What Makes This Black Guy Himself? Robert Marshawn Walker

I defy odds. From birth, doctors predicted bad things for me based on my environment, including that I would not be intelligent, because I lacked proper motor skills and speech proficiency. Today, I have defied those odds, because my mother didn't believe their assumptions, and I didn't believe them either. She pushed me to transcend all expectations, and has always supported me.

I am an intellectual, because I engage in rational and creative thought and I am a driven scholar. I get assignments done early at the library everyday. I employ critical thinking for my assignments. I assist my classmates with problem solving and memorization. I can derive a conclusion from a variety of choices and approaches. I use my ever-expanding imagination to complete projects and constructive work at school and church.

My parents call me the "Strangest Teenager in America," since I don't talk to people a lot, don't listen to music, and I'm a black person that dislikes hot sauce. I have been more creative and comfortable in my home than outside since childhood, and I participate actively and efficiently within my house along with the rest of my family.

I'm very talented at art; I have an aptitude for drawing...