Samuel Bradford faced numerous challenges from the start. As a single father by the age of 18, he was never expected to finish high school, let alone graduate from the FBI Academy. Yet here he is, relocating his daughter 1,500 miles from everything...
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"Air in my lungs 'til the road begins As the last of the bugs leave their homes again And I'm splittin' the road down the middle For a minute, the world seemed so simple"
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Samuel Bradford has faced his fair share of challenges. At just 18, he became a single father when his girlfriend chose not to continue with motherhood. She had plans and motherhood just didn't fit in there. Although fatherhood seemed a distant reality just a year earlier, holding his daughter in his arms, Sam knew he would do anything for her.
Despite the added responsibilities, Sam graduated college in just three years. He then took a significant step by moving to Virginia for a year to train at the FBI Academy, leaving his 3-year-old daughter, A.J., with his mother in Texas. Nothing felt as rewarding as when he was assigned to the San Antonio office and could finally reunite with his family. No amount of video or phone calls could compensate for the time lost with his daughter.
Breaking the news of their move to A.J. was difficult. How do you tell a 9-year-old that she will be relocating 1,500 miles away from everything and everyone she knows? Fortunately, the fact that his sister, Olivia, would be joining them helped ease the transition.
Olivia, a college sophomore, offered to transfer schools to help care for A.J. while Sam worked. At first, he refused the offer. To ask her to drop everything and move would be absurd, but Olivia was never one to back down. She saw it as an opportunity to branch out and see what other opportunities were out there. It also helped that she wouldn't have to pay rent if she lived with him, but she'd never admit it.
With his sister and daughter by his side, they made the move to Virginia and he was all set to begin his new job. If only things would be as easy as that.
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"Feel the rush of my blood, I'm seventeen again I am not scared of death, I've got dreams again It's just me and the curve of the valley And there is meanin' on earth, I am happy"
