My momma didn't give up on me then either. She got me into all kinds of therapy where I learned to talk and walk again. And she kept praying for me. The doctor's said there was nothing more they could do for me, and I wasn't on medication or anything to help me, so momma went to the herbalistic store and talked to them and they gave her all kinds of stuff that was supposed to work on healing my brain injury. You know what? It worked. I was drinking teas, juices, and taking pills for a couple of years, and even though I could barely remember things the way I used to, and I had difficulty with my muscle coordination, pretty soon, everything started getting better. Now my momma says I'm almost back to normal. I still forget things sometimes, but I remember things well enough that I was able to pass my GED tests. My lowest scores were in math and science (but those always were my worst subjects). Everything else I passed with flying colors. I know I have to work a little harder to remember things. Before my traumatic brain injury things used to come easy to me for the most part. Now I have to try harder to learn things. But I have learned from the staff at the Nidra King Center and from my momma that you should Never Give Up! 

If any kids who are reading this are involved in gangs. Get out before it's too late. You have a family already, whether its your mom and dad, or whether you live with just your mom or your dad, or even your grandma or grandpa or aunt or uncle. That's your kin, their blood runs through your veins and that's who loves you most in the whole world. The gangsta wannabees you are hanging out with don't have your best interest at heart. My friends ran off and hid while I got beat down with shovels, baseball bats and kicked in my head. I took the beating for over 20 minutes. I was covered in blood and had been dragged out of my clothes. When it was all over, they called my momma and told her I was laying dead in the streets and gave her the address. Then they called the police. When I got to the hospital, I was pronounced DOA (Dead on Arrival), but I moved something and they realized I wasn't totally gone, so they worked on me. It took them a long time, but they revived me. My momma and stepfather really suffered that night wondering if I would live or die, and they both suffered when I was sent home, almost a vegetable. I feel really bad about putting them through that and I promised not to put them through that again. My momma told me my brother wanted to retaliate, but she and the Mothers Against Gangs staff at Nidra King Center talked to him and told him that there had already been enough hurt to one mother's child. Retaliation would put some other mother and father or stepfather through that same pain, and that would put more hurt on the whole situation, maybe even land my brother in the hosptal or jail along with some other mothers child. They were able to talk some sense into my brother, and when I got better and was still trying to have one foot on the wrong side of the fence, my brother talked to me. He was right. Family first. That means taking care of home first and that means doing the right thing so as not to cause hurt to yourself or your family by your actions and involvement. Mothers love their kids really hard, and most mommas will do anything for their kids. When kids hurt themselves and others, their mothers suffer the most. They only want their sons to grow up and make good in the world. I don't know about you, but I found out that gangs don't want to make good in the world. They want to have a good time and be tough, even if it means doing things that hurt themselves and other people. 

I still listen to my Rap Music and Tupac is still the best rapper there ever was. What the kids need to understand is that its only music. All the murder they're rappin about is murdering the microphone or some other rapper's style of rappin. Not real murder. They're talking about being "tough" in an entertainers world, not the real world. Yeah, I know, life is tough and the people out on the streets make it rough on you in school, on the playground, and everywhere you go. My brother got grown without ever being involved in a gang, and he walked the same hood I walked. The difference is, he used his head to avoid trouble. I thought I had to be cool and succumb to the pressure of the streets to survive. Thinking like that, well, it was a fantasy that nearly cost me my life. Now I walk the same hood, but I use my head to avoid trouble. Trouble looks for trouble. If you're already trouble, trouble's gonna find you. If you keep your wits about you and use your head, you won't lose your head. Remember, Mothers are Against Gangs. Love your mothers enough to steer clear of the gangs. Get involved in anti-gang programs and activities in your community.

CONVERSATION PEACE!