The Story Of The Other Wes Moore

Improved Essays
Throughout the duration of one 's life, a person will face thousands of decisions. These decisions could be minor or major but nevertheless, could play a significant role in the outcome of their life. Recently, myself alongside my peers, were forced to make a multitude of choices that will dictate and guide the rest of our lives. These choices included: what college to attend, major, payment plans, housing, and rather to attend a higher level of learning at all. The idea of these decisions having a massive impact on our careers and lives is clearly perceived through the story of "The Other Wes Moore". The book explains the differences between the successes and failures of two individuals named "Wes Moore" who grew up under remarkably similar …show more content…
I grew up with a loving couple of parents in a conservative rich town so I could never complain about my upbringing. However, the people I grew up around made poor mistakes that I occasionally got involved in. Two of my best friends in elementary school and middle school picked up smoking and drinking in fifth grade. I rarely partook, but being associated with them often put me in an awkward position with my parents and friends outside of those two. In 7th grade they convinced me to try marijuana and much like the imprisoned Wes Moore my decision to smoke with them could 've ruined any plans I had of attending the University I wanted. It could 've tarnished my record and caused me to settle for a lesser institution. Once we reached high school, I distanced myself from them in order to make new friends that would influence my life in a more positive way. The people I met throughout high school gave me the motivation to improve my work and focus on my career and education. I didn 't go through the struggle of military to school to gain discipline like the successful Wes Moore, but I found inspiration to focus and work hard via the actions and words of the people I surrounded myself with throughout the most crucial portion of my life leading up to …show more content…
I knew I wasn 't going to be able to spend hours on Netflix while taking minimal time out of my day to complete homework. So, I improved my study habits and set aside ample amount of study time for every course and assignment to ensure I achieved all of academics goals on time. Also, I knew I had to get involved with student organizations, social events, along with academic success. I was interested in student government the moment my RA mentioned it because I 've always had an intrigue in politics. I won the treasurer position for Dabney Hall and was excited that I had already gotten involved in an organization that accomplishes such a great amount for students. I 've also shown interest in Habitat for Humanity due to the fact that I enjoy community service and helping those in need. On top of these two groups, I 've gotten involved in the local Saint Monica, Saint George Church and youth group. Having all these organizations can make it difficult to manage time, but coming into college, I knew I would have to focus on my time management skills. I purchased a planner/calendar and have been very persistent on keeping track of my day to day life carefully scheduling all of my activities and studies being positive to allot enough time for each activity. I have made sure to carve out time for fun and social activities such as football games, soccer

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    While the author Wes Moore escaped the grasps of Poverty. His mother had family and resources to help push Wes into a better future. Even though both the Wes’ grew up in poverty stricken city’s, their futures came down to personal choices, education, resources, and their…

    • 1281 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Having a supportive role model can shape an individual’s future and turn their life around if struggling. In The Other Wes Moore One Name, Two Fates, by Wes Moore, both Wes Moore’s made bad decisions, but the question arises from whether or not a role model turned the author’s life around. In “I Just Wanna be Average”, by Mike Rose, and “The Achievement of Desire”, by Richard Rodriguez, Rose and Rodriguez also had great role models who helped them in becoming successful. The author’s role models, including his mother and Captain Hill, and the other Wes Moore’s unsupportive family members, including his mother and Tony, had a lot to do with the future of the two boys.…

    • 1485 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Other Wes Moore Life

    • 1166 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In the book The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates the author, Wes Moore, and his counter part began in somewhat similar environments, but as the story developed the two men began to lead entirely different lives. However, it was decisions made by the people that effected their environment that made the outcome of these two men’s lives so different from one another. Both of these men began their lives in what would be considered by most people unstable homes. Yet, both of these men ended with entirely different life stories and outcomes. I asked myself, how this could be possible?…

    • 1166 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In this book “The other Wes Moore” by “Wes Moore” the author is about two boys with identical names who grew up in Baltimore with similar histories and difficult childhoods. Both boys hung out in the streets and ran into trouble with the police. One became a Rhodes Scholar and the other serving like in prison for a felony murder. However, what kept Wes’s stories from being the same was absent fathers, the role of mothers and their choices in life. To begin with growing up with absent fathers affected both Wes in different ways.…

