Life... we all know it with a different interpretation. In fact, there are two parts to the shaping of our view of one of the most vital expressions of language. The first being our personal experience. The second being how we respond, regardless of whether or not it was our intention. Life, to me, is a dynamic expression of the range of human emotion coloring our each day with purpose and meaning. I believe that each life on this earth has a story to tell. Some parts sad, some happy, some boring, some exciting... but this is the beauty of it all. No matter what we do in life, it is to achieve some kind of beauty in some way shape or form. We strive for the beauty of love, thrill, creation, destruction, happiness, sadness, it all can be seen with beauty to the right beholder. And if in the end, all we strive for is beauty, and our lives are a part of a beautiful story... it is guaranteed to someone that our life has meaning... our life matters. This right here is why I have decided to write you all, I have a story of purpose for you. In the following, you will have an opportunity to see what in life drives me personally. I dream of one day having the chance to influence people with my story, with my life. So here we go, venturing into the part of my life we will call "Chapter One."
I am going to open this story by telling you that, although I am young, I have a lot to share for those who are willing to listen. I am Levi White, born in the city of Kokomo, Indiana on July first of 1998. Though you might discount me by assuming that in no way my life could be far from just a small story that would only be justified by the word ordinary. Well, I could not express to you how wrong that statement is, as you are about to journey into the life of an eighteen-year-old who has not only just dreamed, but has made those dreams come to pass. My "story" begins with me being raised in a Christian home. I was raised being taught that if I had the will-power and the faith to believe despite circumstances that I could achieve the impossible, then no one can stop me.
Although in my younger years my vision and direction altered often, the one aspect of my vision that never changed was my desire to bring people to a better place, to give them the knowledge that they have worth. So over the years I took part in various projects, like bringing blankets to the local nursing home. When I turned eleven, my first dream had become a reality. I had told my mom that I wanted to go on a missions trip to Romania and although it seemed like a dreamer's phase at the time, I was determined to go on this trip. Over the course of a few months, I had managed to raise the entire three-thousand dollars... yes, with the help of my parents, but it happened. After that first trip in 2009, I was hooked. This trip to Romania guided by total strangers had started a fire in me that took a tremendous hold on my life. This first trip was the beginning of the journey I would take to find what in my life I was meant to do... how I was supposed to live my life. The next six years of my life would be taken over by eight more trips including Romania, Mexico, Peru, and Panama.
But as any story goes, nothing is ever perfect, and imperfection will eventually fall apart without exception. The flip side to this coin that I have shown you is that although I had this spectacular life outside of the place I called home, I would get sucked into something I never wanted to be a part of when I got back. I was never the kid in school that fit in (I was a bit quirky, maybe a bit funny looking to them, overweight, etc). Because of this, I was bullied, as the person that I am and the experiences that have shaped who I am. I speak from experience when I say that words have power. They truly do. These words left me feeling vulnerable, weak, scared, and depressed. I would sadly lash out on my loved ones at home, but to tell you the truth I just did not feel I had a safe place to hide. This especially became truth when my parents started fighting at home. The conflict was heavily dividing our household where it seemed the best solution was to just fight for our own at times. The only place I had truly felt that I belonged was at my church. All good things must come to an end in the mind of a realist, right? Well, in this case, there was a bit of truth to that. My church had a shift in leadership, and by extenuating circumstances, our family and many others were forced to leave.
This time could truly be one of the darkest places I had ever been. My life seemed like an endless loop of depression and anxiety. Like my life, the state of my depression also seemed to go through metamorphosis. I soon became suicidal, contemplating each day what the world would be like without me. Those words, above all those circumstances, will forever be remembered because I know the power of those words. Fat, Ugly, Loner, Gay, Loser, all these words meant something to me... it soon became all that I could see when I looked in the mirror. Now... let me remind you that this story is one of beauty, so don't believe that I will leave you with a sad story for today and just leave it at that. There is good to this story. Where this will lead next will show you.
One day, my football coach was selling a piano. My parents bought it thinking that it would be a good means of distraction for me... little did they know that it would mean so much more to me. My world would be forever changed when I sat down at that piano to finally realize my passion.
If you were engaged by my story, stick around, because there is so much more to this story that I have left to show you. If you want to hear more, I am going to ask you to share this little story with all your friends... get them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Email, anything and everything because I strongly desire to see my story bring inspiration to those around me so that I have an audience for my music so that I can finally do what I was meant to do by using my story to bring inspiration to people just like me so they don't give up. Because anything truly is possible for someone who just remembers this as truth.
