About a month ago, I was invited to come speak at the LA Juvenile Detention Center to a group of young people there about how they can take control of their lives and start moving in the right direction. It was an incredible honor and just a humbling experience overall, but it did include a few curve balls. See, they brought us in through this security checkpoint and had us all dump our IDs, wallets, phones and everything else in storage. They explained that some of these kids will snatch basically everything you put in front of them. That part didn’t surprise me. The part that did surprise me was when the warden turned to me and told me I’d be speaking to all girls. I had thought earlier that it would be a mix of boys and girls, so that’s …show more content…
Apparently that was a way to get rid of head lice, although I can’t imagine gasoline shampoo is anybody’s idea of a cheap solution these days. As I got older, I started to feel the effects of poverty on a deeper level. I had such negative attitudes about myself and about the world and about money, because that’s what everyone around me believed. I believed that money was something you either have or didn’t have. Specifically, I thought other people did have money and we didn’t, and there was nothing I could do to change that. I also believed that my circumstances were in charge my life, not me. It didn’t occur to me that my own decisions could create the life I dreamed of, or if I messed up, keep me right where I was. These were the things I talked about with the girls in the Juvenile Detention Center. I could see in their eyes that they recognize what I was talking about. Once I knew they were listening, I put my foot down and told them the honest truth: that they have to take control of every single decision they make in life from now on, and they have to decide on where they want to go instead of letting circumstances dictate that for …show more content…
He was sort of a classic bossy old man, with a booming voice and waggling finger, but he did have a lot of wisdom. One day, when I’d been partying the night before, I showed up to my shift late and visibly exhausted. I apologized over and over again, but all he said was “Circumstance does not change responsibility.” To me, the real beauty of that statement is how much it empowers you when you really take it to heart. I believe that deep down, everybody has a purpose and a unique gift to share with the world, and we are most happy when we are doing that work. In fact, that reminds of another saying my Dad would always tell me. He would say it in Armenian, but in English it roughly translates as “Work is holy.” All of this came up again too while I was talking to those girls. I did my best to explain to them they will feel the happiest and most alive when they are doing the work that fits their purpose. In dark times, it can be the thing that keeps you grounded and sane while all these other problems try to drag you down, and in good times it’s the thing that gives you more freedom, money, and respect than you might ever
Poverty as we know it is not a new issue at all, but none the less it’s a crucial problem that plagues much of the world. So much so, that it’s been stated that three billion people live off of less than $2.50 each day (dosomething). Poverty is a debilitating state to be stuck in, it takes so much more from people than just from a financial aspect. Someone who’s suffering from poverty have higher chances of experiencing a medical problem. People in this economic state also have much lower odds at succeeding in important areas such as school or finding a job. Poverty does not use a narrow view, instead it plays effects on people in much wider variety than just financially.
I wasn’t poor but I wasn’t rich either, I was surrounded by an environment in which many people where in need of shelter and food because their families could not afford both. Just like poverty played a major role in my life, so did an ambitious and hardworking environment. Because those people I would see every day on the streets without food or a home, were the ones that had a bigger passion than anyone else, to one day be able to have a stable job and home for their family. This has shaped me to be who I am today, because I greatly appreciate what I have and take advantage of the opportunities I am given because not everyone is lucky enough to have what one
Poverty is something that many of us will never have to face. I never could have survived growing up the way Frank McCourt did with the constant dampness of things, an alcoholic father, religion shoved down my throat and family members dying left and right. It makes you wonder how he and his family did it. Was it that he was happy with what he had or was it more than that? Frank may not have had many materialistic items or a very good father but he did many things that helped him along the way. Stories of heroes and other fiction, father figures and dreams all kept him going and not giving up hope.
Living a life of poverty is seen as shameful in this day and age but
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson-
We’re taking the place!” The employees who were tipped off to raids never were informed of this one. Some say that the raid was ordered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, although this was never confirmed.
