Street education: How I got from the streets to the college

 "Ya brain was a terrible thing ta waste", Notorious BIG

Lately, I see many posts about education on Steemit and I decided to share my own views on that with you. I come from environment that don't support ambition of the people, many dreams will always stay just dreams. There is no much people with college education in my neighborhood. Many people thinks like this:

 "When you get your diploma, run as far as it is possible and try to find your future somewhere else!". 

Well, I decided to stay. When I finished my college, I felt like a superhero who can fix everything here. Obviously, I was wrong, but I am still trying. 

I see today's kids and I try to find myself in them. When I was a school kid, one wrong decision could take me somewhere else, I could be dead or a heroin addict today. After the war, everything was available and for the cheap prices. It was very bad situation, many people couldn't find job and spent their time on the streets, drinking and using heavy drugs. 

The only thing that was important was football. Every city here has football club and football hooligans. So, it is normal here to hate each other. When we have a football match between two teams of neighbor cities, you can expect to see the real battle of fans, fifty men against fifty men with their bare hands and police can't do nothing about it. That was Croatia 20 years ago and still it is.

I was 14 when I first saw a man with a syringe and it was offered to me. Today I am so happy because I chose not to do it. I will never know that beautiful feeling and they will probably never know the ugly reality of it. I was best student in my class, but that didn't mean anything. More important of school was the time after the school. My friends and I never had a lunch in the school. We spent our money on cigarettes, marijuana and later on pills and LSD trips. Hip hop was the only thing that was important to us, so we tried to live our lives along the lines of the lyrics of Mobb Deep or Onyx. The girls were even worse than us. For an ecstasy or a joint you could get some sex in the park or on the street. 

But there is something good in the street education. You realize who are your real friends, you stand with them in good and bad times. These situations can make friends for life. 

The most of local politicians here are involved with some kind of criminal. There is high level of corruption in state institutions and in police, so police are not doing their job properly. Small fish usually end up behind bars and main criminals are untouchable and respected men. 

Things changed for me when I was 16 and I found out that my father has a cancer. I got new responsibility to take care for my mother and younger sister. I stopped to use any drugs (except cannabis) and spent more time at my home. So I exercised my rap skills and made a lot of new beats at that time. I decided to respect my fathers last wish and studied hard for college entrance exams. So, when the time came, I got to college, changed my city and environment. Zagreb was full of opportunities for me. I don't have need for sleep so I managed to be a great student and successful rapper and music producer at the same time. After I graduated, I had my first job in Zagreb, but some kind of feeling was pulling me to go back home.

And after I spent 8 years in Zagreb, I came back to Šibenik, as a teacher. I found a new job and started to work with kids trying to influence them. And I was pretty successful in that, but I continued my hip hop career. But my boss (school principal) didn't like that, as other teachers and some parents, so few weeks ago I got fired. And I am not sorry for that.

I am pushing my hip hop career and kids in this city are listening the music I make. I keep sending messages to them trough my rhymes and beats. So, I am glad to have my street education because those messages are real and reach the people. 

Love & Peace