16 and Stupid

Read an article today and it made me a lil sad. Somewhere in Spain a 10 year old girl gave birth. She wasn't raped or molested, that was my first instinct. Nope, lil girl's got herself a 13 year old man. Boy got her pregnant, she had the baby, and now granny is gonna have to take care of 'em all. Accordin' to one article, Granny says that's not even an odd occurrence in those parts.



As many of you know, I lived with a woman who had two kids for a year or so. Worst year of my life. You know why, no time to explain now. But I took care of those kids, I went broke, I busted my ass to provide for 'em as if they were my own. I was 22 and workin' full time. That was a bitch to do day in and day out. Goin' hungry so they could eat. Watchin' out for them every second. But as a parent it's what you do.



Kids as young as that girl ain't got any idea. They haven't even had to deal with pimples yet. They ain't worked a day in their life. No diplomas, no useful advice of any kind, can't even drive. They got no business tryin' to make a baby let alone havin' one.



Kids are stupid. They never learn. Most adults, not all but most, you can tell 'em not to do a thing because it's bad for 'em and they listen. Kids won't learn not to put their pecker into an electrical socket until they do it.



I wish I could give a speech that teenagers would listen to about all the dumb shit they're goin' through that they think no one gets and the mistakes they could avoid. I know they won't listen but I wanna tell 'em anyway.



Kids deserve to hear the truth. That the real world, the world after high school, is a bitch and nobody's gonna push you for much of anything. Doesn't matter if you're ready or if you ain't got the money or how sad your story is, the world ain't gonna stop for you. So that means you gotta get your shit together and show up on time (not that I ever really do) and be responsible. You gotta plan your budget out. You gotta be thinkin' ten steps ahead of life. Gotta account for all the lil things that are gonna go wrong. Life doesn't wait for you to have money for the road trip and a flat tire, that tire's gonna bust when you have half the money you need for it. Gotta hustle and figure out how you can get that extra cash asap.



Speakin' of cash, are you savin' your money from flippin' burgers or sweepin' floors? I wasn't at 16. Should be thinkin' of retirement the day you start workin'. Put away twenty bucks a week. that's 'bout a grand a year. Two grand by the time you're 18. By the time you're 65 you got a whoppin' 50 grand plus interest, if you're lucky. That gonna last you 30 years of retirement? Hell no. Gotta save, earn interest, invest wisely. You're bratty kids are gonna be too dumb and lazy and resentful of you to take care of you. If you're lucky you'll have at least one kid you can be a burden to.

The world is far from perfect. It all but sucks. Your dreams will likely be crushed and broken. You will have regrets by the time you're fifty. All we can do is roll with the punches, there will be punches, and keep movin' forward. If you want to be successful you have to bust your ass and push yourself to your limits. And even then all you might do is go over the edge.

Life gives you no promises, but it's full of promise. They'll tell you in school that you can be anything you wanna be. That's true. But you'll have to give it everything you got and then some. It's not instant. It takes patience, courage, and endurance. It takes hard work.

I think they don't emphasize that part enough.