My Experience with Literature.

  (Wu Tang Clan, One of my favorite rap groups) Growing up in the 80s, Wes was exposed to a cultural shift that would change the world forever; Hip Hop. Hip hops influence is still felt throughout the world today, and when it was first coming out of the streets of New York, the youth was going mad. The new sounds, lyrics, and personas of these rappers made Hip Hop attractive to the youth. Wes Moore was very fond of Hip Hop because he felt like he could relate to the lyrics and what they were talking about. Personally, I can relate to Wes 100%, because I love Hip Hop as well. Im not just talking about rap music today, Im talking about the old boom bap Hip Hop where rappers were allowed to say the craziest, mind boggling things. Music has played an extremely important role in my life, and I actually wanted to be a musician before I started designing. I love music so much because it can make you feel so many different emotions. Although I mostly listened to rap, I have listened to a pleth

Gabriel Diaz (I will refere to the author Wes Moore as Wes Moore 1, the other gentleman is Wes Moore 2) In the book, both of the Wes Moore's had a similar upbringing but ended up in totally different situations due to their decision making and being in different environments. I can completely relate to their stories and I had a bunch of friends that ended up in Wes Moore 2's situation. In my previous article I discussed my decision to distance myself from people who didn't want to go down the same path as me, and I believe this greatly altered my life path. If I would have kept up my behavior, I don't know where I would be right now and Im glad I made the decision to stay out of trouble and focus on my goals. Everyone that comes from the inner city (specifically poor areas) has had to make hard decisions at some point in their life. Whether its to continue onto college after high school, drop out of high school to provide for their family, or join a gang. These were the

Gabriel Diaz  After reading Wes Moores book, it made me reflect on how I grew up and I could completely relate to the story. Instead of trying to explain being a product of our enviornment/expectations, Ill give you an insight into my life and hopefully you'll put the pieces together. Growing up in the inner city, I have always heard about being "a product of my environment" and falling into the traps that many kids fall into. Up until now, I have never thought about being a product of my expectations. It makes sense; if the people around you expect you to do something, your more likely to fulfill that expectation. If you expect to be like your older sibling or your parent, you will most likely follow in their footsteps. I have seen countless examples of kids falling victim to their own expectations, and I was almost one of them.     Growing up, I always seemed to surround myself with the "wrong crowd" but I did not believe in such a  thing. I vividly remember k