I was in a gang. You wouldn’t be reading this if I wasn’t the worst person in it.

My mom always said, “Bullies are people too.” But she never told me if she thought that meant she should’ve let my brother die.<br><br>My brother died because I wanted to be in a gang. It took me a year and a half to get in, but it was worth it. I’m not a good kid, I’m a bad kid, and my gang made me the bad kid I was always supposed to be. There are people in this world that are destined to do bad things, and I was one of them.<br><br>My brother died because of it too. He didn’t want me to join, but he knew I was gonna try. My mom wanted me to listen to him and stay away from the gangs. But she wasn’t going to let me hang with my friends or make my own choices. So I made the choice that got me in. That got me in deep. And I guess that’s why they gave me the worst nickname.<br><br>“Fucker” was my nickname. The worst nickname you could have in a gang. I wasn’t “Rat” or “Bitch”, I wasn’t “Snitch” or “Snake”. I was the one who was worse than all of them. I was the one who would be the first to be blamed if anything went wrong, and the first to be blamed if we won. It wasn’t a good position to be in, but I took pride in it.<br><br>It’s funny because I was the worst person in the gang, and that made me the best. My mom told me, “Bullies are people too,” but I knew that I was worse than any bully. I was the worst kid in the worst neighborhood, and I had the worst nickname. It was the perfect life for me.<br><br>The only person who knew how much trouble I was in was my mom. She didn’t want me to be in the gang, but I told her I was going to join no matter what she said. I even told her I was going to join if she said no. She told me to listen to my brother because he was trying to help me. But I didn’t want to listen to him. I wanted to be the bad kid I was always supposed to be.<br><br>I wanted to join the gang because it was the worst thing I could do. I wanted to be the worst kid in the neighborhood, and I wanted to be known for it. It was the perfect life for me.<br><br>But my brother died because of it.<br><br>---<br><br>**Update:** Wow, thank you all so much for the response. I didn’t expect this story to go this way. Thank you for your kind words. I know I don’t deserve them.<br><br>The thing is, I know how bad I was. I know I was the worst kid in the neighborhood. I was the bad kid I was always supposed to be. And that made me the best kid in the neighborhood. That’s what it felt like.<br><br>The truth is, I know I’m not the bad kid I was always supposed to be. I’m not the best kid in the neighborhood either. I’m just a normal kid. But I know I’m not.<br><br>The truth is, my brother didn’t die because of me. He died because of the gang. I know that much for sure. And that’s why I left. I didn’t want to be like them.<br><br>I’m going to be honest. This story is a work of fiction, and it’s not entirely based on real life. But I did join a gang, and I was in one for a while. That’s the only part that’s true.<br><br>But I know what I’m doing. And that’s something that not a lot of kids in my neighborhood know. That’s why I’m telling you this story. I’m trying to help you all realize that you’re not as bad as you think you are. You’re not the worst person in the neighborhood. You’re not the bad kid you’re always supposed to be.<br><br>You’re just a kid.<br><br>That’s all you are.<br><br>And that’s all you have to be.