Author's note
Writing this draft made me feel good relieving all the emotions and thoughts I had on this topic. I learned a lot while researching and the research I did definitely helped me strengthen what I wrote. The research made my statements about my character seem more realistic and believable. Researching about somebody else who had similar experiences as my character felt right.
My name is Tyrone and I am a 19 year old male. I was born and raised in Compton, California in a family of 6 living in a one bed household. In the house there are 8 of us. We have my parents, my 2 older brothers, my older sister, me, and my 2 younger sisters. I have a group of friends that I have known for the past 10 years and we would always meet after school. Every day after school, we would play football at the local park for hours and have a good time around all of our friends. One day one of my friends that would play football with us didn’t show up so we were one short. We searched everywhere for him until we reached the corner store by his house. Once we all started getting closer to him we saw that he was with three other older guys. They got really anxious and were ready to fight us. We started screaming and running. My friend yelled to calm everyone down before something horrible happened. He told us that he wouldn’t be playing football with us anymore and would hang out at the corner store every day from now on. We were all screaming and questioning him on why he would do that. He explained that he got money and was able to help his family out now by being with these new people. We all left, mad that we lost a friend that day and continued to play football.
After a couple weeks the group trickled down to only a few of us. One day I turned up to the park and nobody was there. I took myself to the corner store and I saw all of my friends and the three other guys from a couple of weeks ago. I asked why everyone left me and they all responded with similar answers. They all said that they were promised a life of luxury and comfort. I had never seen more that $200 at once and then they all reached into their pockets and showed me thousands of dollars. I was intrigued on how they got all that money and the three older guys surrounded me and said to get in the car. They took me to a store a few miles away and we walked in. I was looking at the bags of chips when I hear “Gimme the money and everything will be alright” coming from the counter. I turn around and one of the guys has a gun in his hand and yells at me to get the money. I run over, take everything in the cash register and hop in the car as we drive away. I was thrilled with the idea that I just got some money and I knew I was able to buy some things I always wanted but couldn’t afford.
Now all of us are a part of the Compton Crips. I felt safe and accepted. I felt like I was a part of something big. I got so into being a part of the gang and making money for my family that I was almost never home. I would be around my new friends all the time. Any chance I had to make more money I took, I was addicted. I was confronted by the law multiple times and got away unscathed. I had gotten away so many times with petty crimes that I believed that I could get away with anything so I planned a multi-million dollar bank heist. I gathered all of my friends together and started planning the bank heist. We would meet at a friend’s house every day and would plan the heist for weeks. Who would go inside of the bank? Who would drive the getaway car? We planned every little detail and had a plan B just in case something went wrong. Once we decided to execute the plan we left the house and went on a ride around town to celebrate our score before we even did it because we knew we would all be millionaires. We got to the bank and scored multiple bagfuls of cash racking up to millions of dollars. We left the bank and immediately were chased by the police. We took a wrong turn with all of the adrenaline in our bodies and ended up being surrounded by cops. They took us all in and I was sentenced to 15 years in jail.
While in jail I got into many fights and arguments. I got close to other Crip members. One day during recess in jail I was outside playing basketball with other inmates when I was guarding the Crip gang leader. He couldn’t score when I was defending him so we talked after the game. He told me stories of how every day he has to fight for his life and safety against police officers, and wants me to join him in the higher ranks ordering people on what to do. The Crip leader was incarcerated and was still able to run the gang while in jail every day. He figured I could speak to the younger kids and he would continue to order the older people in the gang. I went back to my cell and laid in bed. I couldn’t sleep that night. All I could think about was what the gang leader told me. I accepted the offer and after a few weeks in jail I saw the repercussions that came with this responsibility. I realized that I could die any moment and lose everything and everyone I had. I did not want to disappoint my mom by dying before I turned 21 because of my horrible decisions to join a gang and commit violent acts that would place me in life or death situations. I was already at the lowest point in my life. Stuck in jail with my life in someone else’s hands. I did not want to live this type of lifestyle
I decided to join the religious group in jail to get closer to God. We would meet every Tuesday afternoon, read the Bible and discuss how we can connect more to each other and the real world once we are released. In this group I realized how many lives I affected. From the people that I robbed and came across while commiting crimes to my family and the people I love worrying for my life every day. I shared my experiences with the group and they advised me to stop being connected with the gang and help society make the right choices. I slowly disconnected from being a Crip and minded my own business in jail. I had multiple people come after my head ever since I left, but I survived. Once I was released I became a spokesperson for the youth and would visit middle schools and high schools. I would go to speak and inform kids on why they should not go down the path that I went down. Although initially it seemed perfect in the sense that I was able to provide for my family and live a happy and exciting life, there were too many consequences and opportunities for failure. I had multiple near death experiences and close calls with the law but all it takes is one slip and it’s all over. I continued to give speeches all around the world and even had some kids say I changed their lives which made it all worth it.
Works Cited Page
Lockup. MSNBC, 4 June 2005.
MoneyWise. “The Biggest Bank Robberies of All Time.” MoneyWise, MoneyWise, 26 Oct. 2018, https://moneywise.com/a/the-biggest-bank-robberies-of-all-time.
O'Mara, Maggie. “After Years in Prison, Former Gang Member Helping Others Turn Their Lives Around.” WLTX, 23 Aug. 2018, https://www.wltx.com/article/news/local/outreach/after-years-in-prison-former-gang-member-helping-others-turn-their-lives-around/101-588218618.
SLATER, DASHKA. 57 BUS: a True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives. FABER AND FABER, 2019