You're listening to Radiotopia Presents from PRX's Radiotopia.

There are many ways a person can think about life. I mean, the most commonly used metaphor for it is a journey.

And maybe it is that. A long, roaming, winding adventure. But people also consider it dust in the wind,

an infinitesimal experience compared to the vast history of the universe, or maybe it's just a single

drop in the midst of a rainstorm, Or maybe, for some, a splash.

Maybe life's an oil slick, or perhaps quicksand or a sandbox.

Maybe life is the whole playground or an open field.

Maybe life is a series of hills, ups and downs and ups again,

or a single mountain to climb, or a river to roll on,

or a wave that comes in and goes out,

or an ocean to dive into and swim around in in search of treasure.

Maybe life is a classroom or homework or a test.

Maybe it's the ball court or the football field or the boxing ring.

Maybe it's the dance studio or the uneven bars.

Maybe life is a family reunion or a detention center or an amusement park or the strangest music festival of all time.

Maybe it's a movie. Better yet, a play because all the world's a stage, right? Maybe all the

world's a page and life is just a really well-written sentence.

Or maybe life's a casino or a game to bet on.

And I'm willing to make that bet because one, I know the dealer.

Two, I believe the odds are in my favor.

And three, because my mother made me.

My mother made me. I'm Jason Reynolds, and this is My Mother Made Me, a podcast from Radiotopia Presents, about some of the things my mom has taught me about life, like how I can do anything, or the value of gratitude or the importance of believing in some kind of higher power.

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