Its 539am...and I just finished watching 'Redemption' with Jamie Foxx. If you don't know what it's about...its about Stanley 'Tookie' Williams being on death row. He is considered to be the founder of the Crips street gang and later convicted for the murder of four people. While on death row he began writing kids books about gangs and taking initiative to stop gang violence with gang truces and speaking to kids. His work became international. One year nominated for the Nobel Peace prize, then the next year winning the Nobel Prize for literature.
Why does this matter to me?? Well I was in a gang. Like I said before...at a young age I was trouble. From trespassing to get to our after school hang out, breaking house windows, jumping other kids, and to pulling out a knife on a kid to stab him, but boy was he fast lol. Lets just say my parents we regulars are my school. Always having to leave work to come get me for some reason. But I had to make sure it was known that I wasn't backing down from anyone. Then after elementary school? Things got worse. I was fighting every other day. In my neighborhood, in the school, after school. What confused me though is that I never started any of these fights. People would just come to me and try to begin pounding....so I did the same. My mother always said to fight back. So why not do it to the best of my abilities.
High school became worse lol. Fully joined a gang and was in different Blood sets. Wont even go into the things I did. But my excuse....."I'm a product of my environment"...."Its not a gang, its a family"...."Its just a part of who I am" lol. All excuses though. I was lying to myself. But do I regret any of it? Yes. But its not what you think. I had many interventions called for me by coworkers and friends. Telling me to stop because of the chances of death and all the kids that looked up to me being that I was an athlete, a coach, and a counselor with kids. None worked though lol. But the thing that struck me the most is when they told my mother and they told me she cried. I kept it from her all along. And I hate making my mother cry. Did I quit then? Nope. Not until my own sets turned on me over some drama. Guess there's a life lesson in there. Would I do it again? Yeah.....but not in a smarter way....just the way I did it. Sometimes you have to burn your hand to learn not to play with fire.
That last line shud be on a billboard.
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