angelo reid came from the bottom of the food chain. the rough life, not having any resources, not having money. he learned quickly he had to do what he could to help out his mother and his sister. of course his dad had up and left, life too tough before he even got his foot all the way in. pathetic. angelo is left the man of the house.
but being good in school only got him so far. his sister would say he got tangled with the wrong people. the bad people, more specifically. but he doesn't do it out of want, he does it out of necessity. his sister's hospital bills don't pay themselves. and, eventually, the bills to give her a proper goodbye don't do it either. her goodbye doesn't get what it deserves.
angelo decides, as he's kneeling on the dirt, that he isn't destined for a good life. that he was meant to stay at rock bottom, or at least close to it, forever. but he finds a way to come to terms with it, and continues living. he moves past it all, doing whatever he has to in order to at least stay afloat. he's willing to do absolutely anything for it. and he does do anything. all that matters is that he's alive.