“Work hard now or struggle later.” This motto is what defines Juwan Charity, viagra 40mg senior at John Marshall High School. He says he came up with this motto because many of the adults in his life didn’t work hard earlier in life; they now are facing the consequences and struggling. Juwan said he doesn’t think a person should struggle in their adult life if they work hard early. “You should be able to relax when you’re older. You should be comfortable with where you are in life, thumb not being able to worry about a lot of things, clinic ” he said.
Juwan has two older brothers. One he does not really keep in touch with, the other is in prison. Both are examples, he said, of struggling later in life. His father passed away a couple years ago. So, besides his grandfather, William Charity, Sr., Juwan has had no real male role model. He has a younger brother, Jaylen Coleman, who is 13 years old. Juwan said Jaylen is one of the main reasons he works hard, so that he can be that male role model in his life. Juwan said he has had to act as the brother and father towards Jaylen. “I accepted it, there was nothing else I could do about it,” he said. “I like him looking up to me and knowing that as long as he looks up to me he won’t be doing wrong.” However, Juwan said he wants his brother to choose his own path and not be exactly like him. “I don’t want him to be exactly like me. I’ve made mistakes, and I don’t want him to be exactly like me. I want him to be able to discover himself also.”
Aside from being a male figure to his brother, Juwan looks up to three people in his life who he says have always been there for him: his mother, Ramona Coleman; his aunt, Georgia Crawley; and his grandfather. “They inspire me to do better for myself. They’re on me to make sure things get done right and correct. I really don’t want to let them down.”
It’s with this “go-getter” attitude and caring nature that Juwan hopes to be a veterinarian. He plans to go to college double-majoring in biology and business. He says he’s always wanted to become a vet because of his innate love for animals. “Growing up, I’ve always been around animals,” he said. Juwan enjoys watching the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet so he can learn more about animals. Juwan personally owns two lizards (an iguana named Red and a bearded dragon named Peanut) and an American Staffordshire Terrier named Diego. He said he pays for these animals out of pocket through his job at Church’s Chicken on Laburnum Avenue.
Juwan has been accepted to Radford, Old Dominion University, Virginia State University and Virginia Union University. He said he is 90 percent certain he is going to Radford in the fall of 2014, and plans to transfer to Virginia Tech in 2016, because they are the only school in Virginia with a veterinary program. However, he is still looking into Old Dominion University.
