When was the last time when no one held you back and you felt like you could accomplish anything? 

For every Avatar, there’s a Team Avatar that keeps them company and supports the Avatar’s efforts to maintain balance among the four nations. The responsibility of maintaining balance among the nations wasn’t solely on the shoulders of Avatar Aang. He had Katara, Sokka, and Toph! Each character played a supporting role in Aang’s life and vice versa 🙂

For me, it was in 9th grade. I had a group presentation with a team I’d just met and we’d been tasked with pitching a new business idea for our school’s weekend Entrepreneurship event called, ‘E-Ship’. To be honest, I don’t really remember my performance, all I remember was the excitement my team felt after we had finished our presentation.          

We had ambitions to become the next big startup that’d come out of Denver. Our energy was high and it was intoxicating. 

Your League doesn’t quite need to be a group of people. It could very well be a cause bigger than yourself that you deeply care for. Like the climate crises, mental healthcare, or for my friend Xavier’s case it was access to educational opportunities (representing his city, Pueblo, with pride). 

“My name is Xavier Ada”.

Future10X meetings began at 10 AM from Monday through Thursday, so Xavier woke up at 6 am to commute 3 hours through Denver traffic from Pueblo. 

“I could not find that experience anywhere else. You know what I mean? So I mean, if I did have to drive 3 hours to get that, to get the experience I had to make the connections I had, then I was fine with that. What else was I going to do that summer  besides sit at home? I could have made myself productive and actually try to make a difference, even if it wasn’t in my own community”. 

More often than not, our League looks like the people with whom we spend the most time. It’s our dear loved ones for crying out loud!

“Those are my parents”.

It’s the-commute for me. 

“That’s like a 2 and a half hour drive there and back. For them to trust me that much, much, to pursue my dreams, to get that experience, I think that was really eye opening to me – To tell me that they’re always there for me and that they are always in my corner”.

Whether it’s knowing that your parents support you as a 16-year-old to commute 2 hours a day for a startup program that aims to re-imagine the future of education. Whether it’s the energy you get from your team as you visualize the success you’ll achieve together as young entrepreneurs. Or whether it’s Master Yoda spending the last days of his life training you for the historical fight for the future of the galaxy type love. 

The love you receive from those around you will carry you forward as you cross the finish line and take the last steps of your never-ending journey. 

Your Superhero Mindset has always been within you. From your origin story to your League of supporters, these philosophies have always been vested within you. 

As a first-generation student, you know better than anyone that college ain’t no joke, and the path you’re paving isn’t just for your younger siblings. It’s for [all] the future generations of your family that will come and follow you. Dreams were meant to be made into reality.

Being the best version of yourself is all that your loved ones could ever ask for. Trust me, they want to continue seeing you succeed! My friend, I want to continue seeing you succeed. 

Being self-made doesn’t exist. At the end of the day, we’re social beings and we especially thrive in groups where we feel belonging and love (Similar to In Lak’ech – You are my other me, I am your other you).

Ima leave you with this. Dr. Seuss once said, “Those who mind don’t matter and those that matter don’t mind” – Your league of supporters is what makes you stronger and they’re the source of your courage. Let them know that you value their love by showing the world who you really are 🙂