Coming home from basketball practice one night it was rainy and snowy outside. I was being dumb and stubborn after I was told to call my mom. As I was talking on the phone, my mom said that my older cousin was shot at point blank range on Sunday the 17 of January.
After I got off the phone that Monday night, I went to my room and sat there with anger and pain. I eventually cried and felt bad for his dad and his grandma and just wanted to runaway. He was just released from Red Wing a couple of weeks back and plan to turn his life around.
The people who shot him were looking for his older brother. Some say they saw him and in turn, made him get on his hands and knees and beg for mercy. Not having any care, they shot him and ran away. My cousin was in a gang, but he never had any trouble with anyone else.
At the funeral I couldn’t even cry. I felt emotionless but now, some part of me feels like it is missing a big chunk. I hugged my uncle and all of my other cousins and told them that everything was alright, even though it wasn’t. I wanted to stay and eat with them but I had a basketball game that night. I still think about him to this day.

REST IN PEACE Marvin Ray Maynard III AUGUST 17,1993- JANUARY 17, 2010