What Shapes Us?

In my opinion, we are are not 100% products of our environment. We become who we are, not just because of one thing; there are many things that surround us and help us become a person of good or bad. Both Wes Moore’s environments were negative because they were surrounded by people selling drugs, but in the end, the Moores turned out to be different people. When Wes posed the question to the other Wes “If we were products of our environments?” The other Wes answered by saying that they were products of the expectations people had of them, which made themselves come up
with their own expectations about themselves. I disagree with the other Wes because the expectations of his family were for him to go to school, to study, and became a person of good. Tony did not expect his brother to become a drug dealer. His environment played a major role and not expectations. Wes become who he was because he decided to get involved in drugs to make extra cash. In the case of Wes, he became the person he is because he decided to do something with his life. His mother expected him to study high school, so she decided to raise the
money necessary to pay for the military school. Wes had become used to not being in school and did not want to keep studying, but when he learned what his mother sacrificed in order for him to attend the school, he decided to study to make his mom feel proud of him. Had Wes decided to drop out of school, he would have become a different person. The environment is not always responsible for who we are; it is part of what shapes us.

Pranks: Fun or Serious

A prank usually makes someone mad and another full of joy. Some pranks are serious, and others are just for fun with no negative results. In Wes’ case, the prank that one of the students at the military school did on him, made him stronger. When he figured out that his “friend” Sergeant Austin had pulled the prank, Wes felt stupid; he could not believe that this could have happened to him. The pranked opened his eyes into seeing the sacrifice his parents had done for him, for him to study at the school.

I have been pranked and tricked, but nothing serious, only silly tricks in between friends. One of the tricks that was once done to me was, I think, when one of my friends was telling me something that was not true and I believed his story (Not much detail, sorry). When I found out about it, I felt dumb because I spread out the story through the school. This made me think twice if what I was told was true. When something happens to you, it is most likely going to happen again. When someone lies to you, the next time they tell you something you are going to doubt their word. Wes Moore’s lesson was different than what it could have been, he could not have trusted anyone else at the school again, but instead he learned that parents sometimes make big sacrifices for their children to succeed in life.