My Coming of Age in NYC “Mom, when I grow up, I’m moving to New York City!” I remember telling my mother at the tender age of twelve. That dream of living in the Big Apple stayed on the back of my mind until it finally became a reality. At was twenty years old, I was ready to come into my own, so I made one of the most significant decisions of my life; a decision that is most responsible for the evolvement of a young boy having to quickly become a man. I moved to New York City. Soon, I would learn that along with all the excitement and responsibilities associated with this new chapter of my life also came a ton of fear and many lonely nights. Fending for myself would be the only way to survive. After all, this was an enormous unfamiliar city …show more content…
I woke up to the sound of my cousin screaming and ran into the living room to witness the second airplane crash into the World Trade Center. I remember my heart racing, my body feeling numb, and my mind jumping into a state of fear and shock. It was the day I realized that life should never be taken for granted. I watched as the first responders risked their lives to save others. I witnessed the love for humanity as they displayed it through their actions of courage. This experience ignited a fire in me to do the same …show more content…
They taught me that through hard work and perseverance, anything is possible. On September of 2016, I decided to return to Miami to be closer to my mother and my immediate family. My return home has been an adjustment accompanied by some challenges. Nonetheless, it has also granted me the opportunity to return to school and continue my education. As a young boy, I learned to survive. As I commence the next chapter of my life, I am reassured that my past experiences will navigate me toward
The children in this book at times seem wise beyond their years. They are exposed to difficult issues that force them to grow up very quickly. Almost all of the struggles that the children face stem from the root problem of intense poverty. In Mott Haven, the typical family yearly income is about $10,000, "trying to sustain" is how the mothers generally express their situation. Kozol reports "All are very poor; statistics tell us that they are the poorest children in New York." (Kozol 4). The symptoms of the kind of poverty described are apparent in elevated crime rates, the absence of health care and the lack of funding for education.
As a child I suffered an event that framed my life, a catastrophe that would change my life at least temporarily. This catastrophe changed things all around me, things in my family changed and things at home changed ever since that day. I remember we were all exited, we were going on a family vacation to different regions of Colombia.
I do not believe anyone's transition into adulthood is enjoyable or smooth, losing your ignorance and being made aware of real world problems isn't exactly what you wish for. The event that marked my transition into adulthood is certainly nothing I would wish on anyone, but if I had not experienced this, I wouldn't have become someone who learned to take responsibility, and find reasonable solutions to seemingly impossible tasks.
Growing up in New Jersey is not what it is stereotyped to be. When I tell people I'm from New Jersey, they think of filth and the all-too-famous MTV hit, Jersey Shore. The misconception of atmosphere of where I'm from is absurd. Where I'm from is the heart of New Jersey's beauty, Shamong, New Jersey.
New York City’s population is a little over 8.3 million people. 8.3 million people are spread out among five boroughs and each have their own set routine. Each one of those 8.3 million see New York in a different way becuase “You start building your private New York the first time you lay eyes on it” (“City Limits” 4). Some people are like Colson Whitehead who “was born here and thus ruined for anywhere else” (“City Limits” 3). Others may have “moved here a couple years ago for a job. Maybe [they] came here for school” (“City Limits” 3). Different reasons have brought these people together. They are grouped as New Yorkers, but many times, living in New York is their only bond. With on going changes and never ending commotion, it is hard to define New York and its inhabitants in simple terms.
Growing up, I was not so much of an angelic girl. Around the age of nine, I moved from Brooklyn, New York to Philadelphia. Moving to a new place is never really a smooth transition, but it didn’t take long for me to get to know many people in my school and in my neighborhood. My life in Philly was wonderful; I was living the life. At least that was what I thought. The problem was, I did not choose my friends wisely. It got as horrid as becoming affiliated with a gang called “N.I.C. (Niggas in Charge)/ B.I.C. (Bitches in Charge).” Although the ages throughout the group varied, the majority of us were little kids, who thought we were grown. I went from sweet to bitter and that was when my life deteriorated.
