To those reading my story, thank you. You’re joining a very special group of people who have been incredibly kind, generous and not stopped believing in me.
When I was 16, my life was in a really bad place. I was forced into an impossible situation and did a very stupid thing. I was sentenced to 1 year in a young offenders’ detention centre. As weird as it might sound, that was one of the best life lessons I’ve ever received. After 6 months, I was fortunate enough to be only the second young person to be able to leave this centre on a daily basis, unescorted, to attend a regular school and finish my GCSEs.
It was one of my cousins who encouraged me to try electrics. At first I hated it. But I stuck at it is because I’m not a quitter and I completed my Level 2 & 3 Diplomas. Now I love it. I love fiddling with the wires and seeing something work as it should after connecting the right thing together. Becoming a gold card electrician (the final step in gaining employment as a fully-qualified electrician) is my dream.
Last month, I had another setback. My mum did not accept the fact that my girlfriend is pregnant and so she kicked me out. I’ve been sofa-surfing since. Despite all of my experiences, I’ve learnt that hard work does pay off. Just because one door closes, it doesn’t mean another door, with a better opportunity won’t pop open. Like Beam.
They’ve bought back hope that I can finally reach my dreams and I’ll be able to properly look after my daughter. As soon as I can, I want to support other young people who are going through bad things in their lives and work with them to change things for the better - just as so many others have helped me.