you wanted to be AI but you wouldn't practice. sure, an aversion to practice worked out for iverson but that was after he was already iverson. his physical gifts & prior work got him to that point.

you wanted to be a rapper but i gave you a small stack of black & white composition notebooks and challenged you to fill up a book at a time with rhymes to hone your craft...but you never used even the first half of the first book.

you didn't want to wear a shirt & tie like me but you wanted work where you were active and did things with your hands and made good money. so i got you into a trade program that you barely finished. and afterward, you pursued none of the job placement offers they sent your way and when I ran into a guy willing to let you apprentice with him and teach you the trade, you scoffed at working for free (even though you had no financial responsibility & paid zero bills).

you said you hated riding the bus...which is where i sent you once i decided that being your personal uber wasn't fitting into my schedule or my sensibilities. so i printed out the driver's ed book for you to study for your learner's permit. even gave you the money for it. you never took the test.

i've shown you hundreds of jobs that were better than your current one that you could compete for. most you never even applied to. i referred you to places that would help you apply and give you leads on other jobs. you ain't even go see the people.

i put you on to so many job training programs in all kinds of fields. some paid you a little, and others wanted you to learn for free and then get job placement afterwards. all those seats are filled with other young brothers trying to improve themselves.

i want it more for you than you want it for yourself. somewhere along the lines somebody told you it was supposed to be easy. that all you had to do was wish it into existence and POOF...you'd have it made. they lied to you...and now, you're old enough to know better so at this point, you're lying to yourself.

i haven't given up on you but i have adjusted my expectations to directly align with your effort levels.

or at least i'm trying to. i still can't fight the urge to text you a screen shot of a come up i saw that i know you probably won't pursue...






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I'm tryna be better off, not better than...