With this edition of The Anguillian, you will find a full page article about Keithroy Proctor. He received a full tennis scholarship to attend Lambuth University in Jackson, Tennessee. Keithroy received much attention one year ago as this particular scholarship, worth over USD $120,000, was offered to him for the spring of 2006. I will not go into the details about this great feat as I will encourage all my readers to read that particular article. I will however expound upon a notion that is of great importance in terms of being a successful human being: perseverance.

In our world, full of technology and information at the touch of a button, it is becoming increasingly common to take short cuts. Although I am only 29, when I graduated from high school, e-mail, the internet, and cell phones were still something of a myth. While in university, I actually had to read books and scholarly journals to get my information instead of surfing the web. The web, during those times, was not considered as a reliable source of information. I am mentioning these things to make a very important point: there is no quick way to becoming successful at anything. I feel it is of great importance to notify and instil this into the youth of today. I would like to use Keithroy Proctor as an example of perseverance. Of course, being involved with the Anguilla Tennis Academy brought him many opportunities and contacts that helped him along the way. Yet, originally, he was supposed to attend college in January of 2006. This was delayed however because he did not get his paperwork done in time and therefore had to suffer consequences that were two fold. First, he would not be able to attend college at the desired date. Secondly, because of this, he was in jeopardy of losing the opportunity to have a scholarship.

Nevertheless, Keithroy remained steadfast and persevered by maintaining contact with the coach and making sure to turn in the proper paperwork with ample time. Because of him not giving up, he did the necessary work to get into college. The ATA was only able to introduce him to the opportunity and it was his responsibility to go through with it. It was also he who had to work hard at his studies and tennis to be even offered this opportunity. Obviously, whatever obstacle that was thrown at him, was overcome. This is a quality that must be lauded.
Currently, in Anguilla, it is becoming painstakingly obvious the lack of responsibility taken by the youth. It is imperative that parents, members of the community and media start to take notice of youth who are trying to make a difference in their lives and congratulate them for every bit of success they have. Youth, in general, are always seeking attention by their peers, parents and adults in general. This is in large part one of the reasons children want to be successful. They want to be congratulated and told how special they are. It is time that we stop with the negative reinforcement because it becomes dangerous in terms of labelling. When a child is labelled as something, 9 times out of 10, they will become that. If you tell a child they are beautiful, they will feel beautiful. If you tell them they have a bad attitude and are worthless, their attitude will get worse and as will their feeling of self-worth.

Therefore, I congratulate Keithroy not just because of his scholarship, but for his perseverance and dedication. I also congratulate all those children, despite facing great odds, who continue to strive in the face of negative reinforcement. I also challenge the Anguillan community to help with giving the children more confidence in themselves.

If you know of any youth or organizations that are doing great things, please e-mail at jallen@caribcable.com

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