Many individuals, throughout history, have encountered many horrible characters or events that molded them into the people they are today. Personality molding, on the other hand, might have a good or bad impact on a person. It has the ability to shape someone’s personality for the rest of their life.
In the book, “The Other Wes Moore” by Wes Moore, two young men growing up with similar backgrounds face different outcomes in their lives. One man amasses great fortune while the other spends the majority of his adult years in prison. The novel delves into what may have attributed to the differences in their lives.
Each boy had a father who was not present in their life for various reasons. For Wes, his father died when he was young and his mother had to work to support her family. She was not able to be as attentive as she wanted to be and this led Wes down a path of mischief. On the other hand, Tony’s father was around but was an alcoholic who often beat Tony and his mother. This led to Tony developing a hard exterior and being more guarded with his emotions.
Both boys went to the same high school but had different experiences. Wes was popular and outgoing while Tony was a loner who often got into fights. Wes had many friends and was active in extracurricular activities while Tony spent most of his time by himself.
While neither boy had an easy upbringing, they both had different thoughts and attitudes that contributed to their different outcomes. Wes was determined to make something of himself and break the cycle of poverty that he came from. He was motivated to succeed and did whatever it took to achieve his goals. On the other hand, Tony never saw a way out of his circumstances and felt like he was destined to fail. He turned to drugs and crime as a way to escape his reality.
The different thoughts and attitudes of these two boys led to very different lifestyles. Wes is now a successful man while Tony is serving a life sentence in prison. It just goes to show that our thoughts and attitudes can have a big impact on our lives.
Despite the fact that Wes Moore is a student at an extremely academically rigorous institution like Riverdale, Valley Forge may not be able to assist him in the same way. The issue with Riverdale extends beyond the school system; it stems from the neighborhood around the school system. Because of all of the illegal drug activity and violence, it’s difficult for Riverdale schools to function as a good learning environment.
High schools like Valley Forge give their students a better chance to succeed because they are in a more rural area. There are not as many outside distractions and the school systems can actually be focused on. Because of this, I would argue that high schools like Valley Forge provide their students with a better education overall. High schools in rural areas can provide their students with the environment and resources needed to be successful, while high schools in urban areas often cannot.
The school system is surrounded with temptation, and it cannot get away from it. There aren’t manydisciplinary measures for inappropriate behavior, which causes the school system to collapse from the top down. “The problem was that I wasn’t even showing up half of the time,” (Moore 76). Wes Moore doesn’t have the discipline to avoid going to his scheduled classes.
High school is vital to a child’s future and they should be trying their hardest in order to succeed. Attending every class and listening to the lectures can help better a person’s grades, but when someone like Wes Moore shows up late or not at all it puts him at a disadvantage. It’s hard for people who follow the rules and show up on time everyday to see people like Wes get away with things, “The teachers had given up on me, so I pretty much stopped going to class” (76).
Since he wasn’t being disciplined for his actions it gave him the wrong message that he could do whatever he wanted without any consequences. High school is the place were people are expected think about their future and what they want to do, but that was not the case for Wes. He clearly wasn’t thinking about his future when he made the decision to go along with a friend and rob a store, “it didn’t even dawn on me that this could be considered a serious crime” (77).
This goes to show how much of an impact high school can have on people. If he would have been attending his classes and paying attention maybe he would have thought twice before robbing the store. High school is a time for people to better themselves so they can succeed in life, but when people like Wes don’t take it seriously it brings them down and causes them to make bad decisions.
Despite the fact that Wes Moore’s start of school is rocky, he gets a wakeup call when he arrives at Valley Forge Military Academy. This military institution does not take any prisoners with Wes. At first, Wes believes he can do anything he wants and is not obligated to listen to anyone or anything, even not First Sergeant Anderson.
When he rebels and does something that puts his fellow cadets in danger, Wes learns that he needs to start paying attention and following orders.
From then on, Wes is a model cadet. He studies hard, participates in sports, and becomes friends with many of his fellow students. He also starts to think more about his future and what he wants to do with his life. When he graduates from Valley Forge, Wes has plans to attend college and become a successful writer like his idol, Dr. Maya Angelou.
However, things do not always go as planned. While Wes is attending college, he gets caught up in a robbery and is arrested. This event changes the course of his life forever and leads him down a very different path than the one he had originally envisioned.
Despite the challenges he faces, WesMoore continues to strive towards his goals. He knows that he has the potential to achieve great things and is determined to make his dreams a reality. With hard work and perseverance, anything is possible.
