LYRICS:
They say age comes with wisdom, but we all know that the higher you climb, the thinner the altitude. I thought I escaped the pressures of gang life as a teen, but no one tells you about the 'social media look at my life' gang, the 'don't dream' gang, the '9-5 is the only way' gang, or the 'age-limit' gang. As you get older, it's not just about staying away from drugs; you get addicted to other things - the status quo, people's opinions, comfort. Sometimes, struggling to live another man's life is worse than a gang life because no one is coming to save you.
That reality hits harder the older you get. There is no man in a cape or whirlwind that whisks you off to a magical Oz. The letter from Hogwarts ain't coming - those pigeons in South London just grow like that, probably from too much Morley's. As you get older, there's no intervention that tells you that you deserve better and your life should be replaced with another. We all know that you'll be lucky if you even get the right lottery ticket number. You have to choose when reality slaps you in the face with the truth within us. It can make you bitter or it can make you better, because real-life heroes don't always wear capes.
They come in the form of single moms who make miracles out of minimum wage. They are the teachers who don't give up on that youth until he makes the grade. It's that voice that tells you that even though you grew up in the hood, it might confine you, but it won't define you. A man's life changes when he wakes up one day and realizes that there's no one to blame. All you have is commitment and faith that life is a game, not of wins or losses, but of those who aren't afraid to play."
In this powerful spoken word piece, Suli Breaks reflects on the challenges and pressures of growing older and the realities of life that we often don't talk about. He explores the idea that age doesn't always come with wisdom, and how society's expectations and limitations can sometimes be more suffocating than any gang. But amidst the harsh realities, the he reminds us that true heroes don't always wear capes. They can be single moms making miracles out of minimum wage or teachers who never give up on their students. This thought-provoking piece encourages us to choose how we respond to life's challenges and to embrace the game of life, not fearing the losses, but embracing the opportunity to play.