Urban Grandstand Digital Issue 12: OJ Da Juiceman | Page 6

It was a lesson that I would eventually learn further down the line, but ultimately, the things you do, whether in career, education, or beyond, need to be because you consciously want to do it. I truly believe that had I gone in my own time, things would have gone a lot better. I was not ready to go when I did, and because of that I suffered in the worst way. Nevertheless, I hid that reality from Radio One. Any story I could come up with that made sense at the time, I fed it to them with the intention of holding on to my spot. So within two months, they made an offer to hire me permanently. I remember breathing the biggest sigh of relief when it all went down. Throughout the entire two years I remained at Radio One, they never knew. I laugh now because I know someone from that period is reading this and looking at the situation like wow!

Throughout the time I was there, I continued to work hard at proving myself and my overall dedication to the organization. I was having the time of my life, and was finally feeling really good about myself. I credit the experience of being there for helping me to build my confidence. It was the very thing that made me open up to so many people, talk more, and sell myself. During this time, I did a number of things to work on