Desire to escape the ghetto

Terrence Mathews

 7/2/12

   My neighborhood has a great influence on my life. It’s mostly the experiences I’ve had in my neighborhood that made an impact. My neighborhood isn’t a nice neighborhood. I live with my mom and two sisters. The bad conditions of my neighborhood influence me to get a good education so that I can do better than my mom.

          In my neighborhood theirs drug dealers up and down the street. My mom always told me drug dealers only end up dead or in jail. I had no choice but to believe her because every month a drug dealer was the neighborhood topic. There was either a dealer in a police chase or shoot out. There’s also girl & boy gangs in my neighborhood, which could have an effect on my little sister. I want to do better so that I can move my family into a better setting. When I walk to the corner store I have to worry about the junkies asking for cash. I want better for my future; I want to live with no worries.

          My god mom lived up the street. She became my god mom when I became a sophomore in high school. I knew her ever since the second grade. I gained a lot from her. She helps me when I was having trouble with homework and school issues. She’s like a second mom to me. I feel like a good education increases my chance of being successful. I didn’t take school too serious until the summer before my freshman year of high school. I spent that summer with my god mom. The advice she gave increased my desire for the skill of studying. I was told in order to be successful I would have to work harder than others. I knew in order to be a diligent worker in school I would have to enhance my studying and reading skills.

    I grew up the wrong group of friends. The friends I grew hung with had bad influences on me. We started smoking marijuana. We stole candy from stores as if it was worth it. We also did careless thing like broke in abandoned homes to vandalize. When I hung with my friends I felt like I was the only one with common sense and a conscious. They were careless about the stupid thing we did. My friends grew up in the same neighborhood as me, but they were more above the influence. Two of my friends sold marijuana and were locked up. I knew that I wanted better for myself and I wanted to go to college, hanging with them wasn’t going to get me there.

           My grandparents had an influence on me as well. My grandfather taught me how to draw and paint well. He’s an artist. My grandmother always gave me positive advice. They were both a positive influence on me.