H-U-S-T-L-E-R

"I'd rather die in the pen than be a dirty rat."

-- Soulja Slim

For a long time, I've tried to understand the attraction of the young to the "gangsta" lifestyle. I mean, what does this lifestyle have to offer over that of being an educated professional?

Ha Ha! I guess my readers know what a great time I'm having as an educated professional this year. One good thing about teaching is that my students are always offering to keep me current on music... most of the time, this is unwelcome, but once in awhile, I find something I like. The other day, one of my students from New Orleans brought me a Soulja Slim CD, which I quickly ripped onto my computer. I was listening to it this weekend and was, oddly, quite impressed! This is not your run-of-the-mill commercialized crap... this is straight up real shit from the streets! (or was... Soulja Slim met an untimely death a few years ago... you can't get much more street cred than that!) If anyone wants to check out a few tracks, I would recommend "hustler" and "cheeze eataz." It's odd how one is spelled the standard way, while the other is phonetic, but oh well.

Anyway, back to my initial struggle to understand the gangsta lifestyle. I was walking down the breezeway between classes, when I found myself chanting the chorus to "Hustler." "I'm a mutherfuckin' HUST-LA, a mutherfuckin' HUST-LA, H-U-S-T-L-E-R!" Then, it hit me... for that brief moment, I daydreamed about being a "hustler." I thought for a second about what it would be like to abandon my clock-punching lifestyle for a new life of selling drugs, pimpin', and all sorts of other ill shit.

While I probably won't quit my day job, I probably will continue to daydream once in awhile about a more exciting life. And the thing is, I'm only stuck in this job for a year... these kids are stuck in their situations for Lord knows how long. How can I judge them for their fantasies when we all dream once in awhile?