    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sometimes an education isn’t for everyone. But to be successful, most of the time you need a higher education. In the book “The Other Wes Moore” by Wes Moore, Moore writes about two Wes Moore’s that have a different fate. The author Wes Moore finished his education career and the other Wes Moore dropped out and had his fate turnaround for the worst. Education is a highly important piece of being successful in life.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Although Both Wes Moores were similar due to their education and their environment around them, they had a few main differences that determined their lives. The first main difference was that one of the Wes Moores had not just a mother figure around, but had a very supportive mother which leads us to the second main difference that separated the two. Because one of the Wes Moores had a supportive mother while the other didn’t, he was sent to a private school to get a better education after his mother realized he wasn’t going to get a good education in a public school. Nevertheless, small decisions such as switching schools, can impact your life forever, which is seens in the novel, The Other Wes…

    • 912 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore juxtaposes the lives of two men who grew up in similar environments but ended up taking diverging paths. The author Wes Moore perseveres through the hardships he faced and ends up a Rhodes Scholar, whereas the other Wes Moore is dealt a life sentence. The author poses the question, “Do you think we are all just products of our environments?” Due to their ostensibly similar upbringings, one may suggest that the antithetical outcomes of the two Wes Moores were caused by the individual choices made by them, but upon closer look it is evident that specific subsets of their environment impacted each of them for better or for worse.…

    • 1268 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One Wes Moore Analysis

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Although both Wes Moores grew up around the same time and place and shared the same name, their lives turned out drastically different due to their education, or lack of…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When former president Barack Obama stated that “[w]here you start should not determine where you end up” (as qtd. in “55 Quotes” 4), he acknowledged the common ability of most to challenge their environment and decide their future for themselves. This philosophy holds true to Moore, author of The Other Wes Moore, but perhaps falters in light of the novel’s titular character, Wes. Sharing the same name, upbringing and affinity , the two’s similarities begin to disintegrate during the events of Chapter 4: Marking Territory, in which Moore uses a number of literary crafts to stress this divergence.…

    • 199 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “ Now Wes’s mind wandered to the long term for the first time. Finally, he could see his future” (Moore, 157). Here we can see how the other Wes isn’t successful because of poor decisions that he decided to make. The paths that these two man selected determined how their lives ended up. Every life choice that we decide to take, can determine where we’ll end…

    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    You U is a must-read guide for any young person who is just about to consider enrolling in any college or university. It should as well be considered as a mentoring guidebook for anyone who is already enrolled. Rachel Thompson takes a no-nonsense, non-sugar coating approach to laying out the usually untalked about truths to the collegiate experience. From picking a school that is right for you, to deciding on a Major, You U brings to the reader more than just facts and statistics, but real-world examples and anecdotes (many coming from the author’s own experiences) of how these decisions can greatly affect the course of your future and even the rest of your life.…

    • 451 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    “There’s heroes and there’s legends: Heroes get remembered, but legends never die” (The Sandlot). This idea of building a reputation that lives on after one is gone is seen in Beowulf, an epic poem by an unknown author from the mid-sixth century. Nearly everyone cares about how they are perceived and their reputation in one way or another, whether it is striving to make people like them or trying to become an unforgettable legend. In either case, the desire to have a good reputation is a strong motivator to them. The idea that reputation is everything and that one should do anything in their power to uphold and create a strong reputation is highlighted in the poem Beowulf specifically in the character Beowulf.…

    • 1222 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    College applications were fast approaching and I was eager to get into the same University as my friends. We had it all planned, we would dorm together, take classes together, and experience the college life together. As the deadline for choosing my fate for the next four years was approaching, I had to make, what I thought, was the toughest choice at that time choosing the same university as my friends, or going to the university I wanted to go to. I choose California State University of Northridge, a university where I would have to start all over again because I knew no one.…

    • 890 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    My College Choice

    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages

    When making a life changing decision people have to take many factors into considerations. Such as how will it affect me? What is the difference between this option and that option? I had to look at each decision from a different perspective when making one of the most important decisions I’ve ever had to make. The decision I made to come to Missouri Western has given me the ability to not only further my education, but also to begin the path of following my dream.…

    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    ”(1). I had separate roads direct my life to, both equally promising. I had to make a difficult decision concerning my academic and personal future. Choosing the subjects I would take was an arduous challenge for the young ambitious woman that I was. I had two roads before me: one where I could enjoy my time in high school with my friends and take less rigorous courses or…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays