My Heroic Journey
In my life I’ve lost friends, family, money, and more.
When I was 12 I lost my grandmother, and when I was 3 I lost my mom to a heart attack. I was 14 when I lost my cousin Dre to gun violence. That’s why my collage is based on gangs
I remember when my cousin got shot. It happen in Aurora, IL during the summer time on July 16, 2004 around 9:00 PM in front of a church. It was very hot. I remember waking up sweating, and to the smell of fresh cooked eggs. I remember me watching the bottom of the TV looking for updates on his condition.
I was on the floor in my house asleep until my house phone rang. My aunt picked it up and she received the bad news first. She turned to me and said “Your cousin Dre got shot the night before.”
I began to get sad. I turned on the news and seen at the bottom of the screen the words: “2 teens shot, one died, the other in critical condition “. My cousin was in critical condition and it was his friend who had died instantly. About 10 mins later he was pronounced dead at the age of 16 ‘R.I.P.’
The most challenging part of that was to accept the fact that I was with him 2 weeks before and asked him to come to my house for the summer.
He said yeah, but his dad disagreed. He said “Either you stay down here in Mississippi or go home to Aurora.”
I always thought what would have happened if he came over? Would his friend have been in that spot or would Dre have gotten shot at all?
