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Just Another StatisticBy Gary SmithAnthony was your normal American teen. He thought he knew anything andeverything about life, including his own. The three things he thought he knew the mostabout were what he wanted to be, how to achieve it, and that his parents knew nothing.To him, his parents didn’t care about him. They were always too busy with work. Hisdream was just a joke to them. All he wanted to do was act.One day, he decided to get up and leave his small Pennsylvania town. He wasgoing to go to Hollywood on a whim. Little did he know how much it would cost him. Hegathered all his money, and it totaled $300. Of that, $220 had to go towards a bus ticketfrom Philadelphia to Hollywood.He was setting off for California. The trip would take almost three whole days. Hewas going to leave everything in his life behind him. His family didn’t know, his friendsdidn’t know, only he knew.As he boarded the bus early one morning, he had three basic emotions. Happinesswas there because he was going to fulfill his dream. Heart break was a companion due tothe fact it broke his heart to be all alone in the world. Anger was his best friend becausehe thought of his parent and the way they treated him. After all the stops on the trip, heshowed up in Hollywood with $20, a suitcase full of clothes, and big dreams.As he stepped off the bus he was immediately star struck. He saw all the places heread about. All the theatres were there and even the Walk Of Fame. As he walked aroundhe began to see all the stars everyone dreams of meeting. He walked around the rest of the day in a daze. He was astonished by all the things he saw.He just kept looking around. He never found a place to spend the night. But with$20 the chances of him finding a place were slim. That first night was hell. He found analley and slept on the ground next to a dumpster. Saying he slept is an overstatementthough. Every noise he heard woke him up. By the time he actually closed his eyes, thesun was already coming up.He got up and wandered some more. His stomach was growling from the lack of food he had the day before. He went to a waffle house and ordered the biggest breakfaston the menu. He spent the last of his money here, becoming self dependant. He did whathe wanted, leaving his old life behind.

He walked the streets and looked for a place to stay. He couldn’t find one. Helooked for work, no one wanted to hire someone who didn’t have experience or a place tostay. Those emotions that showed up with him on the bus began to have differentmeanings. Happiness was the life he use to live back home. He started having happymemories of family and friends. Heart break and Anger now were the way he felt abouthis dream. He was heart broken that it wasn’t anything like the movies had shown. Angryat the whole idea of Hollywood. It wasn’t a magical place where dreams come true. Itwas a hell where his dream died.He wanted to try and find a way back home. It was going to take an eternity to get back. He first would need to find a place to stay because the dumpster was just too scary.He would also need to find a source of income. This was going to be even harder thanusual in a town he didn’t know. If he pulled this off, it deserves to be a true Hollywoodstory.The thing is though, it wasn’t. The only way he could find a place to stay and asource of money is by joining a gang. He discovered this lifestyle one day when heventured far from his dumpster. He was an easy target for a gang to push their drugs on,he had broken dreams and no one cared about him. Who would care about some kid thatdidn’t have a single thing in life? He thought that if he could join, they would save him. If he were going to survive he would need to find someone to watch his back and theywould make sure that nothing happened to their drugs. He took a spot in a gang runningdrugs.He began delivering the drugs from the gangs headquarters to small outpostswhere they would ship it across the country. One day he got curious. He began to spend asmall amount of money on the crack. He became addicted quick. He would shoot up assoon as he got done delivering for the day. He was a hardcore junkie.Then one day he couldn’t afford his daily high. He decided to steal it from hisdelivery. It gave him an even bigger rush. He couldn’t stop. Even if he had the money, hestole the smack. Everyone above him knew what he had done. They also knew he wasalone and had no one in his new life. The next time he came to pick up the drugs for delivery, they told him to deliver it somewhere new.