How A Small Interaction Can Affect Someone's Life

Prior to being assigned the reading of the memoir “Always Running”, by Luis Rodriguez, I had never given much thought on juveniles involved in gang life. Rodriguez achieved success as an award-winning poet; sure the streets would no longer haunt him - until his own son joined a gang. Rodriguez fought for his child by telling his own story in the vivid memoir, “Always Running.” “Always Running” is the compilation of events Luis experienced during his youth in San Gabriel. The theme of the book is to always strive for the best things in life and to always take a stand for what you believe. Lured by the seemingly invincible gang culture of East L.A., he witnessed countless shootings and beatings, as well as senseless acts of street crime against his friends and family members. As a Latino in a poor neighborhood, Luis struggled through criticism, stereotypes, and mistreatment. With the help of his mentor, Chente, Luis saw a way out through education and the power of word to successfully break free from years of violence and desperation.

It’s ironic how one seemingly insignificant event can create such a big impact on an individual’s life. Two summers ago, I assisted my teacher by watching over children ranging from seven to eight years old. Prior to this experience, I saw children as a form of nuisance and distraction. They would often ask me to help them with tasks I initially saw as miniscule, such as tying their shoes. However, on what seemed like an ordinary day, the children were playing in the park when I noticed a stranger conversing with one of them. Feeling that something was off, I perceived this as a threat to the children. A surge of peril and solicitous emotions overcame me to protect the welfare of the student. Before I could make out his face, he noticed me

In “Tattoos on the Heart,” by Gregory Boyle, Boyle experiences how to deal with gangs. The novel, a compelling story about gang violence and one man’s response towards giving those buried within it, tells a story of gang members working for a chance of redemption and solace. Can others be seen as fathers or even as a role models when gang life is such a large force in their lives? Through the story gangbangers that try to change themselves for the pursuit of a better future and a desire to succeed and escape gang life, Boyle tells an emotional, human story about life in the Los Angeles barrios. Boyle characteristics represent him as a father for three gang bangers: Joey Cesar, and Scrappy. While

One of the coolest things about the human race is that it always has the potential to change. From birth, a human being is shaped by the places, people, and experiences around them. As a baby, having a bad experience with a dog could be the cause for one’s prominent fear of canines. On the other hand, one’s good experience with a dog could be the cause for one’s love for dogs. Little Things are Big by Jesus Colon explores this idea, developed through an eye-witness account, and centers on people being shaped by past experiences.

Imagine, if you will, a brisk night wind coming fast across a lake carrying a pungent smell, something you can’t quite identify, but is nonetheless familiar enough to send a shiver up your spine. As it hits the trees, they creak out a somber call in the still night air. Or was that groan something more…human? You notice, for the first time, the absence of tires humming on pavement and you wonder if it’s that late, or maybe just a slow night. The soft tapping of your shoes on the sidewalk is the only accompaniment your slow breathing has as you move towards the warmth of your home, holding thoughts of a warm bed in the palm of your hand to keep the chill away. You don’t notice at first, perhaps because the reality of what you’re hearing is

Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, the author of Random Family, depicts a diverse perspective of unpleasant life experiences people suffer from within ghetto communities. Although Random Family was not my choice to read, I am privileged to have read this remarkable book as it conveys distinctive similarities that accurately represent the male populace who live in underprivileged urban communities. To expand on the earlier mentioned, young men who cohabitate in ghetto communities often have relatives who actively influence their participation in gangs, drug sells, and incarceration. As I read the book, I became conscious of the chapter headings as it correlates with the endeavors that young males face of a lower socioeconomic status. For example, chapter titles such as The Street I, Lock Down II, Upstate III, House-to-House IV and Breaking Out V represent the struggles young men face at a micro-level (Strong & Cohen, 2014, p. 51). Random Family conveys the message that men in ghetto communities is unable to overcome the adversities associated with the street life; however, this message is untrue as there are men who have prevailed over the life they inherited becoming successful individuals and not allowing themselves to become victims of their environment.

