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.