Alabama Newscenter — People of Alabama: Ronald McKeithen of Birmingham

By Tamika Moore
People of Alabama

“When I went to prison, I realized a lot of talents that I had. Potential. I didn’t know that I could draw. I could work with wood. I didn’t know how good I was with my hands. The situation in which I grew up, I didn’t have anyone in my life that was trying to tap into whatever potential I had. When I found out about them in prison, it helped me open up my creativity. I always wanted to learn how to draw people. This lady – I went to this class – just told me, ‘You can do it.’ I guess I just needed somebody to believe in me. When she looked me in my eyes and told me, I just started drawing. I realized that one of the worst things I did was doubt myself and it held me back from doing things that I could have been doing. Now, I’m putting away that doubt. When I look at somebody else’s eyes and I see myself through their eyes, I can see my worth. I can see that they see something in me, so I need to find that and execute it, make it blossom. That’s what has been happening lately, so much has been blossomed. So many opportunities are coming up, I’ve got to sit back and decide which direction I want to go because all of them are wonderful and none of them are going backwards, all of them are going forward. I think the worst thing anyone can do is doubt themselves. Even if nobody will believe in you, you’ve got to believe in yourself. Once I started doing that, the world kind of opened up to me.” – Ronald McKeithen of Birmingham.

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