Rajaan Bennett, local high school athlete

I was deeply saddened to read about the death of a fine young athlete a few weeks ago. As I have read and listened to the news after his death, I have realized this young man was special. At the age of 10, his dad died and he had to become the man of the house. He spent time helping his younger "special needs" brother, and also became a star football player at McEachern High School, while maintaining a high grade point average. He was recruited by several colleges and recently signed to play at Vanderbilt. But that was before the morning of Feb 18th, when he was killed by his mother's ex-boyfriend in the early morning hours. Why? We will never know the answer to that question because his killer then turned the gun on himself. Rajaan Bennett was a special young man, and it seems he affected the lives of all 2000 students at McEachern High. We are left to wonder what his life would have been like, and his mother, sister and brother are left to wonder how they will live without him. There are many articles about Rajaan on AJC.com - here is the link to one about the special memorial service at the high school last week.

Just 8 days before he died, Rajaan turned in a literature assignment -an essay on "Strength". This was published in Sunday's AJC and since I can not find a link to the article, I will post it below:

"Somebody once told me that 'I can do all things through Christ who strenthens me.'(Phillipians 4:13)

Life hasn't been a walk in the park for me, but I'm thankful for the obstacles, hardships, and accomplishments that God has provided for me. If it wasn't for Him, I wouldn't be the Rajaan Bennett that you know today. I wouldn't have things any other way.

Strength is the ability to do or bear things in the state of being strong. In the year 2000, I moved from the streets of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to the suburbs of Powder Springs. A year later, my dad died in a horrible car wreck, and as a 10-year-old, I knew he wasn't coming back. This tragedy rattled me to the core. I felt as if there was no need for me to live. I wanted to be as happy as the kids with dads and moms.

Some days I would wonder - why me? But eventually, I realized that it was my turn to become a man. As I became older, I came to notice that in life you use strength as a blanket to protect you from this cold world.

I am the oldest of three and I have a brother with special needs whom I have to take care of. I have to balance school, sports, friends and family - and it gets so hard, but I push myself. I push myself like a sprinter who is neck and neck with an opponent with 10 meters left. With the strength that I possess, I feel that I'm Hercules.

I matured faster that all my friends - and there will never be a time that I will give up. I may complain, I may refuse, and I may even cry about it, but I know I have to do what I have to do.

I work hard at whatever I do - just for that Man upstairs to smile down on me with the rays of the sun...and they feel so warm. My drive cannot be stopped or even slowed down, because every obstacle has a way around it. Every day I become stronger from the weights physically, the books mentally, and life emotionally.

There is no limit to my strength and at the end of the day, I want to be known as the strongest.