What's Up, Danger?

Let Go

Griffin Harris

3:34 AM. 

My phone screen turned black as I turned it off and returned it to its charger. It's gonna be 4 in the morning soon, and I've hardly slept. I exhaled loudly. 

'Might as well try to do something with my time because I'm not going back to sleep anytime soon...'

I stretched until a couple of 'pop's came from my unused joints. I grabbed my white Nike hoodie along with some gray sweatpants. After throwing on my necklace and running shoes, I grabbed my phone, headphones, and keys before quietly slipping out of my room. Listening closely, I heard nothing but soft snores coming from my family. Quickly and quietly, I made my way to the front door. Opening it slowly, I slipped through the door, gently closing it behind me.

Making sure the door was locked, I wandered into the dark streets of my sleepy neighborhood.

I sighed.

This isn't my first sleepless night. 

It started ever since the end of junior year. 

I knew I was gonna be a senior soon, and my life will start a new chapter outside of high school. It's just what the chapter will be that terrifies me. My mediocre grades don't look like they would get me far, other than in science. But my skill in basketball makes me look like some kind of prodigy. It's not like I don't like the sport; I love it for all it's worth. But I don't want it to define me and my life...

Everyone seems to have my life written off and published where I barely picked up the pencil to write it myself. All my life, I've been unknowingly pleasing everyone else, but the moment I try to make a decision that'll make me happy, I get judged for it. The amount of people who support me in my dream of natural reservation is the same amount I can count on one hand. 

Damien, Bakari, and Kai.

Kai was my dad's younger brother. He was my favorite uncle, the main person I would go to for advice and a laugh when feeling down. On my 18th birthday, he gave me my peridot necklace, which I wore daily. On the back of the necklace, written in small cursive letters, says the word 'chaser somnia', Latin for 'dream chaser'. His greenish-gray eyes would hold wisdom beyond his years but still possess a mischievous glint whenever he felt playful. He was also gay and was proud of it. Despite living in an area where poverty and crime were common, he didn't care what other people thought of him and was content with his life.

"If you remember anything I tell you, Griffin, I want you to remember this. Don't let not anybody tell you how to live your life. Look at me. I finished college with flying colors and could've been a lawyer like my brother, but I knew it wasn't something I wanted to do. My dad was pissed when he learned I wanted to be a musician. He told me I was making a great mistake by giving up law school and pursuing a career that would either make or break me. Sure, I may have a shit job as a bartender, and my living conditions are dicey, but I'm happy that I'm working toward my dream. I'm playing my music in small clubs, slowly making a name for myself. Soon, I'll be able to move out of this hellhole and sell my music across the country. You can do what you love and be happy. You gotta protect your dream in natural preservation; who knows what difference you can make in this dying world. Know this, people who have never worked toward their dream will do anything to talk you outta yours..."