New Member Introduction

[Keritan Shelby]

Good morning my fellow peers, mentors, etc! My name is Keritan Shelby, nickname KL, and I am 23 years old. To give a little backsight on my upbringing, I am from Mount Olive, MS. The town has a population of about 500 people, but I graduated from Mendenhall High School which is another small town. I claim both as my home towns though because they both had a major impact on my life thus far. I did not have much to look forward to growing up, and I could easily be on the street selling dope or worse if I did not have a few people in my life telling me to go to school. More things impacted my current mindset, and at a high level I just want to get to the point where my mother does not have to work anymore, and I can give back to my community and enrich other's lifestyles. I went ahead and graduated from Hinds Community College and transferred to Mississippi State where I obtained my Bachelor's in Computer Engineering in December 2016. I started to learn more about finances as soon as I started working. I moved to Greenville, TX to start my career in Software Engineering. During this timeframe, I learned a lot about how the wealthy approaches everyday and try to mimic their mindset. I started investing for the long haul with 401(K)s, stocks, etc, but I quickly realized that I will not be able to reach my goals if I stayed on this path. Ironic story alert. I am big into lifting weights and achieving my optimal athletic performance, I like the sound of that haha, but I managed to get an Inguinal Hernia while working out. I had surgery on March 21st, and I was out from work for about a month. I believe this was one of the BEST things that could have happened to me. While I was out, I happened to see a video on YouTube about Mark Whitten and what he did to achieve financial independence. I was starting to dislike my job anyways, and seeing how he was able to get where I wanted to be sparked a fire inside of me. Long story short, I ended up here on Bigger Pockets. I have read numerous books, favorite is Rich Dad Poor Dad of course, listened to many podcasts, changed my mindset, and now I am ready to start investing in Real Estate to achieve all of my goals. I am looking for Duplexes in or near Dallas, TX, DFW area, or in MS for house hacking and eventually I want to buy a 4 or 12 multi-family unit. I am looking forward to communicating with more people trying to reach financial freedom and bettering our communities!

Thanks,

Keritan