Letter to the Editor - Cincinnati Herald

Challenges of the maze represent the struggles of artist Rodney Thompson

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been a big dreamer.  I knew at a very young age, I wanted to build things and become a carpenter and my favorite hobby was drawing mazes.  I remember drawing mazes as I was learning how to write the alphabet.  I spent from ages 6 to 10 drawing mazes for anybody that was willing to try to solve them.  At age 10, I started helping my father build on the family house.  We moved to Blue Ash when I was 12 years old into the house my father built.

At the age of 14, my father passed away leaving behind a wife and four kids.  His passing had a negative effect on me, and I started hanging around the wrong crowd and ran into trouble with the law all through the 90’s trying to find myself.  As a convicted felon, I managed to graduate from Sycamore High School and Scarlet Oaks trade school.  I had my daughter in 1996, which changed my life for the better. 

I worked all types of jobs.  I worked as a carpenter for about 3 years and a manufacturing job for 8 years.  After the manufacturing job closed and moved to Canada, I decided to go back to school to get a construction management degree.  My degree never landed me a job in the construction field because of my past trouble with the law. My past always hindered my opportunities, but I never let that stop me from trying.

I spent my whole life dream chasing, only to find myself no closer to reaching my dreams.  One of my biggest dreams is to become a real estate investor.  I believe my experience in the construction field gives me an added advantage to do what I love doing by using my skills and talents to my advantage.  I spent my life preparing myself for success learning, working, and mastering the trades of construction. 

Shortly after receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in construction management, I made a bold investment into fulfilling my dreams.  I purchased six abandoned houses with the intent to revitalize them to help improve the community.  Shortly after purchase, I realize these rehabs were going to challenge my well being because I ignored the number one rule to real estate investing.  Location, location, location became my biggest challenge.  This story gets complicated, and to make this story short, my dreams got demolished.        

I’ve been fighting to help eliminate urban blight only to find myself falling deeper into poverty and plight.  I realized my calling on my route to rock bottom.  During my time of darkness, I couldn’t allow myself to be bitter, because this had to happen for me to wake up.  My hope came when I began drawing mazes again.

If I had to sum up all my experiences with a title, I would call myself a problem solver.  I wake up every morning trying to solve problems, but could never solve one of my biggest problems, being unemployable.  I’ve been blessed with many skills and talents, but find myself handcuffed to poverty and surrounded by plight.

I’m at a major crossroads in my life, but I am hopeful that I can reinvent myself as a maze artist, because it is the challenges of the maze that represent my struggles.  I believe my artwork can be used as a visual to show where you start in life and the obstacles you face to never give up.  There should always be hope in finding your way to your dreams.

I hope I go from dream chasing to living out my purpose.