Growing Up In Elementary School

Growing up in Lincoln Park Chicago, I went to a private school for preschool through 1st grade. Although it was a exceptional school for elementary kids, the education for middle school and high students was not as adequate. On Average, three or four teenagers graduated from the eighth grade class. When I was in 2nd grade, my parents made the decision to move to the suburbs. On June 27th, we all packed into our Honda minivan and drove the 45 minutes out to a new home in the town of Winnetka. Wishing I could bring my friends and my past life with me, I cursed my parents for removing me from my old way of life. I had to leave behind all of my friends and teachers. Within my first year at Crow Island, my new school, I had learned so many new
With Tony's mentorship to Wes, he is not taught to settle his disagreements peacefully. "'Rule number one: If someone disrespects you, you send a message so fierce that they won't have the chance to do it again'" (33). Because of the influence of his older brother, Wes grows up thinking that what's wrong, reacting violently to a situation, is considered right. At eight years old, Wes has been taught to fight back. When Wes sees his brother and the other boys in his neighborhood fighting each other, he assumes that that's the best way to react to a situation. Values like these are instilled at a young age, they carry through Wes's lifetime. In His teenage years, Wes continues to mimic these values in his teenage years. "As he left his room, he shoved a clip into the gun and cocked the slide hammer back, fully loading the weapon... Wes could only see red. He was blind with rage. Instincts kicked in. Tony's words rang through his mind. Send a message." (page 104). In this situation, Wes uses Tony's advice to justify killing another young man. Wes has no control over the lessons taught to him by his role models, and can't control the way he is influenced. Because Wes is taught such a violent message that's reinforced by others around him, he follows the same violent path without even thinking. This impulsivity also contributes to Wes's decision to rob the bank, which ends up putting him in jail for life. Wes does
My life would be very different if I had stayed in Chicago. I never would've started to run, I never would've met my best friend, and I wouldn't have received the same standard of education I am now. At times, I wonder what happened to my old friends. I don't know if they stayed in Chicago, or if they moved out of state. I don't know if any of them are impacted by drugs or drinking, and I doubt I'll ever see them again. I now know that my life was significantly changed by that one day when we left the city, but was it for the better? Unlike Wes, I do not have a similar counterpart to compare myself too, but I like to think that my parents made a decision with my best interest in