It was on July 3^rd 2005, when I left home to start a new life in Tampa Florida. Since then, July 3^rd has always been my own personal Independence Day. And since today marks the 20^th anniversary of my leaving the nest…I thought I’d post some reflection.

If I could go back twenty years and talk to my 18-year-old self, what would I tell him? What would I tell that jeri-curled, 310-pound big black guy with no sense of fashion, no experience, barely any knowledge of the world, and yet filled inexplicably with uncanny optimism and determination.