This story of triumph and tragedy, reminded me that when its all said and done, who we are and what we become is really only determined by the choice we make in our life.
We choose to be better people, or we choose to be no better people. Weather we make those choices in the younger years of our lives or if we make those choices when we are 36. The choices we make have the power to dramatically increase our value in pretty much everything we do!
That is what the saying “change… or be changed” is all about. Chris changed from being a criminal to prosecuting them.
Brothers Michael and Chris were both born in the early 1960s and grew up in a mostly black neighbourhood in Richmond, California, right outside of San Francisco.Both boys were well behaved in school and brought home mostly A's on their report cards all through grade school.
But coming from a working-class family with eight children, money was always tight, so the boys often had to go without. In fact, things were so tight; the two growing boys were often hungry.
So they did what many boys do when they're hungry and have no food - they stole. From the time they were five until they were well out of high school, the boys stole. They stole crackers from the cupboard in the middle of the night... they stole cookies from the grocery store... and they stole sandwiches from the sandwich shop.
If it wasn't nailed down and was worth something, Michael and Chris would find a way to steal it. They even stole money from their parents from time to time. But more often than not, they stole to satisfy their hunger.
When it was time for Michael and Chris to attend high school, they were bused across town to Kennedy High School. It was during high school that something happened that made Chris decide to change his behaviour. At the end of his freshman year in high school, Chris had received three A's and three F's on his report card - the first time he had failed anything in school.
Because Kennedy High School only allowed three failures over four years, one more F and Chris would be kicked out of school. That's when he made up his mind to change. Years later Chris would recall that defining moment in his life with these words:
"I sat outside my house at the beginning of that summer knowing that I was letting my chance slip away. One more F and I'd be just another high school dropout, hanging around the neighbourhood, hoping to get on with the county or to get into the service.
"At the time I didn't know my brother Rusty would end up in prison... or that my brother Harold would die without having seen much of the world. I certainly didn't know what would happen to Michael. I only knew that I had to get out of there. I wanted to see San Francisco every day, to pick out my own clothes, drive my own car, and be whatever a man could hope to be, not just a black man, not just a man from the flats of Richmond. I wanted no limitations. I wanted to be whatever a man could hope to be."
Chris' decision to change his behaviour wasn't an easy one. He took a lot of grief from his friends for choosing to excel in school, instead of squeaking by with C's and D's. But that decision to change took him in an entirely different direction from his brother Michael, who resisted changing his unproductive behaviour.
Chris went on to graduate from high school... graduate from college... and graduate from law school. For 15 years he worked as a Deputy District Attorney in Los Angeles, California, prosecuting murderers, drug dealers, gang members and crooked cops. Today Chris is better known as Christopher. You probably recognise him by his full name - Christopher Darden, one of the lead prosecutors in the trial of the century, the O. J. Simpson trial!
What became of Christopher's brother, Michael? After high school, Michael joined the army and returned to his hometown shortly after his tour of duty. Back in Richmond, Michael continued his pattern of anti-social behaviour - hustling in the streets... and stealing to support himself and a growing drug habit. On November 29, 1995, Michael Darden died at the age of 42... from AIDS.
Chris took charge of his own life, going from an under achiever to an honour student. He went from a low self-esteem teenager to a young man who turned his dreams into reality.
Christopher Darden made the tough choices... he made the changes in his life that helped him accomplish his dreams.
The truth is, "Either way, you pay!" The truth is the price that Michael paid for refusing to change was much higher than the price that Christopher paid for seeking to change.
I'd like to think that Michael didn't die in vain. I'd like to think that by hearing this story, some people would finally understand the profound importance of making positive, productive changes in their lives.
When it's all said and done, you have a choice.
You can choose to become Michael.
Or you can choose to become Christopher.
You can continue to do the things that will lead to frustration and unhappiness.
Or you can make the changes that help you get what you want most out of life.
Don't choose to become like so many people who COULD HAVE become a millionaire... or who COULD HAVE become happier... or who COULD HAVE become healthier... or who COULD HAVE made a contribution - but didn't. Start making the changes you need to make TODAY... so that you can become the person you want to become TOMORROW!
Smile & Be Inspired :)
