Courage, that word means a lot for some people. Courage can be different for different type of people. I believe courage is what you make it, it’s not always good in someone people’s eyes. Now Quando was just like every other boy in the hood. He grew up seeing a lot of things kids shouldn’t see. His dad wasn’t in his life and his mom was a single mom working two jobs for her two boys. So it was only normal that Quando start doing what everyone in his situation does he turned to the streets. Quando didn’t care what he was doing robbing, stealing, selling drugs he didn’t care nobody around him did. See Quando thought it takes courage to do what he does. He thinks kicking people door down or telling someone to give up their money with a gun to their head was courage. Things like that were all he knew couldn’t blame him he was only trying to survive. Now Quando’s little 13 year old bother Jamal was different from everyone else around his environment. Jamal was more of a nerdy type of person. He was always focusing on school. He stayed in the house most of the time helping his mom around the house. Quando and Jamal didn’t have the best relationship. Quando wasn’t really home like that so they really didn’t talk like that. Quando wasn’t really nice to Jamal either, he wasn’t real terrible but he would pick on him because he wasn’t cool or because he liked to study and be in school. Everyone in the hood knew Quando’s brother was going somewhere and he was only 13, that’s how smart and gifted Jamal was. Now some people didn’t like the fact that he had a future and was going places they knew they were never going. It’s a shame Jamal had people messing with him and he was doing what he was supposed to do. Quando knew people were messing with his brother. So Quando tried to give Jamal a gun, he told him it’s for his protection. Jamal didn’t want a gun he didn’t want to be like everyone else around him. It may seem crazy giving a gun to a 13 Year old but it was normal for kids to start messing with guns and the streets. But one day while Jamal was walking home from school there was a group of kids around Quando’s age across the street. They told Jamal to come over here right quick. Jamal knew better but he didn’t want any trouble, so he went across the street to see what was going on. So one of the boys in the group asked him why he doesn’t mess with anyone around here. Jamal told him he wasn’t like everyone else around here. So one of the boys in the group took what Jamal said the wrong way so things started to escalade and the boy punched Jamal in the face so he swung back and next thing you know they was fighting. Jamal was about 4, 5 years younger than the boy so of course Jamal didn’t come out on top. But even after he lost he still told him, I’m not like y’all. I don’t have to deal with his type of stuff the rest of my life I’m be somebody and go places. That made the boy mad so he told his friend to hand him hid gun. Jamal tried to run but it was too late he got 3 bullets put in his back. Quando came home to the police outside his house and his mom in tears. The police told Quando they didn’t know who killed Jamal and there’s no witness that saw anything. Quando was devastated he wanted to take matters in his own hand. But he stopped and thought about his little brother and what he would have done. He knew Jamal had courage to stand out and do what he was supposed to do, when everything and one around you is the complete opposite. So that’s what Quando was going to do for his brother. He dropped out of high school but he told himself he was going to get his GED and do what he has to, to make it out the hood. Quando looks at courage in a new light now. He knows that all that hood street stuff he was doing wasn’t courage, it was just stupid and a waste of time. He knows real courage is being something in life and doing the right thing, and that’s what Quando going to do not only for himself but for his brother Jamal.