I believe that neighborhoods can make a person who they are. I, personally, am based off two different neighborhoods I have lived in. I would definitely say between the small, southern town in Arkansas, and the urban area in California, they have both developed my character.
Malvern Arkansas is known for the strict ways of raising children, even the schools were run by a strict system. My mother was a single parent and even though we didn’t have much, she raised me at high expectations, and made sure I was going to finish school. I believe that it gave me the mentality that I know I can and will be successful, but with the limited resources and opportunities, made it really hard. Because there weren’t that many chances, trouble and failure was a lot of youths’ common comfort zone, which was another obstacle I had to make it through.
I now live in Berkeley California which is known for all the free spirits. Since I’ve been here, I have developed a stronger mindset. Not only did I believe I could be successful, I eventually took on challenges that were given. That is the difference between living in Malvern and living in Berkeley, opportunities are more available here. Berkeley, let alone California, has given me the attitude that I feel I need in this life to survive.
People, who have grown up in rough neighborhoods with hard lives, don’t press on their potential. All through their lives, they have been told that they can’t, or will never succeed. I feel like when people, mostly blacks, colored, and urban, don’t prove themselves they prove others to be right. That brings me back to the opportunity divide. All through life, I never really knew what that meant. Now that I know, I realize I have witnessed it all.
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