I was always a problem child. I would skip school, smoke cigarettes with my friends that I called my brothers, and not worry about anything because I was young no one was telling me to stop. My father left my mother before she gave birth to me and my mother died from a car accident when I was 8, so it was either a foster home or move in with my best friend Ralph and his mother. Ralph’s mother was like a mother to me, so I was happy when she said I could live there. Now here I am, 10 years later, 18 and living in this house alone with Ralph.

Ralph’s mother got sick and died on my 18th birthday which was April 23rd 2013 and I felt like I was bad luck because everyone that I cared about died. Ralph and I had no jobs, so our job was to rob people. I know your probably thinking, “Why don’t these kids get a job or something?” but me and Ralph don’t have a proper education so no jobs would hire us. We had to do what we had to do to survive.

“Hey man wake up!” said Ralph as he was getting dressed.

“Where are we going today?” I said stretching my arms.

“You’ll see! Go hop in the shower and get dressed and I’ll be warming up the car,” he said.

As I was in the shower, I was just thinking how much better life would be if I had a decent job making a decent salary and not have to constantly look over my shoulders. It would be cool to find a wife and have a couple of kids living a comfortable life. “I’m done with this crap!” I said to myself as water dripped down my body. “I’m going back to school to get a degree and get a normal job like a responsible man.” After I finished showering, I put some deodorant and threw on a black V-neck t-shirt, black jeans, and black sneakers. I was a big believer in God, so I would never leave the house without saying a prayer.

When I stepped outside the air was so crisp and cool, it was a beautiful day. Of course when I got in the car Ralph had a smart comment, “About time! I was sitting here for 10 minutes waiting for you. I swear, when it comes to getting ready your slower than a female!”

I grinned and said “So where are we going?” “Well, there is this jewelry store on Brooklyn Ave. We’re going to rob it! We’re going to get some big money tonight my brother!” Usually I would be down, but I didn’t want to do this anymore.
I said “Look man, you’re like a brother to me but I don’t want to do wrong anymore. I was actually thinking of going back to school.”

He shook his head and stayed quiet for a minute. Then he said, “I’m proud of you brother you are still young and I know you can do it. But just do this last thing with me because I don’t want to do this alone.”

I had a gut feeling that this was going to be a bad idea but I said” alright, let’s do it!”

Brooklyn Ave. was only a few blocks away, so it was only a 5 minute ride because Ralph was a fast driver. “You ready bro?” Ralph said. I nodded my head, “Let’s get this over with.” He handed over my gun and we both ran it. “DON’T MOVE! NO ONE WILL GET HURT IF YOU DO WHAT WE SAY,” said Ralph yelling on the top of his lungs. While I was guarding the doors and while Ralph was taking what he wanted, I just thought about walking across the graduation stage and excepting a diploma. This was going to be my last day as a rebel.

All of a sudden, about a dozen cop cars surrounded the front of the jewelry store. We got caught. C’mon! Let’s go through the back!” said Ralph nervously. I followed him to a stolen vehicle. He was going about 70 mph on a freeway. All of a sudden, a big truck came out of nowhere and smashed the driver’s side of the car.

I woke up in a hospital bed with doctors and cops in my room. I immediately asked where my brother was. A doctor said, “He’s in the bed next to you.” I looked over and I saw a white sheet over his body. I didn’t even bother asking what happened because I already knew.

I cried all night because I lost my real mother, my second mother, which was Ralph’s mom, and now my best friend and my brother. I officially had no one left. After a week went by I was on crutches because I broke my leg very bad. I had to go to court and find out what happened now. I found out Ralph and I were actually wanted for months now because of the other crime we did in the past.

After they charged me with everything, I had to serve 15 years in prison. Right now, I am sitting in my cell looking at 4 walls. Only if I listened to my conscience and went back to school instead of robbing that jewelry, I would have probably had a diploma by 22. But instead, I’m wasting precious time in jail doing nothing. I learned something through all of this: always listen to yourself, because at the end of the day that’s all you have.