Why did Andy join a gang?

Ironically, Andy joined a gang to gain what he believed would be a worthy identity. The text tells us that the Royals and the Guardians were two of the biggest gangs in his area. Andy was especially proud when the Royals accepted him; at the time, he believed that he had gained a worthy title as a Royal gang member.
However, as he lay dying, he no longer reveled in being a Royal. He suddenly realized that he had never envisioned dying at such a young age. After all, he was only sixteen. There were still many things he wanted to do in life. Above all, he had hoped to one day marry Laura, his girlfriend.
As Andy lay dying, he wondered whether the Guardian member who stabbed him saw him as an individual. Andy did not want to die as a Royal gang member. He desperately needed to be known as an individual in his own right. In the last moments of his life, he concluded that a so-called title was little good if one was dead. The story is a sad one: eventually, Andy dies alone, with none of the Royals on hand to comfort him in his last moments.