Second Chances & Regret

No one is perfect. No one will always make the right decisions. People who regret their actions can take advantage of second opportunities that come their way. It is clear that Wes Moore takes advantage of his due to his successful life today. It is also clear that the other Wes Moore never changes his actions even after his second chance, which leads him to be involved in a robbery and end up in jail for the rest of his life. Mistakes impact people in different ways. Some learn and grow from their mistakes, but others do not learn or do not understand that dangerous decisions comes with dangerous consequences.

Wes Moore has not always been on the right path, but he definitely takes advantage of the second chance his mother gives him when she sends him to military school. In military school Wes Moore was able to mature and understand that his mother only wanted the best for him. He works hard in military school to move up in ranks and get good grades to make his mother proud, who works hard to keep him in the school. If his leaders in military school did not push him to apply to John Hopkins, he would have not attended that school and realized his hard work paid off. Although Wes Moore makes many wrong decisions as a young kid, it leads to the life he has now. In Wes Moore’s case there is not any regret of his past actions because it all leads him to have a great support system to push him to be his best everyday.

The other Wes Moore looks for a second chance at a better life. When he starts to regret getting into the drug dealing game, he searches for a program that could help him get on his feet to find a real job. After given the opportunity, completing the program, and working at a few places with low salary, Wes goes back to his old neighborhood only to realize that he can not handle the hard work required. He goes back to dealing drugs instead of working hard to be able to support his wife and kids. Unlike Wes Moore, he does not take advantage of the second chance he receives. If he had kept working hard, he could have found a higher paying job or have been offered a promotion. He had the opportunity to stop drug dealing, but takes the easy way out. Staying in the game only led him to commit crimes over and over again until he becomes part of a murder in which there was no way out. At this point, it no longer matters what decisions he regrets because he does not have any more second chances.

I have been offered second chances many times and I try to make the best of every opportunity. There are decisions I regret making because not only did it affect me but it affected others around me. Other decisions I do not regret because it has shaped me to be a stronger and better person. Every mistake comes with consequences, therefore some second chances may be harder to take advantage of, but it is not impossible. It is up to each person to make sure that they make the best out of every opportunity given to them. Second chances allows a person to use their experience and growth to be able to make better decisions that affect them and the people around them in a positive way.

Privilege & Sacrifice

Neither Wes Moore comes from a wealthy family, and both at a certain point live in a town filled with drugs and crime. However, the other Wes Moore is not as privileged as Wes Moore. Unlike the other Wes Moore, Wes Moore has a mother who never lets him slip away into drug dealing. He also has grandparents who make sure he does not slip up, and who welcome his family in when they need help. The other Wes Moore's mother loses her first son to drug dealing and lets the same happen with her second son. One mother made more sacrifice than the other, and never was there a need to sacrifice money. One does not need to be privileged to make sacrifices, and being privileged does not require wealth.  

If it was not for Joy, Wes Moore would have stayed living in a town full of crime and drugs. Moving to a new town was supposed to make a positive change in their lives. Instead, Wes Moore is influenced negatively by the wrong people. Joy always makes sure to stay on top of her kids and how they are doing in school. When she notices Wes's rebellious actions getting out of hand she makes the decision to send him to military school. Sending him away means that Joy and her parents must sacrifice their money and their plans to be able to military school. Wes Moore's family is not wealthy; therefore, the rest of his family also must sacrifice money to help him. Wes Moore is privileged to have a family that is willing to make sacrifices to provide him with a better life. The sacrifices made by his family pay off years later when he is doing good in school and when he learns to appreciate all the effort his mother makes for him. 

Mary, the other Wes Moore's mother, loses her privilege of having the grant which helps her pay for school. At the same time, Wes and Tony lose the privilege of having a mom like Wes Moore's. She spends time partying and having fun instead of focusing on providing her children a better life. Although she is not wealthy, she can sacrifice the fun to spend time with her children to lead them to a better path. Any small sacrifice Mary could make to spend more time with Wes or Tony could end up changing their lives. When the other Wes Moore lies to Mary about where he is getting money for shoes, Mary decides to believe the lies because she does not want to face reality. She already has an idea of the business the other Wes Moore was involved in but chooses to ignore it for her own sake, and not her child's.  

Everyone is privileged in different ways. I believe I am privileged to have parents who are willing to make sacrifices to offer my siblings and me with a better life and education. My parents sacrificed their whole life in another country to provide me with the best life possible. They sacrificed their time and money to help me become the person I am today. My parents still sacrifice their free time to ensure that my siblings grow into well-rounded and responsible individuals. I do not have the privilege to come from a wealthy family, but I am privileged to have such caring parents.  

