Growing up in Brooklyn was like a game. You either survived or you didn't. What does that mean? Well I'll tell you. When I was growing up, Brooklyn was rough. I remember I used to hear sirens & gun shots at night as if it were my lullaby music. The noise was so loud that it would sometimes wake me from a deep sleep. I was surround by crime and drugs. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't like war or anything, there are great memories there too. But when your entire life is submersed in a situation, you don't know any better. I thought everyone lived like that.
There were not only drugs in the street, but they were in my home too. Both my brother and my sister fell prey to this ugly addiction. I am the youngest in the family, so as you can see, I had the most perfect role models in the world and I honestly mean that. But unfortunately, it did not stop there; my father was also a victim of the same vicious life style. So let me break this down to you. Being submersed in a negative environment made me rebel...................FOR THE BETTER. I looked at my brother and my sister as people I did not want to become. I looked at my father as a man I would never want to marry. And lastly, I looked at my mother, a strong black woman trying to keep us together and hold everything down, as someone I didn't want to become either. But unfortunately, sometimes the good guy loses. Due to my father's life style, my mom contracted AIDS from the only man she ever loved, my father. I never understood why she never left him, but that's another story.
What did I do? Did I join their drug fest? Hell to the No, I stayed in school and wouldn't stay home even when I was sick. I would go to school for an escape from my reality. I involved myself with dancing. No not ballet. Hip Hop fool! I was known as the Dance Machine in High School. Dancing was in my soul, it was something I loved then and that I continue to love.
I was the first person in my family to graduate from high school and the first to get accepted into college. Here's the twist. I was accepted into both Howard University, which is predominately Black and I was accepted into University of Texas at Austin, predominately White. Can YOU guess which school I chose? No not Howard fool! I wanted to escape my familiar surroundings, step out of the box and try new experiences. And I'm still experiencing culture shock going from Brooklyn to Texas. What the Hell!
The Moral of the Story is, no matter where you come from, if you have it set in your mind and in your heart, all things are possible. It is very important that you walk to the beat of your own drum and not be a follower, but a trend setter. So again, I thank my now deceased brother and deceased sister for unknowingly showing me not to follow in the same path they walked in, but to make my own trail in life. Both of my parents eventually passed away from their disease and other complications.
So no matter where you come from and no matter what background you have, you can make it if you try. Stay focused on the bigger picture and dance to YOUR beat and no one else's. And if you do.....YOU win the game.
There were not only drugs in the street, but they were in my home too. Both my brother and my sister fell prey to this ugly addiction. I am the youngest in the family, so as you can see, I had the most perfect role models in the world and I honestly mean that. But unfortunately, it did not stop there; my father was also a victim of the same vicious life style. So let me break this down to you. Being submersed in a negative environment made me rebel...................FOR THE BETTER. I looked at my brother and my sister as people I did not want to become. I looked at my father as a man I would never want to marry. And lastly, I looked at my mother, a strong black woman trying to keep us together and hold everything down, as someone I didn't want to become either. But unfortunately, sometimes the good guy loses. Due to my father's life style, my mom contracted AIDS from the only man she ever loved, my father. I never understood why she never left him, but that's another story.
What did I do? Did I join their drug fest? Hell to the No, I stayed in school and wouldn't stay home even when I was sick. I would go to school for an escape from my reality. I involved myself with dancing. No not ballet. Hip Hop fool! I was known as the Dance Machine in High School. Dancing was in my soul, it was something I loved then and that I continue to love.
I was the first person in my family to graduate from high school and the first to get accepted into college. Here's the twist. I was accepted into both Howard University, which is predominately Black and I was accepted into University of Texas at Austin, predominately White. Can YOU guess which school I chose? No not Howard fool! I wanted to escape my familiar surroundings, step out of the box and try new experiences. And I'm still experiencing culture shock going from Brooklyn to Texas. What the Hell!
The Moral of the Story is, no matter where you come from, if you have it set in your mind and in your heart, all things are possible. It is very important that you walk to the beat of your own drum and not be a follower, but a trend setter. So again, I thank my now deceased brother and deceased sister for unknowingly showing me not to follow in the same path they walked in, but to make my own trail in life. Both of my parents eventually passed away from their disease and other complications.
So no matter where you come from and no matter what background you have, you can make it if you try. Stay focused on the bigger picture and dance to YOUR beat and no one else's. And if you do.....YOU win the game.
Posts
1 comment:
I can totally relate, I understand the "stuggle" as I grew up in the city too! I totally agree that one's environment cannot be the excuse to fall prey to the circumstances around them.
Thanks for sharing your testimony, it is so encouraging!!!
Post a Comment