I have two friends whom I admire very much. These men grew up in circumstances that make mine look like a country club. Anyone who has followed my stories knows that I had it rough, but like I said, I grew up in a country club by comparison.
These fellas lost their parents at young ages and ended up in what are called group homes. I guess the closest way to describe it so that someone not from the hood could understand is to describe the group home as an orphanage. Though not all the kids are necessarily orphans.
In any case, I won’t be going heavily into the specifics because these are not my stories to share, but I wanted to share how impressed and proud I am of the paths these men have taken. As I see pictures of them with their wives, children and happy children, I can’t help but think that only a few short decades ago they themselves were children who didn’t have any of the things they have today. Yet, here they are now!
These guys took that horrible situation and replaced it within one lifetime. They now have the things that they didn’t have and they are providing that for their own children. Its fascinating to me because I saw both sides. I was there and saw how they went from living alone at 14 years old, holding down a job, an apartment and living as grown men while they were still kids themselves.
Now, they have families and are grown men with their own kids. This isn’t even one generation later and they have completely changed their circumstances. They were completely alone, no parents, no support and they were poor children growing up in the ghetto. Today they are responsible adults raising beautiful families. I’m so proud of these guys and super happy for them. I know they’ve mentioned writing books, and if they do, I can’t wait to read!
Just a life long New Yorker sharing the journey through my lens. Please take note of a post’s date. The views I express here are subject to change and evolving as I grow and learn.
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