I Don’t Think I’ll Make it

A fifth-grade girl told me what she wanted to be when she grew up. Then she said something I wasn’t prepared for: “I don’t think I’ll make it.” I cried. Because no child should already be questioning whether they’ll make it to the future they’re dreaming about. And it made me think about how many adults secretly feel the exact same way. Maybe we’re still here—but we’ve stopped believing we’re going to make it. Tonight on Road to Victory, we’re talking about what it means to stay alive enough to experience your own possibilities. We’re talking about children and dreams. Dialysis and survival. Fathers and sons. Sex and the things we inherit without understanding. Strangers who appear rude but may simply be having a terrible day. And why I’ve started trying to meet people on a human level instead of automatically matching their energy. Because I’m learning: People aren’t necessarily weird. Sometimes they just have a strange way of trying to connect. And until somebody takes this life from you— this motherfucker is yours. I don’t want to spend mine bored to death. I want to experience it. Understand it. Love people. Teach what I’ve survived. Ask better questions. And remind somebody—including that little girl—that their current circumstances don’t get to write the ending. Tonight’s biggest question: Do you still believe you’re going to make it?