“I just got to speak to my biological father for the first time. I spent a lot of time fighting depression and feeling angry, abandoned and confused since I didn’t know much about him or why he left. My mom never told me much. I learned about true forgiveness at a church camp I went to and found peace with that lesson. I also found comfort in rap and hip-hop. From Wu-Tang to Kendrick, I felt connected by the music and the idea that there could be 100,000 people vibing to the same track I’m listening to and just feeling the energy of hip-hop. Without learning to forgive; without the soul that fires up in me through hip-hop; and without learning how to unconditionally love myself, the world and others, I would’ve ended myself a while ago. It turns out my father is 100 percent English, and I have three blood siblings, which hit me like a truck because I grew up a single child. He wants to visit from northern Illinois sometime soon, which I’m down for.”

— Noah Hughes, U student