Driven: Life Ain’t No Crystal Stair

Langston Hughes' Mother to Son

Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor --
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now --
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

This is one of the pieces I read when I need some motivation. For those times I just need to suck it up, shut up, and keep it moving. A reminder that there are many people who have achieved MORE than what I have achieved with MORE obstacles that I may have had. It also triggered a question in me: Do we perform better when we have more obstacles?

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African Americans have endured and overcome a lot. It seemed that historically, every major act of oppression was met with an even stronger and more intelligent resistance. Any race that you can rip of its culture and language that are then able to learn your language, encode it, and sing the plans for escape in your face without you knowing it is miraculous. The Tuskegee Airmen had to learn how to learn how to fly EVERY airplane whereas others only had to learn one to be certified as legitimate. Even the free lunch program of today was birthed from the Free Breakfast for Children Program started by the Black Panther Party (#EducateYourself).

I say all of this to say that it almost seems to me that everything's at a point where it's felt that something is owed. Now, I'm by no means saying that it's not. What I am saying is that that same "You owe me" mentality validates the ideal that someone else should or has to provide for the individual. It cripples. It instills the idea that the hand that's been dealt is too much for the person to conquer. It's like this Oliver Twist "Please saah, mey eye haave sum moooor" mentality, and it has to be overcome. Realistically, the generation of today isn't even the generation that endured the "hard part".

There is more access to so many things and opportunities that were unheard of before, yet it seems like the dependence mentality has erased passion. It's like that the artist who drops the most talented, passionate, skillful first album but then follows up with a lackluster pointless follow-up. They've gotten to a place where success doesn't seem as inaccessible anymore, so the urgency of pushing forward with the same intensity has gone.

Why?

I honestly don't know.

But I do know this. I know two people who have went through almost identical obstacles early on in life. One of them has for the most part is dealing with it and is constantly working towards achieving their goals.

The other is still a victim, still using the situation as a crutch… and an excuse… as to why they can't become powerful beyond measure.

The pain from the splinters isn't as intense when you understand that life ain't no crystal stair.