Childhood Narrative

I was born and resided in Southwest Detroit for the first five years of my life. Since I was so young, I didn’t realize that where I lived was becoming was falling under the category of “Social Disorganization.” My surroundings seemed normal; as I had not lived anywhere else to compare it too. However, the neighborhood became overcrowded, houses were being robbed, and the presence of gangs started to appear. After the age of five, my parents moved us to the city of Woodhaven. Realizing the deterioration of the neighborhood validated the reasons why my parents did not want to raise their children in a crime filled area. The one intense incident that I experienced left a lasting impression of how dangerous the neighborhood I only knew as normal was corrupt and dysfunctional. That being said, this is my story… It was a beautiful sunny Saturday as our family gathered at my Uncle Bills home for a party. Almost every weekend included some family event or celebration. My cousins were in a band and often played at these gatherings. We had a large family; therefore, these get-together’s usually included thirty to forty people. As the band set …show more content…
My Uncle Billed came in the room where the bullets had entered as all the kids were face down; including myself. He told us that the woman was arrested and that we were safe. We were crying and traumatized by the events of the evening. As we were reunited with our parents; my dad said, “My children will not be raised in this city! The crime here is out of control, and I am not willing to put my family at risk for one more day!” Within five days, my parents had found a home in Woodhaven, and our family moved from Southwest Detroit. Of course, at four years old, I had no clue what “Urban’ meant. On the other hand, the ordeal left me believing that cities were a bad place to live; moreover, I was terrified to enter Detroit for the next twenty