My college education taught me that while I was not in control of certain aspects of my life, other people were. Those people decided what school I would go to, what resources my mother had, the imagery I would see that played a role in who I thought I could be, the curriculum that was test-driven instead of education-driven. I began to realize the difference between what was in my control and what was not. I had to ask myself very important questions so that I could make some sense of the world around me. I express those questions in various forms, but many times it comes in the form of poetry. I think of Tupac’s A Rose that Grew from Concrete whenever I complete one. I feel like that rose because I grew out of those years of self-doubt, self-hate, and lack of faith. This balladry is a collection of poems that are intended to help people feel less alone, to give them hope. We are all roses, feeling the growing pains of the concrete.