Hello,
My name is Livingstone Bradley. I am 27 years old and I am a native of Detroit, MI and I would like to first and foremost like to concede that no matter who you are or whatever your current station in life, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that a not-so-little thing called struggle can come in a myriad of forms. How we as adults, seniors, young men and women, and more importantly, the youth respond to struggle is what’s important. To see the sheer reality of what is currently going on in the community (It could be yours or someone you know and love) it would take nothing but a brisk walk to the nearest corner-store or a short drive to the gas station. Between point A and point B you could witness a plethora of residual damages from a moment of violence turned deadly, causing innocent casualties in the process, or property vandalism caused by groups of individuals who may or may not feel as they were short-changed in life. If you are currently a troubled youth reading this please understand…you are not alone!!! This has been the revolving door of broken homes for decades as well as the product of a new wave of rebelliousness that just refuses to ingest the “right kinds of brain food.” How can this be stopped? It can’t. But with a collective conscious effort, the benefits of targeting the trouble youth in certain communities could certainly outweigh the losses of innocent youth in troubled neighborhoods.
There may not simply be enough outlets for learning opportunities that would better appeal to the way most teenagers would deem “fit” for this particular day and age. Everything is digital and futuristic and let’s be real, outside of school and most of the time in school during important projects, electronics are being used as a way out because it deviates from the norm. Boredom leads to skipped classes, extracurricular drug usage, criminal activity, and most of the time its because there is simply nothing that hold the interest of the youth and so the fast path to penitentiary begins. The results are usually grim and valuable lives are wasted in the process. A lot of my experiences that led to my being incarcerated were the result of misplaced potential, unreasonable expectations, and non-utilization of my precious mental faculties aside from coming up on the deep Westside of Detroit. I quickly turned a keen eye to quick money and no real steady goal on how to acquire it. I became so angry at my own circumstances. I decided to make poor choices and lash out at society. I thought I was “sticking it to the man.” But I ended up sticking myself behind bars for 10 years. I was lucky to be alive in the years that led up to prison. But when I reflect back on my life, I realized I was just a young kid who was handed a deck of 42 cards. I thought the world owed me something later but I ended up taking what I thought was mine hurting no one but myself. I urge anyone reading this to understand the benefits of wise decision making and making sure you become part of something greater instead of something worse. You either build or you destroy and for what? A couple of dollars? A shot at revenge? No, it goes deeper than that. Look within yourself. You’ll find the status you need. Help your mother, father, anyone you can. In doing so, you help yourself, and your community because you become a greater part of something a lot bigger than you or me. Each one needs to teach one. But always remember the greatest teachers make also the greatest students. I understand that now and sooner or later….so will you. Good Luck.
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