Have you felt like something was meant to be? Like you were in the right place at the right moment? Like you were put on the planet to do something?

That’s how I feel everyday of my life.

I was born to define moments.

I’ve known that for what seems to be an eternity. Born in Chicago at the height of the Bulls dynasty, hearing Bob Costas scream, “CHICAGO WITH THE LEAD” was normal in my household. We’d watch that highlight of Michael Jordan shooting over Byron Russell over and over again and Costas’ voice would replay in my head.

He defined that moment for me.

I can still remember Keith Olbermann’s voice on Nov. 4, 2008 as he announced, “Barack Obama is projected to be the next president of the United States of America.” His voice will forever be intertwined with the memory of tears running down the faces of my mother and grandmother.

He defined that moment to me.

I firmly believe that I was supposed to do the same, to be the one who defined moments for people as others did for me.

I was born to give a voice to the voiceless.

There are so many marginalized people in the world. People who don’t have the means to speak for themselves and tell their own stories. One day, I would like to be their storyteller. I would love to give those people a way to be heard. With a camera, a pen, some paper or a laptop, I’ve been blessed with an ability to shine light on others, a responsibility I take so seriously.

I was born to change the world.

I know that sounds very cliché and extremely far-fetched, but I take a different approach to changing the world. I believe that touching one life at a time, maybe just one life everyday, can spark an idea that can change the world. It’s that simple.

It should be everyone’s journey to make the world a better place. Whether that’s through activism, education, volunteer service, or storytelling, it makes no difference. It’s my mission to be better today than I was the day before, and through that process, I should be able to touch lives.

To define moments, to give voice to the voiceless, to change the world.

My ambitions make me who I am. I’m just a young man with billion dollar hopes and trillion dollar dreams. I’m someone who is too motivated to stop and too competitive to quit. I’m the person that wants to be the best at any and everything I do.

I am Sammy Smith.

Now, it’s time to get to work because in the words of the great Kendrick Lamar, “I ain’t got time to waste time.”