Parents always tell their kids to never trust strangers

Why though?? They are people just like me

”No le hables a gente que no conoces porque no sabes de lo que son capaces” would be my mommas words; “Don’t talk to people you don’t know because you don’t know what they are capable of”

“Alright mom” I would say

At the time I think my mom said it to protect me from the possible harm strangers could cause me

The barrios from Southwest Houston weren’t safe, there was shootings about every weekend

Gangs here and there, smoking, drinking, selling drugs

Two or three girls offering their bodies in exchange for money

Eventually we moved out of that area to a much safer and nicer neighborhood

From there I grew up with the childhood any child would want: loving parents, toys, tv, movies, friends, playtime, and lots of candy

But as I reached my teen years, I came to realize that my mom’s “No le hables a gente que no conoces porque no sabes de los que son capaces” also meant something else

Fake, backstabber, liar, snake and other words such as these were words that I thought I would never use

Time passes by, things change and so do people

The person you thought was your best friend turns his or her back leaving you alone to call them fake

The boy or girl you thought was the love of your life cheated on you, backstabbing you and lying to you

The one person you believed to always be there for you suddenly decides to screw you over, only for you to call them snake

This is when I started to realize that I was not a kid anymore

As a kid I didn’t know that such things could happen

Now I see it happen very often

I learned that life will knock you down

As a kid that didn’t happen, but when it finally hits you, and you decided to stand up, you’ll know that you have grown