'See it – don't be it'

A special guest visited Holmes Middle School in Eden to tell students forgiveness is the key in learning from bad choices made by parents or guardians and living up to the potential had by every single person.

George “G-man” Galbreath was not ashamed to speak publicly about his past stint in prison, repeated drug and alcohol use and his abuse-filled childhood. If students learned one thing from his background, he said he wanted it to be forgiveness.

“They need to forgive their parents for their bad choices and decisions, and focus on their lives to learn how to be true to themselves,” he said. “Don’t blame them. Learn from them.”

Galbreath said he started his downward spiral in life after beginning to use alcohol and drugs as early as 10 years old. He asked students at Holmes Middle School how many people they knew that used or dealt drugs. Practically every hand in the room was raised.

“See it – don’t be it,” he said. “Nobody told me that, so I became a bully. I was a bully 42 years of my life and I’m only 51. That’s how I was treated in high school and sometimes, those people grow to do the same thing – now on the Internet.”

He told students bullies often envied their targets. Galbreath said, “You’re on their mind and they think that much about you to send you a text or leave you a message. They see something good about you and they want to be just like you.”

Galbreath said he wanted students to know their parents’ problems didn’t have to be repeated. He held up a huge copy of his high school grades, which included many failing marks. He told students to take ownership of their lives and live up to their potential, and not to be like G-man.

After years of drug and alcohol abuse, he has been sober since 2003. His background also included a stint in prison after he was sentenced to serve three years for supplying an inmate with drugs while working as a jailer.

He said the road to sobriety was a difficult one, but after being in the hospital and showing signs of a stroke at 43 years old, he prayed to see his daughter grow up and started to change his life.

“You have to take ownership for yourself, and you need to hear from some of us who have been through it,” he said. “A conviction and criminal record will follow you to the grave. Once you get that paper trail, that’s how some adults will always see you – as a criminal. I’ve been sober now for nine years, and it took me about six years to be able to come into a school and talk to students.”

Students were also given a challenge from Galbreath to go home one evening and leave the social media behind for a night. He challenged students to leave their cell phones at school overnight with their principal. Galbreath said many students are addicts to social media and probably couldn’t make it an hour without having to use it.

“Go home at 6 p.m. and don’t use a computer, no video games and no social networks,” he said. “Spend some time talking to someone in your house.”

Galbreath has given more than 400 talks in schools, youth groups and other organizations across North Carolina. Some of his accomplishments include working as a certified nursing assistant at Hospice and Palliative Care in Greensboro, appearing in a couple of movies and receiving the Humanitarian Award by the mayor and Greensboro’s City Council in 2010 for speaking about domestic violence.

To see G-man in action or find out more, visit http://www.gmantalking.com.