Life Choices

Any life choice can turn a person's life around positively or negatively. The choices we make do not only affect us, but they can also affect the people around us. Joy, Wes Moore's mother, decided to stay with her first husband knowing that he was not making the right choices. She later made the decision to leave him, which changed her and her daughter Nikki’s lives in positive ways. She decides to remarry and have two kids. When her husband got ill and passed, it forced Joy to make choices that she did not have planned. Joy had the option of filing a suit against the hospital or informs others about the condition that caused her husband's death. Before deciding, she thought about how each option could affect her children. Therefore; instead of going through a long battle against the hospital she chose to inform others about her husband's illness to save her children from the harmful effects a trial would have on her children. When Joy moved to New York with her parents, it changed Wes Moore's life. His behavior in school was affected in a negative way when he realized he did not fit in in the private school he was attending.  Wes Moore and his friend came from similar backgrounds and were the only two kids in school that did not fit in due to their race. His friend focuses on school and gets high grades, while Wes Moore gets involved in fights and slacks in school. They are both affected differently by the change of environment, which leads them to make different choices.

Mary, the other Wes Moore's mother, made choices that impacted her son's life. The other Wes Moore and his older brother, Tony, grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and are influenced by others to make the wrong choices. Tony starts doing drugs at a young age and ends up selling drugs. Eventually, he makes enough money to afford expensive clothing and accessories. Tony's life influenced the other Wes Moore's way of thinking, and eventually the choices he would make. When the other Wes Moore starts to play football in school, he starts to believe he is superior to everyone else in school and does not need to do any work. When the other Wes Moore starts to compare his life to his brother's, he begins to worry about making easy money instead of staying in school. To not follow in his brother's footsteps, Wes decides it is acceptable to wear stolen goods and get paid for it. Growing up, Wes and the other Wes Moore make choices that steer them away from the right path. They were both influenced by changes in their lives and the people around them.

In my life, I have witnessed plenty of choices impacting the lives of others. My parents chose to immigrate to this country when I was about two years old. This decision allowed my siblings to be born in a better country, but it brought me obstacles that I had to overcome. I was forced learn a new language and to adapt to a different living condition. Today, I am still trying to overcome the obstacles of being undocumented. Since my siblings were born here, they will not have trouble receiving financial aid or health insurance. My parents decided to provide me with a better education and more opportunities, but that decision it more beneficial to my siblings than to me. I must still face the hardships to one day be able to receive the same benefits as my siblings.  

You Are What You Eat

Obesity in the United States should be a personal responsibility to those affected. Americans today are more worried about saving money instead of their health. Any fast food deal sounds more appealing than a deal on fruits and vegetables. People do not notice the damage fast food can have on your body in the long run. The healthier options are more expensive and do take time to make, but it's better to have to make time to cook a meal than to make time for the doctor. There are many options to live a healthy life, but it is up to each person to make an effort. Parents blame time and poverty for not being able to eat healthier, yet, the government offers Food Stamps, a program that gives needy families money for groceries. Also, there are plenty of articles and web pages dedicated to healthy meals that someone can cook in less than thirty or even ten minutes. Unhealthy food is hard to escape because they are also found in schools. Schools with lunch programs provide frozen and packaged meals, which is as bad as fast food. Even when kids complain about their school lunch, some parents do not make an effort to send their kids with home cooked meals. 
In the 101st NAACP Convention, Michelle Obama states that kids that are not fed well at home pass by the deli to buy junk food before and after school. Buying junk food is the only option they are given because their parents are not taking the time to send them any snacks. Many of the parents that do not take the time to cook probably do not take the time to sign their kids up for outdoor activities, which increases the chances of the child becoming obese. In the What You Eat is Your Business article, written by Radley Balko, it states "President Bush earmarked $200 million in his budget for anti-obesity measures." The government spends money on creating programs for kids to exercise and eat healthier but parents still don't take the initiative to take advantage of what the government has to offer. Parents choose to keep let their kids stay home, and they decide to feed them fast food without thinking of how it can affect them later on. Healthcare is another issue that contributes to the obesity problem. Not having to pay for your treatment or medication does not let people notice the difficulties that unhealthy food causes. 
In the article Don't Blame the Eater, by David Zinczenko, it states that a company's website provides false information on their chicken salad. The number of calories reported is for the dish itself and not any other sides added by the eater. The eater chooses to add the dressing, almonds, and noodles. They also decide the amount to add. Therefore, when the healthy salad becomes unhealthy, that is the eater's personal choice. The government is already putting an enormous amount of effort to end obesity, but at the end of the day, each person has the final word in how they want to live their life.  

Pop Culture

While the use of technology is increasing swiftly, things are becoming effortless, and our society is getting lazier. People used to go to the library to find books or do research. Today, we have the Internet that allows us to do our research wherever and whenever. There's no need to go to the library to find a book because we can easily order them online and get them delivered to us as soon as the next day. This change in technology has affected our way of thinking and our methods of activism. Today, people have everything handed to them. There is no longer critical thinking required to understand TV shows.  

