By: Aniela Gesing

During Spirit Week at Eisenhower Middle/High School, students in grades 9-12 attended a motivational assembly, hosted by Reggie Dabbs. Reggie brought a series of mixed emotions throughout the auditorium as he shared his life story with the audience. Reggie is a very popular motivational speaker for many teens. As a motivational speaker, Reggie has been recognized on CNN for his ability to connect with teens and address issues and ideas in a way the young adults will understand.

The topic of Reggie Dabbs’ assembly was “The Meaning of Life.” Reggie quoted Justin Bieber’s song “Let Me Love You” to get students involved in the lecture and to stress that you should “never give up.” Reggie later shared his childhood story explaining that “life is a rollercoaster” and not everything goes as planned. Reggie confessed to students that he had been given up for adoption as an infant. At eight years old, Reggie discovered the people he had been calling “Mom” and “Dad” for the last eight years were not his biological parents. For Reggie, this information changed his life completely and ultimately made it difficult for Reggie to move forward and succeed in life. The atmosphere in the auditorium then changed emotionally for the students and faculty as they began to feel sympathetic for Reggie. Sympathy is not what Reggie was looking for. Reggie was simply looking to open students’ eyes and show them that, even in the worst of times, things will get better.

Reggie explained that if everyone were to go about life thinking, “Today is my last day” the percent of succession in one’s life will increase dramatically. Reggie didn’t learn this type of mindset until he was in college. While Reggie attended college in Tennessee, he played football and discovered a love for the sport. Another hobby of Reggie’s includes playing the saxophone. As a child, Reggie was diagnosed with ADD and his mother decided to get him involved with musical instruments to suppress his symptoms, rather than giving him medicines. To this day, Reggie still plays the saxophone and continues to include it in his lectures.

Overall, Reggie Dabbs gave Eisenhower students the motivation to continue moving forward even when life feels like it is tossing you back.

“My past is my history, but my future is my destiny.”

-Reggie Dabbs