The ball game was strange...some may have been ecstatic by the fame....But I for some reason remained the same!
It all began with a long train ride, in which had been a few years since my last travels on such, but we were ready. Immediately after we got on a young man decided I was the perfect stranger to confide in and that was fine with me. He began to tell me about how he writes poetry and also does impersonations and I was sure he would soon demonstrate one or the other. He looked like he had been through some trials because they were written all over his face and by his body language I could tell he was nervous speaking to me. He initially asked me for directions and I provided him with such. He then asked me if I would like to hear the poetry but being that it was a full train I opted to read it myself. Most people would have ignored him but I chose to listen and interact. Why not??? I’m no better than him nor anyone else here. So I opened my ears and my eyes and began to envision life differently. Even though the handwriting was extremely hard to decipher (this he told me) I managed to make out plenty of the words. The poem was one of sadness, sorrow, and doubt. This young man was having a battle with life and even though I am unable to recall the title I do remember his face after I read it. I too remember having this feeling of disdain in life for I am still struggling with this emotion myself. His writings were ones in which he was proud of yet he wanted an honest opinion. I was the one to deliver this honesty to him, but who am I to judge one's work indifferently. After reading his work my exact words were " This is better than you probably think young man ". He smiled and went on to do impersonations next.
Impersonation after impersonation. If he could have he would have done all that he knew. He did attempt to do Obama, Madea, and others but the train began to get even more crowded than before. Even though they were not all satisfactory they were still great attempts and I enjoyed his open-ness with me, a total stranger. He then began to open up even more. He told me about his aspirations and goals and I could definitely identify with him for I have many of the same. He told me about how he was with DCFS and how hard his life had been. I began to envision how my hard times had been. He went on to tell me about how his family didn’t think he'd graduate from high school and how he'd moved from Dallas to Chicago due to rough times. This young man told me how he wanted to go to college and become a great actor or writer. I then gave him the encouragement he needed. I asked him his age and he told me he was 20 years old. I asked him had he been looking into school and the words that came out of his mouth next would help both him and I. He said "It's too late for me to go to college now". My mouth dropped and my heart became saddened. Too late for college? Too late for a new beginning at life? Too late to further your education and your 20??? Absurd.
(to be continued)
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