My People

Ryan Jackson

My People Narrative

 All I need are my people are from a place where you can feel the pain of the lost ones. Where my people are from you can see the bad things we’re exposed to, the homeless people on the streets, the preachers on the strips. You can hear the police cars racing to pull people over, but you can also hear the laughter of a family get together, on a bad day the screams of a mother as her son is being taken from her. The food, you can taste the lovely mac n cheese, or the crispy fried chicken from grandma’s house.

My people are the type to say,” Text me when you get home to let me know you’re safe.” My people randomly text me just to tell me they love me. My people are a variety of shapes and sizes but they shape me. If you broke me down you would see my people individually. Breaking me down you would see their qualities of love, care, loyalty, optimism, and selflessness. My number one quality that you can see that comes out of all my people is being a child of God.  

 The leave a lasting imprint on your life whether it’s good or bad, these are my people. But I’m sure you’re wondering what makes me so sure of this. I am without a doubt because of the way they touch my life. Knowing the sacrifices my people make for me tells me all I need to know about them. First my father put his life on the line to save me. Then my other people dealt with the white man just for the betterment and did what was best for our people. My people sacrificed their bodies for me to get here. Then my people made sacrifices that may seem small, like taking on an extra job just to have more money for Christmas or eating peanut butter and jelly so my sister and I could eat out. The all the lessons I learned from my people weren’t always direct. Since my people aren’t perfect as they made mistakes I learned from them. A lot of those were my lessons. My people have taught me to love one another, believe in God, that anything in life that’s free isn’t worth having, don’t let anyone run me over, and don’t let anyone change me.

I was gifted with life, a kind heart, and support among other things. These gifts given by my people have made me a better person, because they have allowed me to use my gifts to help others in the world. They blessed me by sharing their gifts so it would only be right for me to share them, that’s how I was brought up.   

I want someone to see me and know who my people are. That my people were respectful people who never stepped on anyone’s toes who didn’t bring the problem first. Helpful are my people and I who make sure others are okay before we even are. My legacy will be remembered as a legacy that didn’t hold their gifts hostage, they shared their gifts with others. Why? So others can develop those traits that would better their people. My people’s legacy will be better once I’m gone, because we get better as time goes on. Look where my people were 200 years ago. I’m going to advance my people and then they will advance each other as my ancestors once did.      

My people are glorified people. My people are like my sacrificial lambs. My people have gone hungry to make sure I ate. My people hold me and care for me. My people are the backbone of me. Without my people… I would fall.