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HELP FIRST STAR SCHOLARS REALIZE THEIR DREAMS
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"When I was younger when I heard the word DREAM, it would bring a tear to my eye because from my background and people I grew up with a dream wasn’t something attainable it was an escape. A dream was the way you closed your eyes and shut reality out and forgot about all the negativity that’s surrounding you.
So for me when people would ask me what I want to be when I grow up, what’s your dream? I would always tell them I don’t know.
When an eight year old tells you I don’t think I’m going to grow up, it’s really concerning.
For 15 years that was always my answer. I don’t know, I don’t dream. I’m not going to grow up ... Except I did."
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EIGHT YEAR OLD SAM HAD NO DREAMS
click to hear his whole spoken word
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"Two years ago when I joined First Star, they told me that I was allowed to dream. They told me and every other scholar,
YOU ARE ALLOWED TO BE YOURSELF AND THAT IS ENOUGH
When I heard this, I didn’t know what to do with myself. No program has told me it’s okay, you're allowed to be yourself. Your background does not define you. I finally felt free. There was this weight that was on my chest for a long time before I joined First Star. Because I never had anybody. Like I said earlier, First Star is a family.
When I joined, it was the first time I felt a connection."
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"I can confidently say that this program has positively influenced and changed my life.
Without First Star I wouldn’t have spoken nationally in front of thousands of people. Without First Star I wouldn’t have put out my own album. Without First Star, I never would have graduated high school, I might not even be alive, without First Star I definitely wouldn’t be in this room."
WITHOUT FIRST STAR I WOULD NOT HAVE A DREAM
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