The System Made Me, But It Won’t Break Me

They tried to break me—cage me, silence me, bury me under labels. But I’m still here, still breathing, still swinging. The system raised me in fire, but it didn’t burn me out—it made me stronger. This episode cuts deep into what it means to be judged, mislabeled, and written off… and why none of that defines who I really am.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome back to the ground, Real Talk, Real Life. Today's
episode it's called the system made me, but it won't
break me. They tried to break me, cage me, silence me,
but I'm still here, breathing, speaking, fighting. See, the system
don't just punish you, It builds you in its image

(00:22):
from the moment they slapped that first label on you,
you know, being called a attict, a failing, a failure.
You become a product of what they want to see.
But it ain't plans plan, But I ain't planned along anymore. Yeah,
I've been locked up, I've been addicted, but I ain't broken.
I'm just battle tested. They raised my child' support when

(00:47):
I was trying to better myself. They took away my
rights while ignoring the danger in the house. They told
me I was I wasn't fit because I didn't piss clean,
but they didn't care. She had a child in lester
in the home. I built the life in the furnace,
and I ain't afraid of fire. I've been called everything

(01:09):
in the book, but none of them ever called me
what I really am. I said, damn good father, doing
everything I can, and I'm gonna keep talking because silence
is what they want. They want me to sit back
and take it. But not today, not ever again. If

(01:31):
you've ever felt like the deck was stacked against you,
welcome You. Ain't alone. I see you. This is the grind,
this is real talk, this is my story, and I
ain't done yet.