âA Righteous Burdenâ
      The date July 22, 2009 is a date that I will never forget. It was a cloudy Wednesday afternoon and while I wasnât necessarily looking forward to Pastor Ballardâs Bible study, I was excited about choir rehearsal because our choir director Mr. Hankinson had agreed to play a song that I composed myself. Iâd been trying to get him to use one of my compositions since I began writing music. I wasnât much of a gospel lyricist so Mr. Hankinson wrote words for the music, and they were amazing. I couldnât wait to sing the song with the choir for the first time and I really couldnât wait to sing it for the church that following Sunday. However, it wasnât my music that made July 22, 2009 memorable. It turned out to be the day I experienced a miracle.
      âYouâre not gonna change my mind,â Kareem said to me while putting on his Jordans. âIâm done with school, Ant.â
      âWhy now?â I asked while looking at myself in the mirror to make sure my tie was on right. âBaby, why would you drop out of school right before our senior year?â
      âBecause itâs pointless. Iâm not goinâ to college or doinâ anything important so I donât see why I should waste my time.â
      âSo, being at school with me is a waste of your time?â
      âThat ainât what I meant and you know it. Anthony, Iâm just done with that shit. Iâm done with it. Iâm a grown ass man. FuckâŚI mean, forget school. I got other stuff I need to be worried about.â
      Kareem Taylor had been my boyfriend for a little over a year but weâd known each other since elementary school. He was my best friend up until sixth grade, which was when he began picking on me and hanging out with the bad boys at school. I later figured out he picked on me because he liked me and even though I liked him, too, neither of us built up the nerve to do anything about it until the end of our tenth-grade year. I wrote him a letter basically telling him that I wanted us to be boyfriends. He came to my house after school that day and gave me my first kiss. And just like that, we were together.
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