When I was younger, I always wanted to be an adult. I was fortunate enough to have enjoyed a happy childhood, but something about being an adult mesmerized me. As I've gotten older, however, I've realized the naivety of this misconception and I've seen the struggles of adulthood firsthand.Back then, I had no idea that my transition to adulthood would occur much sooner than expected and in a way that no one should have to endure. When I was sixteen years old, my transition to adulthood was marked by my unexpected responsibility as a caregiver for my ill mother.
It is August 2012. I’m rocking back and forth in my recliner, smoking a cigarette. I’m alone in my apartment, surrounded by fast-food trash. Trash on the table, trash on the floor. Trash everywhere. In between drags of my cigarette, I try to suppress a gargling cough that is creeping out of my lungs and into my throat. I do not want to cough. I do not want to be sick again. But I know I am. It is bronchitis and it is my third bout of it this year. I know that I need to quit smoking temporarily in order to get over the bronchitis. Like most smokers, I am always trying to quit. I think to myself, if I have to quit for a few days anyway, knowing that the first few days are the hardest part; maybe I should use this opportunity to quit for good.
Try to imagine being homeschooled near your entire life before high school, then moving from Los Angeles to Miami and starting as a freshman at one of the country’s largest high schools. With 4,500 students, 93% minority enrollment, as well as English being a second language what challenges do you think you would face? How would you approach something like this? Would you be a little scared? I wasn’t, I am a Military brat and I was eager to dive in head first on Expert Mode.
During my transition from childhood to adulthood, I have learned and accomplish many things within my education, community, and family. My transition from childhood to adulthood education made me come into reality that everything can’t be done for you and that you have to stay more focused and organized if you want to be somewhere five to ten years from now. My growth in the things that I do in my community such as church and basketball summer leagues made me realize that it is all right to participate and help out for the positive things in my community. In my family, my transition from childhood to adulthood help me to become a more mature and knowledgeable person.
When you associate anything with New York City it is usually the extraordinary buildings that pierce the sky or the congested sidewalks with people desperate to shop in the famous stores in which celebrities dwell. Even with my short visit there I found myself lost within the Big Apple. The voices of the never-ending attractions call out and envelop you in their awe. The streets are filled with an atmosphere that is like a young child on a shopping spree in a candy store. Although your feet swelter from the continuous walking, you find yourself pressing on with the yearning to discover the 'New York Experience'.
Looking back on my childhood, I would say I was blessed to have the people I had in my life. I grew up with ten siblings so things were never easy. From the oldest sibling to my youngest there is a twenty-four year age gap. To some it might come off as life being easier or less responsibility. Many might even think it was an easier way to get what we wanted because we could get it from each other. Than on the other hand, you have the people that looked at my family size and immediately wondered “How can they afford all of those kids?” Where do they live? How much does it cost to feed and put clothes on their backs?
"Happy Birthday", my mom screamed out and scared me the morning of June 9. But it was surprising and nice of her since she wished me before anyone else. It was my eighteen birthday and it was my day. While looking out the big windows in my room, I thought to myself, I will do what satisfies me today, but wasn't quite sure what? I didn’t receive any calls from my friends, or other relatives. Nobody was home either besides my mom with whom I can’t make plans because she got her own work to do. It depressed me because it seemed like this was going to be one boring eighteen birthday.
My whole life I have lived with a single thought in the back of my mind, that thought haunted me sometimes and made me worry about who I might become as a person in the future. I always wondered what I was going to do with my life even when I was young. With the consistent pressure from my parents to work at a young age and to also keep up with my good grades, I began to develop a lot of stress. Through it all, I realized that enjoying time spending time with my friends and sitting on my latest console gaming all day was going to change.
My 18th birthday was a year of growth. However, no one told me how painful it would be, how painful life could be. See, growing up I was always cast as an outsider. I wanted to fit in but I always remained on the outskirts of the scene. Everywhere I went I could always remember carrying this burden. I was the quiet one, never really said much. I kept a lot on my mind all the time over-thinking, being overly self-conscious and feeling as if I was inferior to the rest of my friends. It dawned on me on my 18th birthday that my teenage years had reached its peak, but so had my life for about a decade.