The movie Boyz N the Hood is an illustration of how a group of early adolescents’ lives was affected negatively due to the environment they lived in. These adolescents lived in an environment where drugs, gangs, and shootings were the center of their community. Living in a predominantly African American community these adolescents were faced with many misfortunes. Ricky one of the adolescent characters I have decided to evaluate for this particular paper was faced with adversity.

Elijah Anderson’s novel, Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the Inner City, offers the reader a glimpse of what life is like being a black youth living in the inner-city. Living by the “code of the street”, a term Anderson uses to describe the unwritten rules many youth in the inner-city when interacting with others, these young people often find themselves on the destructive path to delinquency. Through a lack of role models, a sweeping change in the global market, the ever enticing underground drug trade, the constant institutional discrimination towards African Americans, and the corruption of the criminal justice system, the people who live by the code of the street become a part of an alienated subculture. Through

Carmen Rivera has been in and out of the system for the last years 20 years of her life. Carmen grew up with a dysfunctional family. Her Mother was an Alcoholic and a cocaine user, who work as a bartender from 8 am to 8 pm. “I used to come to the house on my way back from school, watching my Father (Emanuel Rivera) beating my Mother because she didn’t brought money to the house” Carmen explains. Her Father Emmanuel Rivera was worst of a drug addict then her Mother was. “My father was the one who introduce me to the world of drugs and taught me how to shot up drugs in my vein. At a young age my father raped me and started molesting me until his death “1980”. During that time I started prostituting at a very young age in hunts point. I was only Seven (7) years old at that time. You would see car pulling over and parking in a straight line just to get a night with me.”

It was winter time; strong frosts rarely had appeared in this region, but the unceasing urban life had always warmed the city’s streets. Crowded people jumbled and hustled, hurrying in all directions. Sitting on the windowsill, I was looking into the distance through the frozen glass and saw them swarming like ants, hasting towards their everyday routine.

On the night of September 14, 1988, I was lost in reverie up until I heard disturbing yells and chants outside of my house. I deemed it was the local rival gangs, the Socs, and the Greasers, as they always engage in a strife over malicious confrontations. Hearing the vicious sounds, I rushed towards a window and slowly peeked under the curtains to get a clear view of the incident. Then, I scanned the streets, and there they were, the two petty gangs that cause disturbance in my neighborhood. Suddenly, a gang member pulled out a blade and stabbed one of the Socs in his chest. The force of the stabbing caused the teenager to topple, and he fell face-first to the ground. A wild ovation was given to the stabber from his fellow Greasers, and as

Roman Floyd has always been getting in trouble with the law. He has already been arrested fifteen times. As a young African-American male it isn't rare for him to be incarcerated and Roman understands this. He lives in the depths of the inner city of Los Angeles. Every corner filled with drugs and violence. Being exposed to this type of life since he was fourteen he couldn’t help

Mr. L grew up in a 3-room apartment located in a Brooklyn NYC housing development. He describes the building as being acculturated by drugs and the smell of marijuana burning in its hallways a trademark of its inhabitation. His childhood apartment was located in an area of predominately Hispanic and African American lower income families. Mr. L describes the neighborhood as tough and overridden with crime. He reported that his household consisted of himself and 4 sisters who are 2-years, 3years, 6years, 8-years younger, his mother, and a 12-year younger male cousin he identifies with as a brother. For as long as Mr. L can remember he was treated as the man of the family in absents of his father, i.e., responsible for taking care of his younger sisters, and cousin. This accountability soon developed with the anticipation that he would be financially responsible for them. This expectation became part of his decision to sell drugs.

It was amazing how silence could descend upon a dwelling when you took away all the power. The steady hum of air conditioning, the whirring of fans, the sounds of appliances. They all disappeared leaving you with nothing but your thoughts and the outside...and the outside here was howling with the snowstorm. He straightened up out of his office chair and shut his laptop, his large frame looming in the darkness and the floor making a slight creaking noise as he stepped from around his desk. His hand moved and he picked up one of the flashlights, the other picking up his phone as he called out just slightly.

        It occured late at night. Not a particularly blustery, terrifying, or paralyzing night. On the contrary, it was rather ordinary, with a light dusting of snow on the pavement. After a round of holiday excursions, an uneventful evening with just the family (such as it was) was quite welcome, though others might have called it depressing.