Dreams Really Do Come True

I crack open the door, stick my head into the small space, and my eyes roam the room. They rest lightly on the desk to the left, strewn with paper and post-it notes, below it, the trash can over-flowing with the same. Across the room, his nightstand resembles his desk, and the bed next to it has more yellow post-it notes framing the headboard. A stranger would wonder what kind of person inhabited this space – but I know exactly who lives here – a writer.

In high school he was every teenager that has ever lived – and he was a teenager like no other. He was always about the words, whether it was the lyrics in a song, or the descriptions in a leather-backed book. He was dark, moody, and silent – and he was full of light, raucous laughter and compassion. He listened to his music obnoxiously loud, and he read his endless amount of literature in stone-cold silence.

He’s always known where his talents were supposed to lead him. Even in high school when his brilliant mind could not understand the demanding purpose behind the school rule of having to tuck his tee-shirt into his blue jeans – he could be convinced to understand that it was such a small part of his huge life’s journey, and do it anyway.

Greensboro High School of Quincy Florida, now Gadsden West, had a future published author walking their hallways, sitting in their classrooms, learning his lessons, and biding his time for bigger days, bigger ways to prove himself and his value to everyone. With the help of teachers like Steven Scott, Janet Kever and Melvin Poole, he would achieve all of those things, including graduating as Valedictorian of the class of 2004.

Fast forward to age twenty-three, and he has arrived at The University of Alabama to spend the next four years cultivating his writing skills in the Masters of Fine Arts program. He is now among the elite of his peers, just as driven as he.

I stayed with him a few times during that period as he had a two bedroom apartment. When I arrived I carried my baggage to the spare bedroom and it was like stepping into a time warp. There was a bed, but no nightstand this time, and a desk. The desk was cluttered with papers, the walls to the side of it and in front of it were splattered with post it notes – full of ideas, random thoughts, and future story-lines for future books in print.

At 29 years of age, he has already achieved one his biggest goals/dreams in life. Machines Like Us – by Joshua R Helms will be out for purchase in book stores March 15, 2016. His book can be purchased in advance by pre-ordering at http://www.dzancbooks.org/upcoming-titles/machines-like-us.

We are all anxious and excited to watch as the next chapter of his life unfolds. But speaking from a Mama’s heart – I will always know, that I am one of the most blessed women in this world to have been chosen to give birth to such an extraordinarily gifted human being.


copyright Michelle Mount Mims
Previously published @ Havana Herald