If you were a stranger coming to my neighborhood, you would probably say that it is really messed up, but I think everyone in my 'hood is just trying to do things to help them survive. In my 'hood, it's a big struggle.

But when I go to my neighborhood, I feel like I'm at home. Most of the people in my 'hood know me, so they just show love. Bed-Stuy is mainly African-American and Hispanic, and my block is middle class, because it's houses. Where I live is pretty quiet. Nearby are the Roosevelt Projects, though, and lot of ghetto people live around there. But once the people get to know you, you'll be cool with them, too.

I've lived in Bed-Stuy for about three years now. Before that I lived in East New York for seven years, and when I was 7 years old, I came to the U.S. from Guyana, which is a small country in South America. I still love East New York, though, and I go there to visit my friends.

My favorite thing to do in my neighborhood is to go to the park and have fun with my friends, playing some basketball, maybe some baseball and football. Even though I'm not too good at football I still have fun.

My two best friends are my cousin Randy and my friend Gregory. Randy is my cousin from my father's side and Gregory is a very loud Jamaican. Both of them are real cool, and they both relate to me because none of us have fathers. Randy wants to be a music producer and Gregory wants to be a soccer player/automotive technician just like me. He also goes to my school--Automotive Technical High School--and that's how I met him.

If we're not playing ball, we like to go clubbing at B.E.C (Brooklyn Entertainment Corporation), a youth club that almost every kid in Brooklyn knows about. I think most people have fun just by chilling in the crib with the family, but if you come to my 'hood, you will see that the only time people are in the house is when we want to go to sleep or get food. I'm never in the crib.

Many people in my neighborhood seem to be too comfortable. All they do is stand on the corner and make enough money to go and pay their rent and buy clothes. Many people, even those who try to do what they believe is right, just fall into what's easy and end up living in the projects with no hot water and no food.

That is not the way I want to live. You can't just try to slide through everything. You must work to surpass everyone--that is how you will make it. There is no doubt about that in my book.

When I get a bit older, what I really want out of life is a good job as either an automotive technician or a computer technician. Right now I am working toward these goals by working for the Brooklyn Expedition and going to Automotive High School. I would love to work for a Lexus dealership. I would also like to own a huge house and have a nice small family--a wife, two kids and a dog.