In this story is 16-year-old African American high school student talks about the joy of having an older brother who was in the military. This young man can't wait until he graduates so that he can join as well. The disappointing reality is that both of these young men are joining the military because the area in which they live in, as black faces, has not been a safe place for them. He recounts his brother’s situation as well as his own of verbal abuse and physical trauma executed on them by their peers. His brother tried to keep him safe by giving him rules to follow but he just wants to be a teenager, just like everyone else doing the things kids his age do. But when he joins the track team and trusts the wrong girl, he finds himself embarrassed and standing completely vulnerable in the middle of an intimidating circle of bullies. They laugh, they call him names, they hate him, and he doesn’t know why. But what he won’t do is allow them to break him. He stands strong, never cries, and will not beg them for anything, even his life. It is clear that no matter when in history we are, black bodies are misunderstood and mistreated for no reason other than the color of their skin. It may be difficult but it’s a fact that sometimes they just don’t get it.
