It’s very special to me to be in this gym.

In 1991, I was a freshmen in high school. I had joined the cross country team, and received many medals for getting first as an individual, and third as a team for running the Manhattan marathon. Although I wasn’t as fast as a runner as some of the athletes, but I had endured long distances.

My first race, I had gotten first place, while the second place, came after me by one minute and twenty seconds.

Union hill high school took, and still takes pride in providing the best academics, but the truth is, Hudson county is where Union City is, which is the town Union hill high school is in, received 2nd place with 41% in illiteracy “Nationally”, in 1992.

I went to 8 different Grade schools, and 3 High schools, because my family kept moving, to eventually settling for the pressure put on me by my Father, to drop out of high school, and get a job. Which is what I did.

Some of the things I had experienced, is that we had many gang members of nietta, latin kings, and others, and so much bullying. High school was basically girls getting pregnant, hoods, alcohol, drugs, gang members, clubbing, robberies and a high crime rate.

Some of those who I had been to high school with, I read articles in the newspaper, they were arrested on murder charges, given orders by gang leaders, and are still doing time in state prison.

At the time, the local mosque had just opened up, and they had no youth clubs or organization, or activities. All they had are some really mean old men, who just arrived from overseas, and everything was haram/prohibited.

There were no Muslim community who cared, and nurtured the youth. There were no Adults who understood the needs of each youth.

And alhamdulilah, this week, we were in that gym with the Muslim youth.

It was interesting for me to be in that gymnasium after almost 24 years, and see that it’s still the same. Nothing changed, except that it’s now a middle school, because they built a contemporary high school now.

I’ve trained in that gym many times, and sweated so much running laps, and drills, and I’m back here running!

I’m lucky, and blessed to have had survived this environment, and I thank God that He has me where I am today.

Now my worry goes to many of the youth who are now attending this type of public schooling systems. And I’m determined that I will take part in assisting in any efforts that will help our youth become the best they can be inshaAllah.

I’m not writing this from information based on an article I read, or a subject that I had studied. I’m writing this from experiences that I had experienced myself and survived, alhamdulilah/ All praise are due to God!