My True Calling with Makarri Doggette
2/27/2023 11:45:00 AM | Gymnastics
Never underestimate the influence you can have on other people.
This is a message I take with me every single day.
Truthfully, though, I wasn't always certain of how to go about being that difference in people's lives.
From a young age, gymnastics was my world. All the hard work I put in has created a life that I always dreamed about.
As a senior at the University of Alabama, I have relationships with my teammates and coaches that will last a lifetime. I've been a champion and reached All-American status.
But I was missing something.
There was a passion burning inside of me that didn't revolve around gymnastics, but I couldn't figure out what it was.
That all changed when I started volunteering at a juvenile detention center here in Tuscaloosa.
Working with these kids has improved my life in every way imaginable. I discovered my calling in mentoring the youth that find themselves in trying situations and circumstances.
What the kids don't realize is — they've given more to me than I possibly ever could to them.
Monday fulfillment
I always knew I wanted to work with kids. I have five nephews, and I enjoy their youthful and spontaneous energy.
I remember telling one of the advisors at Alabama about my desire to work with kids.
I didn't know exactly which route I wanted to go in, but I was open to trying a variety of different outlets and experiences.
My advisor gave me the name of a person who's become an incredibly important person in my life — Haley Hunt.
Haley has a non profit called The VERB Kind, which seeks to provide mentorship and inspiration to the incarcerated youth at juvenile detention centers.
It just so happened that she was expanding and bringing the program to Tuscaloosa. After she got in contact with me and told me about The VERB Kind's mission, I was immediately interested.
The VERB Kind volunteers every other Monday, and after I walked through the doors of that detention center on that first Monday, I fell in love right away.
When I played games with the kids and they told me more about themselves and their hopes and dreams for the future, I was right at home.
This is exactly what I was looking for – it's the passion I'd been craving to fulfill me.
As I left after my first day, I was overcome with joy.
It was everything I hoped it would be and more.
My next Monday at the detention center couldn't come soon enough.
Your mistakes don't define you
One of the first kids I got to work with was a 16-year-old boy.
It was difficult for him to open up at first, but once he got comfortable around me, he started telling me more about his life and what his hopes and dreams are.
He told me he wanted to finish school and go to college, with the goal to one day be a racecar mechanic.
I credit him for helping me realize these kids have so much to offer to the world. While they're not in an ideal situation, they still have their entire lives ahead of them.
They've made mistakes, but my job is to help them see that they aren't their mistakes.
To not let their mistakes define them.
They can accomplish anything they want to in life as long as they're willing to learn from their mistakes and work as hard as they can to accomplish their goals and aspirations.
This is something I want other people outside of The VERB Kind to understand.
When I started telling people I was volunteering at the detention center, I had so many people ask me if I was scared or nervous to be around these kids.
It's easy to make judgments on these kids from afar, but after getting to know them and working with them, they're some of the sweetest kids I've ever met in my life.
They're paying the consequences for the mistakes they've made, but my job is to assure them that second chances do exist and can open up a world of opportunities if they make the most of them.
Realizing their potential
What I love most about volunteering at the detention center is to help these kids discover the tremendous talent they were blessed with.
A talent they might not even recognize they have.
I remember one time specifically when Haley – a great singer in her own right – asked the kids to sing a song for her.
Naturally, they almost all said no, but one kid stood up and sang a song he wrote while he's been at the detention center.
That broke the ice for the rest of them to muster up the courage to stand up and sing their own unique songs they wrote.
It was absolutely sensational to watch unfold.
If there's anything I enjoyed more than the talent being showcased in that room, it was the kids realizing their potential. This moment opened a lot of their eyes that this is a dream they could pursue and the start of something amazing.
That was one of my favorite days at the detention center. Seeing the happiness and confidence in all of their faces as they sang their hearts out is a memory I'll never forget.
A life-changing purpose
The detention center is mostly made up of boys, and I think of them as my own. I've grown incredibly close to them for so many different reasons, but most importantly, they've given so much to me.
Much more than they know.
They helped me find my purpose, and I want nothing more than to return the favor and help them find theirs.
Going forward, I plan to continue to support these kids as much as I can.
Most of them love sports and are extremely athletic, so I'm excited at the possibility of partnering up with some of our coaches and teams at Alabama for an event.
Anything I can do to help them realize that they are loved, have people that will listen to them, and above all else, have people that believe in them.
I'd encourage everyone to take that leap of faith and get involved in their community because it makes a bigger impact than you can possibly imagine.
I never thought volunteering on that first Monday would impact my life in the way that it has. Nor did I think Monday would ever be my favorite day of the week, but that's what working with these amazing kids has done to fill that void I was missing.
There's nothing more meaningful than being in the position to change someone's life. They've changed my life in more ways than I can count, and I have a lifetime to look forward to in paying that forward.
