What Philando Castile Taught Me About Fatherhood [Medium]

By Jose Vilson | June 20, 2017

What Philando Castile Taught Me About Fatherhood [Medium]

By Jose Vilson | June 20, 2017
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Recently, I put a post on Medium about Philando Castile and Father’s Day, which I think will be useful for any day:

“Castile’s name comes to me every so often in the quietest moments. Before I became a father, I knew I had internal work to do before taking on the gift and the burden of another life. My father showed up once or twice a year, and I begrudged him for it for decades. My stepfather was mentally and physically abusive, and I learned to create my own version of manhood from that. The various men in my life, from the priests and professors who dropped gems of wisdom to the celebrities and activists I admired from afar, couldn’t teach me how to be a better man for myself, much less for others.

Teaching over a thousand students over the course of 12 years gave me glimpses of how deep I would have to love a child, whether they excelled in class or not. Even when some have called me like a “father,” I knew it was only a sample of the joy and rapture I wanted to feel as I held my son.”

For more, please read the Medium article. Share. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

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