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Seizing the power to choose: Speaker reminds students that with the freedom to choose comes responsibility
By Lynn A. Wade
Nevada Daily Mail
In the United States, people have great freedom to choose how they will respond to life events, what career paths they'll choose, and the lifestyles they'll lead.
Shawn D'Abreu knows a bit about life changes and choices, and each choice, each event can impact the lives of individuals and those around them.
He shared that knowledge, and his motivational message to make positive choices, with students at Nevada High School on Wednesday.
D'Abreu's story
A forward guard on his south St. Louis high school's basketball team and a runner, D'Abreu thought a military career was in his future, having come from a family in which both parents as well as brothers and cousins had served in the military. But that all changed on Sept. 28, 1989, when students from another area attacked him and a friend. In the course of defending himself, D'Abreu was shot in the back.
"I felt a sharp pain. Everything slowed down. I lost my hearing," and fell, seeming slowly, backward. When he hit the ground, "my chest felt like it was being inflated." He'd suffered a spinal cord injury and has since relied on a wheelchair for mobility.
"Change affects everyone," he said, and sometimes, he told the students, "you can't control the circumstances. But you can control the way you respond to them."
Choices changing history
Freedom to choose, especially to make religious and conscience-led choices, was held dear by Roger Williams. Exiled to North America in the wintertime for his stance on religious freedom, he founded the colony that would become Rhode Island. His beliefs influenced James Madison, who was largely responsible for the drafting of the First Amendment, D'Abreu said.
And the exercise of those rights has brought about much social change, from the Civil War, to the civil rights movement to the drive for independent living that D'Abreu advocates for daily as director of the Missouri Center for Independent Living. "That's about choice. It's about the dignity of risk," about living without barriers of architecture and attitude. All that change came at a cost; making good decisions can sometimes be difficult, even painful.
Nevertheless, D'Abreu said, "When you choose responsibly ... your words pick up more meaning."
The power to choose
One key to making those choices is to choose first a positive role model or leader to follow. "Who you choose to follow affects where you go," he said, urging the students to be true to themselves rather than following the crowd, but cautioned that rebellion and independence aren't the same thing.
"Stand up for what you think is right. It doesn't always have to be standing up... and makin' a speech, or fighting; sometimes it's walking away. Sometimes it's giving somebody encouragement," he said.
Decisions made today, D'Abreu told the students, impact what will happen next year, or over the next several years.
Urging students to think about where they want to be in the future, he broached the subject of choosing to live drug-free.
"Everybody thinks they're the exception to the rule. Nobody says, 'when I grow up I want to be a meth addict.'"
But it happens, he said; and it starts with one choice.
D'Abreu said drugs look appealing; but their appeal is deceptive; the "feel good" sensation is temporary; the perceived ability to have more energy robs the body and mind of future energy and focus; the relaxation of inhibitions "can cause you a whole bunch of problems," he said.
"Rules you give yourself never work. People say they're only going to do it on the weekend. Or they're only going to drink this, or smoke that; but it weakens the will," stunts emotional maturity, destroys health and alters physiology.
Displaying photos of addicts and a progressive decline of their outward appearances over time, D'Abreu said doing so wasn't about "Scaring you straight. It's about giving you information you need to make a good choice."
Students listened quietly to the presentation, and afterwards, at least three students said they were convinced of which choice was right for them.
Brittany Vickers found the presentation "Very informative," and Gwen Broughton said," I'm definitely not going to do drugs." Amy Shumaker said the historical information was interesting; and all three said they could relate to D'Abreu's message, having already experienced difficult moments in their lives.