Shootin' The Shit.

If there's one thing I hate most, it's wasted YOUTH. It's easier to waste your youth than it is to waste talent. If it's true talent, then it'll always be there for you to take advantage of. So I'll share a brief story with you to express my discern towards such ubiquitous wastes.

Since my high school days and these college years, I've played basketball down the street and made a few friends stictly off the hoop. We'd only talk and shoot the shit between games, discussing what shit is going to be like after graduation. One friend, in particular, who was in a gang and into drugs, had planned for the Navy which I thought was a great way to get out of everything. About a year goes by and I see him walking down my street so we slap hands and the conversation went like this:

Me: What's good, bro?
Him: ahhh, shit, nothing. Just got my ass beat by two cops on Saturday...
Me: (noticing his face) Ohh, woorrd?
Him: Yeah, one kneed me in my face. 'Cuz some niggas was talkin' shit so I had to, y'know...
Me: Aiight, man. Stay up. I'll catch you around.

You see why I get mad? I'm 20, he's 19. I don't understand what it is that keeps young adults from improving their own conditions, doing something, anything that will keep them from struggling in life. So many, TOO many of my contemporaries wake up every day and put on a XXL white tee and just chill on the block for the rest of the day, not caring about shit except for the next blunt, the next Laker game, the next Drake single, or who's going to pick them up for the next "kickback".

I've never been into this stigma before so I wouldn't know what it takes to get out of it. For me it has always been one productive move to the next. I can't hold anyone's hand so I mantain the image of how to get where I need to get in hopes that those younger than me can see whats up.

In this conversation, you can see how I quick I became disappointed in my boy. It's not entirely his fault though. I'm disappointed in the fact that I've lost dozens of friends to stupid ass cliques, weed, and other dumb shit around here. And then I look for a common factor between them and to an extent, it makes sense: the absence of our fathers.

But you can't try to scapegaot this. Dealers don't offer discounts because your daddys not here. If you got in a gang because all your friends did, then you can only blame yourself. I have lost plenty of friends, 3 of which were my bestfriends, to about 10 gangs and I've never bothered to join in with them.

So why do I hate wasted youth so much? Because it never comes back. Whatever is not realized now will only be a heavier burden later. If you don't know how to make a resume or fill out a job application then you're only making things harder on yourself.

Right now, we have breaks in between classes to laugh and chill with friends. We need to find something to believe in right now, as opposed to having someone else tell us what to believe in later. Don't waste a day because later, we're going to have kids and a career and the last thing we want to do is run into an old friend who's still doing the same shit as 5,10 years ago.