Growing a Soul

Growing up in the Bronx, I realized early on that this wasn't a place for me. In the Bronx you witness many things you shouldn't have to see. You have to be street smart and quick on your feet so you know how to react to any and all situations; these are traits you have to pick up just to survive, and to this day, I still don't think I have learned them all. My neighborhood is very rowdy. There are fights every day and police on every corner. I love it for how upbeat it is, and how there's always something going on, but I hate it for that same reason. I'm scared to go out at night. When I entered my teens, many of the boys I grew up with joined gangs and started to be in the street. Soon the people I used to called my friends were people I was scared of. If the gangs aren't enough to keep me inside at night, the disputes are.