go home to some of the same abuse.

His story was a hand reaching out to tell people he went through tragedy and came out on the other side stronger and wiser.

The tunnel that was always bleak had found light. That the students enduring the violence and abuse he once endured can overcome their past to make a better choices for their future.