wiltby essay final draft

7/30/2019 WILTBY Essay Final Draft

1/4

Domonique Byers

Professor Ingram

English 1102:024

12/2/12

Whats it Like to be You?

Whats it like to be me? That is a great question, and at the same times a question that I

have never really had to answer. That is such an abstract concept in my mind. I really dont know

where to start. Life is so filled with constant change that if you asked me that question every

single day of my life, I guarantee you my answer would never be the same.

To start off with, I would like to say that no matter how hectic my life can get at times, I

wouldnt trade it for the world. I am Domonique Byers or DBYERS the Great and no amount

of problems could take that from me. I was born on November 4th 1993 in Fayetteville, NC, but I

was raised in the great city of Winston-Salem, NC. I am the son of Sherrye Byers and Frank

Sanders, two struggling African Americans just trying to find their way and fighting to prosper in

society. Both of my parents attended UNC Charlotte but do to the birth of my oldest sister and

other unforeseen circumstances, neither one of them graduated from here. I have four sisters and

their names are Ataszia, Krisandra, Jayme, and Reagan. Although I do not always show it, family

comes first in my life and is definitely very important to me. At the end of the day, even if the

world were against me, these people would always be there for me no questions asked.

My dad was sort of a rolling stone and loved women sometimes just as much or even

more than he loved his family. I sometimes think of him as a sperm donor as opposed to a father.

I do not hold a grudge against him man to man but actually use him as measuring stick so that I

make sure I am a lot better father and man than my dad was and is.


2/4

My mother on the other hand is a strong-minded black woman who raised 5 children

virtually on her own. She is not rich, and was forced to raise 5 children on the salary of a school

teacher. I tend to underestimate the impact that she had on my life, but if you knew us both you

would know that we are very much alike in many respects. I also know that the level of success

that I now know, and also long for would not even be remotely possible without her. . She has

always been a strict, but loving parent and has always encouraged me to strive for greatness in

everything I do.

This resonated with me very much-so throughout my life and is the one thing that I

remind myself of everyday. If you followed me around, you would hear me mention several

times a day how great I am. I am not saying this just because I think I am so awesome, but rather

because it is a reminder of what I aspire to be. Virtually every day since I was a little kid I have

been told that I was destined for greatness and that is what I base every action off of. Greatness is

what I desire to attain and not what I currently embody. Many people ask me what I mean when I

say that I want to attain greatness. That is another difficult question mostly because I would think

that different people would have different meanings of greatness. To answer that I dont honestly

know what my definition of greatness is. I guess if I had to define greatness I would define it as

the constant struggle to not only be the best you can be, but also push others toward their god-

given potential. I feel as if I was created to change the world, and no matter how small or large a

way that might be, it is something that I can potentially be proud of.

I think that the thing that defines me the most as a person would have to be my humor. I

like to think that I am by far the funniest person in the world. I would love nothing more than to

sit around and make people laugh all day. My friends tell me that I joke around so much that they

are almost scared to take me in public due to the fact that I would probably do something


3/4

outlandish and crazy. I have no filter and usually just say the first thing that comes to my mind.

My mom doesnt like that part of me and encourages me to take a more serious approach on life.

The desire for happiness is an essential part of my character and not likely to ever be changed. I

am however, working on keeping my ways in moderation and sort of mellowing down and not

being crazy all of the time. I have come to recognize that there is a time for fun and games and

also a time to be serious.

I do not feel that I can be categorized or grouped like many other can. I feel that I am

multi faceted and defining me as any one thing would be selling myself short. I am Domonique

Byers, the humorous, charismatic, driven, articulate, black man, who is destined for greatness

and will not take no for an answer. Making people happy and the strive for success is what keeps

me motivated from day to day. Without these things I might find myself down and not know

what to do to get back up. I come from a family familiar with poverty and struggle which is now

in the rearview mirror and never to be looked back upon. My family has struggled as a whole for

generations and I look forward to the challenge of bringing us out of mediocrity and into

greatness. On the other hand, I am in some ways your average teen. Friendship is very important

and I feel that without friendship my life would be a lot worse offand I wouldnt be nearly as

happy as I am today. I have been lonely before and I know that it is just one of the worst feelings

in the world when you feel like no one cares about you and its you versus the world. I strive to

make as many friends as possible and touch the lives of these people no matter how small or

large my contribution is.

My number one mission in life would have to be to take over the world. Many people

take this as a joke when it is a really serious ambition of mine. I dont mean this in a violent or

militaristic sense; I more-so desire to be respected all over the world by people who maybe dont


4/4

even know me, and also be a positive influence in the lives of all the people that my words and

ideals touch. This is going to take a lot of work but I feel like if anyone could do it, it would be

me.

My one flaw would probably have to be my frivolous personality. I sometimes find

myself not being taken serious. If there is one thing I could change in my life it would be being

respected and taken seriously as opposed to humorous and childish as some people view me at

times. It really hurts me sometimes when people think Im joking when Im actually very

vehement about a situation. I am really working on this flaw and feel that I wont hold me back

because I just wont let it.

Whats it like to be me? Its the 5th

greatest thing in the world next to God (who is way at

the top), money, family, and friendship. Whats it like to be me? I have a very interesting life that

I wouldnt trade foranything in the world. Whats it like to be me? Being me is something that

no one in the world, other than me could ever even attempt to fathom no matter how much I tried

to explain it to them. Whats it like to be me? Domonique Byers the kid with the big dreams and

the destiny that screams GREATNESS.

wiltby essay final draft

Documents