A route is loosely defined as a way, road, or a passage, yet its origins reveal more. Derived from the Latin “rupta via,” meaning “broken away” or “forced passage,” the term suggests a path that must be forged.
This blog doesn’t aim to dwell on definitions, yet we need to understand the words we use—along with their origins.
This understanding becomes essential for communicating thoughts and ideas.
As I embarked on the Route to Royalty, I increasingly felt drawn to language.I developed curiosity about words and their origins.
This curiosity led me to buy physical copies of dictionaries and a thesaurus, where I spent time looking up the meanings of words I had casually used my entire life.
The way I see it, knowing the meanings and origins of words is like learning to code.
Our thoughts are limited to the words and language we know. This compares to a coder’s options being limited by the coding syntax and functions they understand.
A coder might not know every command by heart, but they have libraries and resources to look up specific functions when needed.
Similarly, dictionaries and thesauruses provide us with definitions that allow for clearer and more nuanced thought.
Just as a coder develops complex programs by expanding their coding knowledge, we expand our thinking by deepening our understanding of language.
Knowledge as a Tool for Growth
In both understanding language and learning to code, there’s, indeed, a base of knowledge that we seem to “just know.”
Furthermore, when we want to expand our abilities, we consequently turn to books and other resources filled with definitions and examples that, ultimately, deepen our comprehension.
Similarly, when a coder seeks to create more intricate programs, they study the work of other coders or, additionally, consult resources that explain each function’s purpose.
For a route to be traveled, in fact, a destination must first be known; therefore, for that destination to be known, there must be a desire to reach it.
This desire often stems from a sense of necessity or a hope to experience something better or different.
In the context of language, our thoughts are only as expansive as our vocabulary allows. For example, a newborn baby, unable to articulate its need for food, instinctively cries.
Hunger signals the body’s need for nourishment, but the baby lacks the language to express this. Over time, as the child matures, they learn words.
By observing those around them, they understand that others don’t need to cry for food.
Eventually, they begin to have thoughts about what they want to eat, based on memories of past experiences.
When they want to taste something familiar, they might say “pizza.”
This is not because they understand its individual ingredients, but rather because the word represents the memory of that flavor and satisfaction.
Consequently, the desire for pizza drives them to use the word, even if they can’t yet comprehend or define its components.
Starting Points on the Route to Royalty
Every journey, every route, has an origin point. My Route to Royalty required me to acknowledge both my mental and spiritual origins.
Despite being raised by both parents, I often felt alone in my thoughts; consequently, it was as though my peers and I shared only our age but little else.
While some envisioned college and career plans, others, on the other hand, focused only on making money by any means necessary.
Back then, my mindset was blank—unsure of what I wanted or who I aspired to become. All I knew was that I needed to leave my parents’ house and my hometown of Rock Hill, South Carolina.
My physical origin was that house, and my destination became wherever the U.S. Army chose to send me.
Spiritually, I was raised as a Christian and taught to believe in Jesus Christ.
Although I had no objections to His teachings or the life He led, I struggled to see His influence reflected in the lives of those around me.
I yearned for the fullness of Christ’s wisdom. My mentors and elders followed His teachings. They were good people, but I didn’t see and feel royalty in those I looked up to.
As a black male from South Carolina, I felt rooted in a sense of isolation, shaped by teachings that highlighted ancestral enslavement.
Confronting Historical Narratives
As a young black man raised in South Carolina, I learned about my ancestors’ work in cotton fields and their lives on plantations from white teachers.
Although I didn’t find discomfort in knowing that my ancestors worked in cotton fields or lived on plantations, I still felt uneasy about the implication of white superiority.
I questioned what it meant for one group to be superior to another. What characteristics enabled White people to conquer and enslave my ancestors?
Was their language more developed, enabling more complex and higher thoughts?
Or was their desire for survival and better living conditions what fueled their strength?
Perhaps, out of necessity and hardship in the snowy Caucasus Mountains, early White civilizations sought out higher power, drawing strength and structure from it.
As they journeyed from these inhospitable lands to more abundant ones, they found other territories occupied by different groups.
To avoid returning to their former homes, they had to confront or conquer these new lands.
In the midst of conflict and survival, they elevated natural leaders among them, establishing monarchies and royal lineages.
Their Route to Royalty involved advancing civilization, raising kings, and developing structures that allowed them to grow their influence worldwide.
The Routes of the Enslaved: A Legacy of Resilience
While conquering civilizations expanded their rule, they often enslaved those who were defeated; consequently, they forced them to adopt the language, customs, and ways of life of their captors.
My ancestors, however, though subjugated, subsequently adapted to the language and customs of those who dominated them. In doing so, they observed both strengths and weaknesses in their oppressors.
Over time, some fell victim to the vices of their captors, with alcohol becoming a significant tool of oppression.
Despite these hardships, my ancestors continued to endure, procreate, and pass on knowledge to their descendants.
The Route to Royalty is one filled with obstacles, distractions, and sometimes even traps.
Achieving royalty—despite the betrayals my ancestors faced from their own people, despite the hardships imposed by their captors, and despite genetic and societal challenges—is my purpose.
For me, attaining royalty means, ultimately, taking responsibility for leading myself and my family.
Moreover, it involves learning the language of those who once held power over my ancestors. Consequently, this serves to open doors in my mind and, in turn, expand my capacity for higher thinking and self-discipline.
A New Path to Royalty
While conquering civilizations expanded their rule, they often enslaved those who were defeated.
Consequently, they forced them to adopt the language, customs, and ways of life of their captors. My ancestors, however, though subjugated, subsequently adapted to the language and customs of those who dominated them.
In doing so, they observed both strengths and weaknesses in their oppressors.
This path requires acknowledging my origins, but also transcending them by aspiring to something greater.
My ancestors adapted and persevered. I seek to honor their resilience by following a higher way of thinking and being.
My journey to royalty is not about conquering lands but conquering my limitations. It’s about aligning myself with a purpose that transcends history and empowers my future.
Proverbs 31: 1-9
“The sayings of King Lemuel contain this message, which his mother taught him.
O my son, O son of my womb, O son of my vows, do not waste your strength on women, on those who ruin kings.
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, to guzzle wine. Rulers should not crave alcohol.
For if they drink, they may forget the law and not give justice to the oppressed. Alcohol is for the dying, and wine for those in bitter distress.
Let them drink to forget their poverty and remember their troubles no more.
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.”