#ac 16

Home: I remember the first time I really pissed off my mother. I had been a decent child up until my teenage years. I think my mother always suspected I was out getting drunk and partying, but she never said a word about it. Not until I showed up one night, and by night, I mean 8 AM the following morning. I vividly remember the look on her face; it was the first of many times I saw true, real disappointment on her face. At the time, it didn't hit me like the memories do now. To make matters worse, I was still drunk and hadn't showered. I vaguely remember throwing up on my brand new pair of Jordans, too. Not a fun memory, but I hadn't even done anything /that/ awful. Typically, and I didn't know this 'till I was eighteen or so, that she would wait up for me every night I was gone. She worried about me constantly. She knew I was self-destructive and didn't give a fuck about anything, especially at this point in my life. High school was a joke and women, drugs, music, and art was far more appealing.

Law: Fast forward about six months later and it was my first real, terrifying run-in with the law. Policemen had never liked me, or any of my friends. We were all seen as trouble, me and my crew, especially in the white neighborhoods. The ironic part was all of the rich, white boys had access to the best drugs. That's how shit worked back in High School for me. Apparently, we looked like a couple of thugs. We were 'up to no good' and while they weren't wrong; it was the first real time I experienced racial profiling, without knowing much about it. I had been given strange looks and had heard whispers behind my back, but it never phased me. Not once. Even as a teenager, I had thick skin. Nothing really bothered me, until I was thrown into the back of a cop car for drug paraphernalia. Compared to how things are now, I'm somewhat grateful that was my first negative experience with the law. If it had been ten years later, I'm sure I would have ended up beaten and left to die.