You may not like this fact, but you made it about school when you said you dropped out at 16. Then you happened to mention that you're on a deadline to find a job and an apartment. You also mentioned that you're black.

Maybe you can't see this yet and some of this input will help you to get this in perspective. By dropping out of school, you basically cemented your destiny to become a tragic statistical reality, particularly for a young man of color. Lack of education. Lack of prospects other than drug dealing and crime. Lack of opportunities. By dropping out of school before you've received a diploma, you've just increased your likelihood of becoming a crime victim yourself--and of perpetuating the same vicious cycle with the children you will father in the future.

Please listen to reason. Education is your ticket to a better place. To a decent job. To a hope of rising above the circumstances you currently find yourself in. To hope for the next generation. Please find a way to return to school or get that GED. Then try and get more education past high school. It's the singlemost important way for young people to get ahead, particularly people of color. I'm not saying this because I'm a racist but because I'm a well-informed realist. You should be, too. If you doubt the accuracy of what I'm saying, do some research into the messages to young people from the NAACP or the speeches given by Bill Cosby or Senator Barack Obama. It's not too late to make a difference in your own life.