Respect

Growing up I always wanted to be respected. My mother did the best she could, but once I turned 8, I got my first taste of riding in a police car. At twelve I taught myself how to drive. The homies and I stole cars just to joy ride around school. A lot of times I came up with the idea to steal cars. But moms always thought it was one of the homies that I was following. At times it got to me because I wanted her to think I was a leader. Little did I know, I was hurting her.

Me being young, mentally blind, and ignorant to one's feelings, the street life became my playground. Even though I played football, swimmed on Gret Town swim team and marched in the Carter G. Woodson Band, that wasn't enough for me. I wanted the money and things Momma couldn't afford... Seeing older homies riding through in cars, changing women everyday, just living the good life...or so we think.

Not to name names, but there were a few Gangsters that I looked up to. One never did drugs, nor drank, and that's the route I took. But eventhough I never did drugs or drank, I still chose the wrong role model...

Similarly, today's youngsters want to be like the big drug dealer or the vicious killer... And the first thing we say is that "I'm a product of my environment." Is it safe to say the environment is a Product of You?

Some of us look for Lil'Wayne, 50 Cent, B.G., Birdman, Jay Z, Jim Jones, Lil'Kim, Foxy Brown, Rick Ross etc... to be our role models and we try to keep up with what they are rapping about. And it leads us to jail or the graveyard... Now our family members have to suffer and grieve behind a choice that we made.

I admit what I did was wrong. You still have a chance to pick another role model; like Barack Obama, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Vin Disel, The Williams Sisters, Alicia Keyes, Jada Pinket-Smith, The Olsen Twins, Jennifer Aniston and Maria Sharaporova.

Get it right and keep it right...

One Love
Terrance "Gangsta" Williams