Pop culture has become more useful to start trends instead of making a legitimate change for many people. Putting your story on social media can help you find a match for a bone marrow transplant or get justice for a stolen phone (Gladwell 2010). Social media can impact only a few. Acting upon a belief is much stronger than posting something on the Internet. More meaning and dedication is shown through actions than it is through words. It is much more powerful when people stand together to fight for what they believe. Pop culture has limited people’s actions because it has made it easier for them to express their thoughts but the fact that they post their ideas online does not mean that they impact people. Many people can agree on certain beliefs but if no action is taken then what that want does not seem to be important. When the four students sat peacefully in the cafeteria, it encouraged many people to do the same (Gladwell 2010). During that time social media did not exist to spread the news. Instead, it was all spread through word of mouth.
This event impacted many without the need of social media, these people’s actions spoke much louder when they were united in one location. During these types of events, you can also find those who are your real friends. A person can have many followers or friends on social media, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be by your side when you’re fighting for your beliefs. Pop culture has allowed people to call the strangers online 'friends' without knowing them. A friend is someone who will stand by your side and support you no matter what, not a person who just likes your posts on social media. Social media has made everyone worry about their physical appearance. People need to look good for pictures so they can get 'likes' and 'followers.' Even though some people may gain self-confidence, there are others who become more insecure with themselves. Some people set unrealistic goals for themselves to try to be or look different and they end up doing more harm than good.  
Pop culture has made shows and movies easier to understand which stops people from using their brain to think. Movies and TV shows are being made with small hints to make sure that the viewers know what is happening because all that matters is that the viewers understand the plot. It reduces the amount thinking needed to understand the story. People won’t watch a show with many characters because it is hard to remember all the characters and their stories. Even the interactive TV shows are being made to only watch instead of learning. In these shows, the actors and actresses think, not the actual viewers. It doesn’t do any good to watch a show that will provide you with answers because in real life you don’t get the answers to a test.  
It is inevitable to become involved in pop culture, but the more people do, the less they think. They are spending more time on social media instead of fighting for what they believe. Instead of analyzing a movie to understand it, we are being told about everything that is supposed to happen before it happens. Although pop culture may have a positive impact on a few, overall it has an adverse impact on many people. There is nothing good in having a couple of benefits and having twice as many adverse effects.  

From Monolingual to Bilingual

When I was two years old, I landed at the Miami International Airport from Peru, where my great grandparents still do not know how to read or write in their own language. My mother and I boarded a bus that brought us to Union City, NJ, which has been my hometown to this very day. That day we started a new life, in a new country, which forced us to learn a new language, and which also forced me into literacy. 

The only language I spoke was Spanish. I was introduced to the English language my first day in Pre-School. Unfortunately for me, my first teacher only spoke English. The challenges were evident. I was unable to communicate with her. However, one of the frustrating challenges was that instead of trying to understand me, she yelled at me for not being able to communicate. It was not until I was switched to another class that I actually started to learn the language and receive support from my teacher and peers. This is what pushed me into becoming literate in the English language. However, the hardest part was going back home and not being able to practice the language. My parents only spoke Spanish, so I was becoming literate in Spanish at home. Learning English was twice as hard, being that I was only able to speak it in school. 

Due to the fact that I was not fluent in English, my parents were not comfortable sending me to a public school that was filled with kids who were fluent in the language. I ended up attending a private school from kindergarten to sixth grade. Starting kindergarten was better than starting pre-school. I had a teacher who helped me immensely even though she did not speak Spanish. I became friends with students who were also learning the language and students who were already fluent in it. Having these peers helped me become more literate in the English language. I obviously learned to read in school, and I would read more and more on my own. I was never a fan of writing; however, I always loved to read. Reading horror novels helped me become more literate. I would learn more vocabulary through my books, and I would use what I learned and apply it to my speaking and writing. I credit reading with being the central aspect of me being able to communicate well in English today. 

My path to literacy pushed my parents to learn the English language as well. They were not in school to learn as I did; however, they knew the importance the language. Every day that I would come home from school speaking more and more English was more reason for them to learn because they wanted to help me as much as they could. Today, my parents understand English well, and although they do not speak as well as I do, they can easily hold their own in a conversation in English. In fact, my father is currently in English classes to learn to read and write to help him get certifications for his job.

Literacy is one of the most important things a person can have. The ability to communicate accurately through reading and writing is what creates opportunity. If you cannot read or write, nobody in the world will take you seriously, and very few would ever offer to help you learn. Without literacy, there is no way you would get a well-paying job. Besides those obvious reasons, literacy to me is most important because, without literacy, there are few ways to educate yourself. If you cannot read, you are missing out on so many pieces of knowledge held within billions of books and articles. Literacy means knowledge, and knowledge is the power that will help you get through the game of life.