"Raisin' up outta this gangsta shit"

I was riding the 7 downtown last night and overheard a conversation between two younger men. One was probably about 15 years old and the other couldn't have been more than 20. They were going back and forth about mutual acquaintances, who had a baby, who was in jail, etc, before the older guy asked, "You still going to class." The younger boy mumbled, "yeah kinda." This opened the flood gates. The older guy started laying it down with things like, "The only way you're raisin' up outta this gangsta shit is with an education", "Stay in class, you best believe that", "my mama told me and I'm'a keep telling you - school is where its at", and "All those fools who wanna be bangers you know where they end up? Dead or in jail. Is that what you want? Not me." After the younger guy got off the bus I decided to talk to this guy a little. Turns out he's a sophomore at the University of Washington. You'd never have guessed from his attire and demeanor. He was wearing pants that covered his knees not his ass and a giant puffy coat. He told me about how he was majoring in political science, "learning all that gov'ment shit" and how next quarter he was going to take his first international studies course. In the end he hopes to run for public office and start making a difference for all the people he grew up with, not just the kid from earlier. It wasn't until I got off of the bus that I realized I'd never even asked him his name. So to whoever you are, keep on doing what you're doing. It's people like you that will make our future better than our past.