Girls react differently to most situations, so it’s important to take gender into consideration when evaluating a youth’s past. For example, peer and romantic relationships often have opposite effects on young girls and boys. While boys are less likely to be involved in criminal activity when in a romantic relationship, girls tend to commit more offenses. Girls are also more likely to be afflicted with mental health disorders than boys, because of the numerous differences between male and female juvenile offenders, the ways that they need to be treated should be different as well. According to a study done by the Girls Justice Initiative, 89% of the 118 attorneys and 61% of the 97 judges interviewed across the county agree that girls in the juvenile justice system do not receive adequate services. This report offers best practices starting from how to communicate with girls when first enter to the juvenile justice system to how to best serve them after they leave in order to reduce recidivism rates and address the circumstances that led to their incarceration. (Bolton, 2012)
I think that the fact that when I was young my family lived in poverty affected me. We did not live in severe poverty but we were more poor than everyone we knew. Luckily my dad got a better job and we moved to a better neighborhood. During that time I got just a taste of what it was like to live in poverty. That made me appreciate not only how lucky I was and helped me realize how people that are poverty stricken feel.
Something happened my sophomore year of high school that little did I know would change my perspective, not only of myself, but life in general. I was looking for something new and exciting to enhance my high school existence and decided to give the Criminal Justice Club a try. I was familiar with the advisor of the club, but knew that the club had astigmatism for attracting those students who were just looking for something easy to do. I knew about the criminal justice system, but only what they show on Law and Order. However, I immediately fell in love, not only with the club but the entire prospect of Criminal Justice. I stepped into the club as if it were a place I belonged and easily became a leader. I was able to learn things the TV shows
Poverty is nothing new, it has been around for many decades. People can be struck by poverty any day of their life. Job losses, illnesses, accidents, and other tragic events can effect anyone’s financial situation. The culture of poverty, which is a false assumption people have of those who are poor and poverty stricken. This belief states that, the poor are where they are because they have low standards and poor morals. They like to be poor because they don’t pull themselves out of poverty. They teach these beliefs of laziness and bad morals to each new generation and perpetuate poverty. That is why individuals that were raised in poverty seem to be more likely to be stuck in it their whole life, rather than those who were not. People that are raised in poverty often lack the funds it takes to educate them to succeed in life. In this century, a high school education is usually required for jobs, and most careers require a college degree. The United States of America is a country that does not have free
When thinking about what topic I should write about for this essay I had so many ideas I couldn’t decide. At first my brain went to Monarch Butterfly migration because of the animal lover in me but I didn’t really like the way it connected to the theme the more I thought about it. I also wanted to go with my uncle’s journey throughout Vietnam but that didn’t quite fit for me either. I decided to go with talking about my experience growing up with an incarcerated parent because it’s more personal and I’ve always been kind of curious on the statistics of kids who grow up with an incarcerated parent. I’ve never sat down and considered it so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for that and to also learn more about myself in the process. It’s a topic I’m open with and I think is important to share with other people because it’s not an easy thing to go through and not everyone gets through it.
Those blocks (block, block, block) in just plain gray (gray, gray, gray): the perfect surroundings to leave one's mind blank... or insane.
Living the life of poverty is like living on a rapid downward spinning spiral towards failure. If you were born into poverty there is a slim chance of you making a brighter future for yourself. IN some countries, especially Africa, they have a law that states if you’re contagious then you can’t go to school. Most kids in poverty are chronically ill, therefore seldom going to get an education. The lack of education is a major difficulty for these children later in life. According to Causes of Poverty, over 101 million children aren’t attending school. Out of these 101 million only a scarce number will be given the opportunity to work. However, most when seeking a job will be rejected die to the lack of education. Children aren’t the only ones who see a atrocious future, adults do too. Insufficient education isn’t the only thing that hurts poverty stricken people the absence of the basic fundamental skills is a huge burden. Around the world, there are about one billion people that are illiterate. Not retaining the skills to read or write is a huge disadvantage. People will try to take mastery of you because you’re rubbish to the upper to middle class. Growing up in pove...
J.K. Rowling once said “Poverty entails fear and stress and sometimes depression. It meets a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts that is something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is romanticized by fools,” and this really resonates with me as my family has always struggled with money. It was this state of poverty that has stayed with me my whole life and defined who I am today.
In conclusion, sometimes actions take place that changes a person’s outlook on life and as you can see poverty is one that can have a huge effect on not only one person, but also the people around him/ her.