Personal Narrative: My Life In An Organized Team

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.

Luis Rodriguez is a very well known writer and was the 2014 Los Angeles Poet Laureate. One of his most famous works is Always Running. This memoir describes the event in which Rodriguez was confronted by white boys when he went to “their” side of the tracks and were eventually beat up because they were Latino (a.k.a discrimination). Here he describes how he was going to do something innocent, like by some “good” groceries for his mom on the other sides of the track with his brother. Though they are then discriminated by white boys because they are on “their” side of the tracks. We get a descriptive point of view from the author of his feeling towards the event. Though, he uses more than clever wording.

With two seconds left in the first half, Wes Washpun was at half court and time was running down, so he shot the ball and it went through the hoop! ¨WOOOO!¨ I jumped up and down and saying to the players as they were going into the tunnel, ¨Let's go boys! We can do this!¨ UNC was up 41 to 32 at halftime.

This picture taken by Barbara Davidson in Los Angeles on December 29,2010 depicts the true reality of the environment that the people in Los Angeles were living in. The photo informs audiences that many families were victims caught in the crossfire of the gang violence that erupted within the city. The victim in this picture is a young man still in high school shot and killed walking home after a shopping trip. The photographer uses pathos and appeals to the audience emotions by showing the sorrow and pain left behind by these acts of violence and complete disregard to human life and those affected in the aftermath. The context of this photo can be political and cultural in that the suspect of this picture was an undocumented immigrant teenager

A prime example of this is seen directly after Rodriguez completes his initiation into the Lomas Loco gang. “I looked back at everyone standing around the driveway. My right eye was almost closed. My lip felt like it stuck out a mile. My sides ached. But I had done well” (Rodriguez 2). In this moment, Rodriguez describes what he felt after fulfilling his initiation requirement. These descriptions of the pain he felt throughout his body is not only an example of the horrible actions committed by Mexican-American gang members but it also shows the pressure individuals face choosing to join a gang. Towards the end of the excerpt, Rodriguez describes his direct experiences with him and the Lomas Loco gang attacking the four individuals, who were sitting in the 1952 DeSoto. His vivid descriptions establish an emotional connection. This then establishes an understanding of the pressure Rodriguez faced in this moment to follow through with the horrific orders he has been given. “The dude looked at me through glazed eyes, horrified at my presence, at what I held in my hand, at this twisted, swollen face that came at him through the dark” (Rodriguez 3 – 4). In this moment, Rodriguez was given a rusty, screwdriver by a fellow gang

When they did not, I knew I had to leave. The closer the Calusa walked toward us, the farther I attempted to walk away. Yet, as if by God, my gun randomly fired. And it hit one of their homes, breaking parts of the wooden structure. The Calusa viewed this as the first mark of war, and attacked, which, of course, led to Spaniards attacking. By then, I was sprinting away; I could not take the fear within me. It was always eating away at me. The guns, the animals, the natives, everything was out to get me. I was never so homesick. And I began to even cry a little, once again, alone in the

“If you move, I’ll kill you. I’ll break you in two” (Nazario 87). Enrique’s Journey, a nonfiction book by Sonia Nazario, painstakingly follows the trek of a young teenage boy’s treacherous journey to the United States from Honduras. At the tender age of five, a horrified and confused Enrique watched his mother Lourdes walk away from him and onto El Norte, The North. Eleven years later Sonia Nazario, a project reporter for the Los Angeles Times, traces each bitter step of Enrique’s gruesome and long expedition to reunite with his estranged mother. A novel for the ages, Enrique 's Journey allows for insight into the plight of millions of individuals that cross the border illegally due to life circumstances. This fast paced novel and this critical analysis paper depict and explain a problematic and undeniable issue polarizing the Western world: illegal immigration.

The story illustrates the overlapping influences of women’s status and roles in Mexican culture, and the social institutions of family, religion, economics, education, and politics. In addition, issues of physical and mental/emotional health, social deviance and crime, and social and personal identity are

When the crowd inspired me to play on I did just that, and guarded like my life depended on it and stole the ball,I zoomed down the court with the ball hitting

“The Republic of East L.A. Stories” captures the heartbreaking experiences Mexican-American’s were forced to endure. Escaping poverty, alcohol abuse, drug use, and gang violence was an everyday struggle for many families during this time. African American and Latino gangs were initially created as a response to white racism. They were restricted as to what areas they could live in and where constantly harassed. As their populations increased, so did white gangs, in order to take control of their “territory”. African Americans and Latinos had no choice but to protect their families by fighting back. As time went on, the violence only continued. The Civil Rights Movement led many gang members to join organizations like the Black Panther Party, but the government quickly responded by breaking them up and soon enough, street gangs quickly returned. The violence escalated, alcohol,

The growing brutality and oppression from Mexican drug cartels is apparent, especially in the documentary Cartel Land as the migration of the horrendous crimes from these organizations floods into the United States. Tim “Nailer” Foley, leader of the Arizona Border Recon indicated in the documentary, expresses “we’re David and they are Goliath” during his fight to ensure border security in Southern Arizona against the cartels (Heineman). The narrative Murder City, Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy’s New Killing Fields provides an account of Bowden’s experiences in Juarez as he communicates “the people of the city keep killing each other (5).” These are clear indications that the American people residing along the Southern Texas-Mexico border need their own firearms because the violence in Juarez and the rest of the country is prominent to endanger American homes if left unmonitored. Along with the fact that the main consumers for cartels are in the United States, the high magnitude of these organizations threatens Americans as the desire for the continuation of the billion-dollar market of drugs is overwhelming. Therefore, residents must be prepared to defend their homes and properties from this onslaught. The National Institute of Justice

Julio, a 23 – year – old native from Tijuana, Mexico, went for a walk up the hill where it ended at a big and tall fence. As he pressed his face against the fence; he remembers all the rumors his family told him of the other side. He remembers the stories Mama Dona Pachita would talk about during dinner and how on the other side people lived in big houses with stainless steel appliances, air conditioning, and hot water. She would talk for days about the amount of food people had and all the different cuts of meats one could only wish for. Her talks of the other side were as if she was once there, but we knew she had never been there. The

I passed it to my teammate without hesitation when I got back open he passed it back, when I tried to take the shot the other team hit my arm. I had to take a shot from the free throw line. I didn't know if I was gonna make it, my heart was pounding out of my chest,I took the shot it bounced off the backboard and into the net. We were so happy I made it, we were 2 points behind

We then cleaned our mess and headed over to the stadium where there were many people waiting to go through security but we eventually made it through. Once we got into the stadium we had to find our seats as we were finding our seats we were walking right next to all the basketball players who were super tall! The tallest guy was 6’ 9”! We eventually found our seat but noticed we had a crazy little kid with a huge costume on cheering for the red claws. It was quite funny so we joined in and started cheering along with him. Half way through the game we noticed one guy making all the shots and starting cheering

We were really excited but also extremely nervous. It was one of the biggest games of the season. After warm ups we called off the starting 11. I heard coach say my name and I was ready. The ball went back and forth, back and forth from either side of the field until they scored. We were all sad and mad but we got our heads back into the game and took hold. David was dribbling down