Tupac Essay

Inspiration Essay

Advanced English

                Growing up, we almost all have someone that we admire, look up to, and gain inspiration from. When it comes to me, I never really had that person until about the seventh grade. That was when I was introduced to the work of Tupac Shakur. Tupac was one of the most influential artists of our last decade. Not only did I begin to take in his music, but I also found myself falling in love with his poetry. Before I knew it, I began writing poetry myself. Tupac’s poetry is so raw, and unscripted. He was real, and spoke about real things. He tells his life story, and the everyday struggles he was faced with. “Long live the rose that grew from concrete, when no one else even cared.” No matter what violence, poverty, and drugs may have thrown at Tupac, he continued to strive forward, and carry on. Through his craft and creativity he pushed others to do so as well, including myself.

        Tupac Shakur was an African American rapper, actor and poet, who lived the majority of his life surrounded by violence, drugs, and poverty. He grew up in the streets, and didn’t finish his education. Despite all of that, Tupac is still someone who has the ability to open eyes and teach someone so much. In his two songs, “Me and My Girlfriend”, “Hell razor”, and his poem “In the Event of my Demise”, it reflects the violence, tragedy, and pain his life was filled with. He might have come from a hard and difficult life, but he kept moving forward. He let his mess become his message, and inspire other people to do the same. Tupac had a story to tell, and he told it. Regardless of the decisions he made, he preached about others making the right ones. Inspiring others to strive forward through his words, no matter what or where they come from.

        A big reason why I find inspiration through Tupac is because despite the fact that he didn’t finish his education, he still made it a point to stress the topic of how important an education is. Tupac explained how crucial it is to receive your education, and become filled with knowledge. However, he also discussed how the education system is broken, and that we should be learning more than just the basics. “There should be a class on scams, there should be a class on religious cult, there should be a class on police brutality, there should be a class on aparthy, there should be a class on racism in America, there should be a class on why people are hungry, but they’re not. There’s class on gym, you know physical education, let’s learn volleyball.” Tupac stresses the importance of learning things that will help benefit us and guide us down the path we choose in life. He stresses for a better educational system for the youth that he did not receive.