A Product of your Environment.....

So this evening I was walking down the street, actually heading to the local corner store to buy a pack of gum, when i was greeted by an old friend of mine. Back when we were younger myself and this young man (who shall remain nameless) were on the same baseball team. That team was unstoppable, I mean stacked. Just imagine Derek Jeter, A-Rod, Barry Bonds, Jimmy Rollins, who ever your top baseball players are, all on one team...Thats how you could have described us. All the talent that we had on that team that year, actually led us to a league championship. At 9 years old, everyone had dreams of playing major league ball, and some had to potential at that age to make it there one day. This one young man had that potential in two sports, baseball and football. He was fast as lightening on the football field, and could utilize his quickness and his mobility to his advantage on the baseball field. 10 years later I pass this young man posted up outside of the corner store smoking a cigarette which is quite depressing because the storefront is the "hangout" spot for the dudes with no life and who a long time ago chose to take the route which can and will lead to ultimate destruction. After we spoke briefly, i began my journey to wherever i was going but my entire walk was taken over by the thought of how many people I know personally who have chosen to travel this similar path and have become a "product of their environment."
Mt. Vernon, NY isnt a large city at all. We composed of about 4.4 square miles of rugged streets, abandoned buildings, drugs, and alcohol...your typical urban city (i guess). But within the walls of these 4.4 square miles lives some of the most talented men and women that I have ever met. I graduated from Mt. Vernon High School in 2008 and I was a member of both the baseball and football teams. Ive had the pleasure of playing with young men who were blessed with talent that I dream every night that I had. If it werent for the negative influences that surround us, I could be watching them on TV, or even playing against them or with them in college. But for many more reasons than one, these young men chose to live the life that they see around them. They chose to follow the drugs, the girls, the lifestyle of crime. I remember one of my coaches saying "If you ever leave the program, the odds of you making it are slim." Now from the outside looking in, one might think that the statement he made was harsh, but to this day i stand amazed at how true and accurate that statement is. There are dudes who had great talent who are struggling to finish school, who have taken to the life of drugs, who totally dismissed the thought of persuing a higher education, and unfortunately have either lost their lives or are sitting behind steel bars in a prison cell. Many may look at this as a story line for a television series, but for me this is my life. I hope that I can touch on this topic at a later time, because as this matter isnt getting better we must turn the tables quick.