Growing Up In Brownsville

We have all seen the poor or homeless people on the streets. They look cold and lonely. We don't really think about what their life is really about. But have you ever realized that most of them had a good life before they became poor or homeless. The book Almost Home by Joan Bauer goes over this, that the people who are less fortunate are still people and that they had a good life too. This and many other good lessons are gone over in this book.

Wall’s use of rhetorical strategies, indicates that trying to get out of poverty is not an easy task. Wall’s also indicated that more often than not, their parents were more of a burden than showing any kind of support. With Wall’s incorporating these specific pieces of words, we see the internal frustration of what it is like to be trapped in poverty and how hard people have to work, only to get held back by their parents. In doing so, it highlights the realism in Wall’s memoir, that escaping poverty is not an easy task, physically and emotionally, while also convincing readers that it is possible. Jeannette’s point of view has strengthened my belief about poverty and its effects because I believed that poverty was solely based on being homeless and not having anything.

On our journey to Brownsville the first struggle we encountered was with transportation to get to Broadway Junction. Of course the MTA isn't always reliable but there were frequent stops in between stops. While waiting for the train to get up and running again various people said things like “ugh not again,” “Something always happens on the A” and other similar phrases as well as others that seemed accustomed to train issues. Now if you think about it, the A train is highly populated by Hispanics and Black people. Could this have to do with why the MTA hasn't attempted to fix their transit situation. On another note most of the trains heading toward Brooklyn and the Bronx have the older not modernized train carts than the ones heading toward Manhattan or Queens. Theres a huge change in atmosphere just in the manner of transportation.

I am the way I am because of my father, he drives me to get an education, and he wants me to be better than him. My dad constantly tells me “tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you’re going to be.” This quote means significantly to me because when I was in 6th grade I would hang out with the wrong crowd, later when I was a freshman, I made new friends, better friends, and the ones that push me to strive. My mom is my rock, she struggles sometimes since she raised my brother and I alone, but she always finds a way to get us what we need for school and sports that we play in. I have this picture of my brother, my cousin, and I in front of our house when we first bought it, it’s been 17 years that I’ve been living in it. It may not be the nicest house, but its payed off and I have a roof over my head, to me that’s all that matters. My neighborhood is actually quiet, I have 3 neighbors that are nice people, when we go out of town they watch our house for

Before the 1880s, the are of eastern Brooklyn that was to become Brownsville was known as New Lots. This territory was primarily farmland, but it was also the location of the city’s largest waste dump, as well as the site of several facilities that supplied stone and other building materials. In its early history, New Lots had a diverse population. English and Irish settlers, Jewish immigrants, and a small number of African-Americans farmed the land. Others were attracted to the area by the open space and relatively fresh fresh air it provided. Brownsville at one time was a place for waste-disposal, a tenement slum, a haven for Jews before they were accepted, the cradle of a major crime origination, a testing-ground for public-housing and

Imagine coming home to a house that has no warmth or food. Constantly feeling like you are in a place you can’t get out of. This is how poverty may feel to others. The expeirences from the author Jo Goodwin Parker in the story “What Is Poverty” and the McBride family from the novel “The Color Of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute To His White Mother” show that there are various effects of living in poverty that include emotional problems, adolescent rebellion, and

I came from a wonderful and big family, I have seven brothers and sisters. Everyone helps each other whenever we need help, like if I go to College they will support me. I live in a great city called Salinas, CA. Salinas is a great place to live because the big cities are nearby, like San Jose, San Francisco, etc. The weather is awesome in the summer it does not get too hot and during the winter it gets around the 30’s. Also the beaches are near like Monterey or Santa Cruz. Salinas have a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits, in that way we could have a healthy life. Some people might think that Salinas is a gang city where many shootings happen, but it depends in the neighborhood where you live. I went to a great school which is Everett Alvarez

Growing up in one of the most neglected zip codes of Miami, I have faced challenging obstacles all my life. These challenges were not only limited to financial worries, they included peer issues as well as moral ones. Growing up in a neighborhood where police lights and drug dealing were the norm taught me valuable life lessons that most people could never understand. I believe this upbringing has molded me into the person I am today, a person who sees hardships as a way to grow and excel, a person who sees life through a producer mindset, rather than a consumer one.

