Written: September 30th

p. 149-201

Cupcake was 7 months pregnant when her foster mother had her other foster children jump and her and beat her in the stomach. They baby died, and after that incident, Cupcake ran away again. This time for a long time. She went to go live with her Aunt Becky, and her 4 3rd cousins. One of her cousins, named Fly, was in a gang called the Eight-Tray Gangster Crips. Eventually, Cupcake joined the gang and started getting into fighter, was involved in driveby shootings, and continued to drink and abuse drugs.
As I read the few chapters about how Cupcake is now in a gang, it feels like I'm reading about a different person. You understand how much Cupcake has changed in the past year and a half. She talks different, acts different, and she even dresses different. I think as we all are growing up, our image changes a lot. At a young age, we are still trying to figure out who we are as a person. We may think we know who we are, but during our adolescent years, we are trying to be things we aren't. We are living up to the standards of people of whom we are associated with. As we grow up, we eventually learn that there is no such thing as perfect and it's okay to be who we are. I think this is what Cupcake is going through right now. She is trying to figure out who she really is.
So far, this is my favorite part of the book because there are a lot of details and it is interesting to hear and learn about gangs. I know that may sound almost bad, but I have a friend who was once in a gang. He has told me a little bit about how his life was then and he is glad that he has gotten out of it. Being in a gang caused him a lot of trouble in his life. I think that Cupcake is gonna get into some kind of trouble, or something bad is gonna happen to her. Being in a gang will just cause Cupcake more tension and troubles in her life. I think the only reason why she is in a gang is to feel like she belongs somewhere, that she is a part of something. All she wants is people to count on, and to her, her gang feels like a family. To be part of the Eight-Tray Gangster Crip gang, you could only wear the color blue, and you had to hate the color red. Fortunately, Cupcake's favorite color was red. But, after being accepted into the gang, Cupcake explains to the reader, "It was then that i Knew that was long as they loved me and accepted me, I could learn to hate red. F*** it, I told myself. I'll find a new favorite color" (p. 184).