Thinking back to being 15… it’s wild how different paths can look at that age. I remember hearing stories, maybe later on, about guys like Mike Tyson. What he was doing at 15? It sounds like something from a movie, not real life.
They said he was already deep in the system back then. Arrests, detention centers… found boxing in a place like that. A counselor, Bobby Stewart, saw something in him. That’s the story, anyway. A tough, tough start.
My own life at 15 wasn’t anything like that, thankfully. No arrests, nothing serious. But I wasn’t exactly focused, you know? Just drifting. School was okay, but I didn’t really apply myself. Spent a lot of time just… hanging around. Wasting time, basically. My old man kept telling me I needed to find something, get some discipline.
Finding My Own Grind
It wasn’t boxing for me. Wasn’t anything glamorous. It was actually washing dishes. Yeah, really. Landed a job at this busy local diner. Friday nights, Saturdays, Sundays. Long hours, hot kitchen, endless piles of dirty plates. My first real taste of hard, unglamorous work.
I remember my first few shifts. Man, I wanted to quit. My back hurt, my hands were raw from the hot water and soap. The cooks were yelling, waitresses rushing past. It was chaos. Felt completely overwhelmed.
- I started showing up late sometimes.
- Tried to cut corners cleaning the really greasy pans.
- Just felt sorry for myself, thinking about friends out having fun.
But the owner, this old guy named Sal, he was tough but fair. He didn’t yell much, but he’d just give you this look. And he told me once, “Nobody gets anywhere without hard work, kid. Doesn’t matter if it’s boxing or washing dishes. You gotta show up, do the job right.” Sounds simple, right? But it stuck with me.
So, I just kept showing up. Started getting there early. Figured out a rhythm for the dishes. Learned to anticipate the rush. Started taking pride in leaving that station spotless at the end of the night. It wasn’t about talent like Tyson had, not some god-given gift. It was just… grinding. Doing the work.
That job taught me discipline. It taught me about responsibility. About earning my own money. It wasn’t a detention center, and Sal wasn’t exactly Bobby Stewart discovering a boxing champ. But in my own small way, that experience at 15, scrubbing pots and pans, it straightened me out. It gave me a focus I didn’t have before. Looking back, it was probably one of the most important things that happened to me around that age. Set me on a better path than just drifting.
