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The Path: A Teenager Talks Life, Family And Music

Sethaniel Weaver
Basim Blunt
/
WYSO
Sethaniel Weaver

We all have our morning rituals. For a teenager in Dayton, the backpack is filled and then it goes on the shoulder. This Dayton Youth Radio student carries a shield for himself, and he says it's working.

My name is Sethaniel Weaver. I am 16 years old and attend the Dayton Early College Academy, a millennial in the chaotic fast paced world of the twenty first century.

What I see in today’s society that teens are dying left to right from suicide, drugs and even murder. There are things I value in life that I believe have kept me on a path towards positive living and success. Those things that I value are: God, family, and music. I value those things because they have made me the person that I am today.

God has blessed me and kept me from doing things that could ruin my life or even end my life by turning down and away from bad decisions and bad influences. One time I remembered I could have bought and smoked weed on my way home from the local library. So I declined the offer and continued to walk home. Those values were implanted within me as a child, and they have stuck with me through my teen years and have helped me to grow. Today I still continue to go to church.

Things in life come and go, but what I value can never leave me.  Family have always supported me and have been in my corner even when I had no one to call a friend and talk to. 

I was born on January 15, 2001. My mom told me that when I was born, my whole family was in the room including my dad Michael, and my four older siblings. My mom, Renita, said that when I was a baby she and her mother, my grandma, Carol, would hold me and pray over me that I follow the path of Jesus and grow to be strong man in Christ. There’s one song that stands out to me, “You are my sunshine my lovely sunshine, you make me happy when clouds are grey. You’ll never know that how much I love you, please don’t take my sunshine away.”

When bad things like drugs and violence hurt people in my community, it makes me sad, but it inspires me to continue to do what I am doing now.

Something that I really love and am trying to pursue and allow to grow is my music career. Music has been apart of my life since I was baby. I love almost all genres of music except country.

In my music you can hear me talk about what  I believe in. I do rap, r&b , and even some pop. I take my time and write all of my music. It comes deeply from my heart. For example, “you proved to me that times are changin´ that's why I declined yo call when my phone was rangin'. Yeah, you jump man to man like yo name is Jordan, RKO´d yo treaty like my name is Orton.”

My final thoughts are basically telling the youth today that you can have a good life, you can have fun and do what you like to do without doing something that might ruin your life or end your life or make your life turn out bad. If teenagers find their passion and focus on God and family, then they will live more positive and have better lives.   

Sethaniel Weaver is a student at the Dayton Early College Academy. To learn more about DECA, visit the school's website: http://daytonearlycollege.org/  Special thanks to Anne Rasmussen, Director of Community Involvement at DECA.

Dayton Youth Radio is supported by the Virginia W. Kettering Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council.

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