“Little Homies”

Chapter 1: The Hope

Every time I was in the gym, so was he. A basketball in his hands. Small city. Big Dreams.

He would always be by himself taking practice shots. Even if he wasn’t playing basketball, he would be in the gym on his phone. Soaking in the moment. Envisioning something greater.

I told him stories about his father. I told him stories about his uncle. I told him stories about former basketball players that came far before him.

Whenever the adults were playing basketball, he would be the first one to want to play, or play the following game. He wanted to prove to everybody that he was good enough to get on the court. And he was. I’m sure he still is.

I asked this young man what he wanted to become in life. As any high schooler would say. He said “I don’t know, but I want to hoop”. Every young man’s dream is to aspire to play professional basketball at some level. If not the NBA, then somewhere else in the world professionally. I hope he continues to work. I hope he makes it out.

Chapter 2: The Witness

Not everybody in their hometown is fortunate enough to become a witness. A witness to greatness. When I think of a “witness”, I think of Lebron James. The kid from Akron, Ohio was coined that term. The people in that town and in the state of Ohio were able to witness a superstar. That was there star. Let me tell you about ours. This young man was a rapper. Super talented. Already getting shows as a young kid. Receiving millions of views on YouTube for a video on song that he put out. Everybody in the school wanted to follow this kid. Everybody singing his songs word for word as a 14 year old kid. We were witnessing greatness. A kid from our hometown was never supposed to make it. Not in a city population of less than 10,000 people.

There were rumors that he went on tour in Las Vegas. That he spent time with Floyd Mayweather and 50 Cent. I firmly believe those rumors. The rapper wasn’t known to be liar. He was known to be credible, extremely interpersonal, friendly, funny, and relatable.

He kind of reminded me like Robin Williams in a sense. Whenever you walked into a room, he would always make you feel important and be kind to you. He never was the type of guy who would say “I’m a rapper”. I’ll out rap you bar for bar. I went on tour with this guy. I went on tour with that guy. That wasn’t him. He was a human being first and he let people know of that. He was respectable and had a great reputation not only within our city, but in the state.

I remember he was the reason why I looked forward to going to school. As a freshman, he was one of the most popular kids in our school. That doesn’t happen in high school as a freshman. Part of his morning routine would be to walk the 3rd floor hallways. My homeroom was on the bottom floor. I remember I used to run up to the third floor and follow him around. He would be joined by a mass amount of people who looked up to him. We really idolized this kid. He was a star in our eyes.

I would go to his performances in the city and rap his songs word for word. Wow. We actually have a superstar forming in front of our eyes. In our own city. Those were the exact thoughts going through my head. He became inspirational to everybody in the city. I’m glad everybody in our city was able to witness the rise of a superstar.

The talented rapper tragically passed away in the year of 2018. You remember people for the good in their lives, not for their mistakes. Thank you rapper. For allowing me to become a witness. A witness to your legacy.

Chapter 3: The Wolf

To be a wolf, you must be a leader. Being a leader comes with an expense. Some leaders are able to lead through the pain that they have gone through which enables them to be strong. It allows you to be strong for yourself to pass that onto the next person.

Let me tell you about this wolf.

I had the privilege to meet this young man at 16. He was brave, courageous, and was never afraid to stand up to people and speak up when needed. He would stand up for people that got bullied. He would stand up for his friends and go to war for his family. I knew that about him very quickly. Everybody close to him valued his loyalty and his integrity.

He ended up joining the military. He became successful at it too. He then transitioned as a Navy Contractor. He is still pretty good at that too. He recently called me the other day and told me he was going to be a father. I know he will be great at that too.

I remember he stood up for his brother at a party we went too because some random guy made fun of him. I remember he stood up for me when someone challenged me at a high school graduation gathering. I remember he stood up for a smaller guy at a high school football game when an opposing guy challenged him to a fight. He stood up for all of those people, including me. He never ran from the fight, but he ran towards it. That is why the military was perfect for him. He is a protector. He always has been. And he’s going to be that for his new born as well.

Many people look up to him. Many people follow him. Because it’s not easy to be a wolf. It takes a certain kind of human being to lead. It’s always been in him. And I will always thank him for being that wolf for me and my friends growing up.