Self-determination and purpose are the keys to success, said motivational speaker Jonathan Sprinkles Wednesday night in the J. Wayne Stark Gallery.
“(Your life) is in your hands,” Sprinkles said. “There is no reason you should live your life like a copy (of someone else’s).”
Sprinkles, whose speech was sponsored by Woodson Black Awareness Committee (WBAC), emphasized change, purpose, integrity, vision and sticking to your goals, even when it is difficult to do so. Sprinkles told stories and presented his ABCs of success to motivate the students.
Narietha Carter, WBAC chair, said the two issues Sprinkles emphasized – self-determination and purpose, or Kujichagulia and Nia in Swahili – are some of the main ideas of the seven ideals of Kwanzaa, an African American and African holiday.
“It is two of the principles combined,” Carter said. “We want to make sure every single program we have falls under one to two of the principles of Kwanzaa. We wanted to use self-determination and purpose to motivate the masses.”
Sprinkles told the audience that, as a young child, he faced obstacles, one being low self-esteem. However, because he had a close relationship with his parents, Sprinkles said, he was able to succeed in life. He said his mother told him something that he now lives by.
“‘(My mother told me) this is the way things are, but they are not the way things are always going to be – just rise above it,'” Sprinkles said.
Sprinkles said individuals have the right and responsibility to change, choice and commitment.
“If you don’t like something, change it,” Sprinkles said. “You have a choice as to whether or not you are going to make it happen.”
Carter said Sprinkles was chosen to speak because his experiences relate to and can motivate A&M students.
“We wanted to have someone who is a professional motivator, instead of having student-to-student motivation,” said Carter. “We wanted to have someone who was well known and who has experienced the obstacles of being a student leader. (He) has proven that (those obstacles) can be overcome and that you can excel with experience learned in college in a professional world.”
Apollonia Franklin, a freshman general studies major, said she walked away from Sprinkles’ speech in an uplifted and self-fulfilled mood.
“A lot of the things that (Sprinkles) said had a great impact on my mindset, and it provided direction for me,” Franklin said.
Franklin said she believed everything Sprinkles said could positively help someone’s life.
“Nothing he said had false weight, and everything he said could have affected somebody it doesn’t matter who it is,” Franklin said.