He was being modest. You had to be modest in a predominately black high school in Philadelphia. It was what made me so nervous about returning that morning, and so hard headed when I was a teenager. This young guy was smarter than that, and his modesty protected him from the wolves. But that's with anything that you do.
Some people get their break early, some people get their break late.
And I was just fortunate because I never stopped working. Another guy was ready to ask me a question, and he could not even stand at the microphone without acting silly. I could tell that he wasn't about anything before he even opened his mouth. That was just the kind of question those immature guys were waiting for. A roar of laughter launched through the entire auditorium while the teachers shouted and scrambled to maintain order.