In this week's column I will be talking about a young man who shadowed me on Sunday as part of a high school project in which he needed to learn more about who I am and what I do.

We spent four hours together and my main focus was to supply him with enough information so he could fill his ten-page project. I also chose to ask him a couple of questions of my own.

I asked him what inspired him and what had had an effect on his life? His answer encouraged me to write my column about him.

He wrote: "My name is Norman Earl Parker III and I am a junior at McDonogh School in Maryland (US). I enjoyed playing the game and love my team-mates. I loved the team aspect of sports, more specifically, soccer.

Soccer for me never came with any incentives and I did not use it as place to get away. It was just about enjoying good company with my friends.

After middle school I played for the first two years in high school and I played soccer my freshman and sophomore year. During those two years my grades were not as high as I wanted them to be so this year I gave up soccer to focus hard on school activities.

I didn't see a future in the world of competitive sports which opened my eyes and allowed me to buckle down and focus on being a hard worker academically, rather than athletically.

The story I want to share with you is one that touched me and made me realise the importance of being focused and the value of life. It is about a friend of mine who I was close with, a friend that I would spend time studying and hang out with, a friend that I saw as polite and innocent to the world.

At the end of last year my friend had murdered his mother after an argument that ensued over a poor grade that he had received.

I was in complete disbelief because my friend was neither malicious nor upset at any point I spent time with him. He is an honours student and one of the nicest friends I know.

Unfortunately, after this incident occurred, the media portrayed him in such a negative way that was very upsetting to me as well as our school community. What I learned from this is that anything can happen in the smallest amount of time. A moment can take place that can change your life for the better or for the worse.

I decided from this point that I would now be determined to succeed in life and reach out to friends and family members that may have serious challenges facing their way. The most important quote I can think of today is "Live every day like it's your last". I feel like this is the most inspirational message that everyone, young and old, should know, understand and follow.

I realised if you are faced with a tough task, you want to make sure you can handle it as best as you can and try to overcome it. But if you handle the task in a bad way, you may receive a negative outcome.

However, if you take the time to ride the challenge out and think about how the outcome could affect your life, you may choose a different route in handling the situation."

Norman, I appreciate the words and encourage you to continue to strive for the best. It was a pleasure sharing information of my life with you and I wish you the best in your project. Understand, you also have left a great message for all who read this column.

It is amazing what affect we all have on our young people and this story should touch all of us who are parents.

The pressure we sometimes put our kids under could be stressful, wanting them to be the best, afraid of them failing, afraid what others may say or the stories we have to provide others if our kids do not meet the standards that has been put on being successful.

We must realise now that if we push them too much we could lose them. Let's listen more, ask more questions and be patient with their development and direction in life.

Now I want to reach out to my young people, I want to help their voices be heard and share their stories.

For this to happen I need them to make contact with me. Parents if you have young people you are proud off or just feel their story would help touch others, please contact me through my email davidbascome@aol.com leave contact information and a brief summary of their story.

I would be posting their column once a month, after making my selection.

Understand that no identity has to be attached with columns posted.

Until next time!