by CS, Sacramento
My greatest teacher is life itself, or myself alone. Because I didn’t really have anybody to tell me right from wrong, so I taught myself to survive and fit in. I started learning what to do and what not to do by trial and error.
For a long time, I didn’t know how to tie my shoes, so I would tie the ends in knots and cut them short. Another teacher for me was my grandma. She didn’t physically or verbally teach me, but by watching her, I learned what not to do.
She was going through problems with her body because of diabetes. She didn’t take care of herself by eating unhealthy, drinking, smoking, etc. Eventually, she got her legs amputated as well as her fingers and it hurt me as well.
It put fear in my heart because I didn’t want that to happen to me, so I took care of myself because I suffer from the same diseases as a type two diabetic.
Another person that’s taught me something valuable was my mom because there was a point when I was in jail and my mom gave the police information against me, aka snitched. That taught me a real good lesson – you can’t trust no one, not even your own momma, so watch who you mess with.