Proposing a Liquefying Natural Gas (LNG) facility in Brownsville, Texas is a controversial topic due to the complications or improvements it may impact on the environment and daily lives of nearby residence. It may expose unwanted substances to the environment and decrease tourism, but it will benefit the impoverished city economically and academically. In order to improve Brownsville’s low educational levels, the LNG facilities will establish programs in local schools in order to prepare future workers. As a result, it will impact the educational system dramatically by improving each residence’s knowledge.

According to the US Census Bureau, in the year 2000 the City of Brownsville was 83.01 sq. mi., today, the city encompasses 146.3 sq. mi. This growth has been one of Public Works biggest challenges. This development translates into an expanded service area, which puts a strain on Public Works’ other divisions to keep up with the new areas to be serviced while still dealing with inherited situations. In effect it generates longer waiting periods to address our citizen’s needs as well as our departmental goals. As the City continues to experience rapid population growth it demands more services and more from the services provided.

Mark Caine once stated, "the first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself." Growing up in the Bronx, New York, this quote greatly applies to how the environment in which I grew up in shaped my aspirations. Living in the Bronx can prove to be difficult and it requires strenuous effort to find exceptional opportunities. Resources that are provided towards education are limited, meaning that most supplementary aspects that we need to obtain a "full' education is not granted to us.

During the summer after I turned thirteen, I went on a vacation that changed my entire perspective on life. “Americans are so spoiled.” I remember hearing my mother proclaim this numerous times growing up. I would shake my head or roll my eyes every time, since I never quite understood what it meant. Of course, I had nothing to compare it to. I grew up in the suburbs in a middle class family. I never wanted for anything. I heard the stories of my mother and her siblings growing up; they lived in filth, they occasionally skipped meals, all seven kids slept huddled together on concrete floors. I heard those stories as if she was saying, “…I walked a mile to school, uphill both ways…” I never could have imagined the reality of what the stories truly meant until I visited my birthplace, the Philippines, for the first time.

The family I grew up in has been by far the largest influence on how I think, and they have taught me many great things and have been amazing parents, however in this essay I will focus on how my views have differed from theirs, and how I have learned to think differently. My mother is a small town in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma, and my father is from San Antonio, Texas. I have two sisters, one who is eight years old than myself, the other is two and a half years younger. I was born part of the middle class, white, and I 'm a male. Born in Dallas, Texas I 've spent the vast majority of my life in Frisco, Texas. The entirety of my childhood was spent growing up in a Southern Baptist Christian home. From a young age I was taught in church, which I attended for preschool, that an “acceptable” family is a mother and a father with children. This traditional family model was the setting in which I was raised, so I didn 't realize for a long time that

As I grew older, it was impossible to notice that my world was imperfect. In elementary school, all my parent’s problems here hidden; I didn’t understand my family’s economic status. As I grew older and began to ask my parents question about our lifestyle and compared it to the other people around us. This conversation would always end in the same place; because we can't afford it. My high school is composed of economically unstable families, and economically stable families. Seeing that other families were better off than mine, I grew up with the idea that a comfortable life, is a luxurious life. I know that others around

I’ve been given everything that I need to be successful in life thus far. When I was young, I didn’t realize things were different for others. Growing up in an affluent community, you are often shielded from the reality that is life for many people. I think about the the immigrant families and the struggles they face every day and I’m grateful. I think about not being hungry and wondering where and when I will get my next meal and I’m grateful. I think about living in a house with both parents who are educated and working and I’m grateful. I’m also grateful that they have allowed me to travel and see that things ARE different. People all over the world and just six miles away struggle for their existence daily...I don’t, and I am grateful. I also understand that I am not better than others, I am just in a different situation, and for that, I feel grateful and