The Role Of Interpersonal Relationships In Elijah's Life

Superior Essays
I heard once that it does not matter where you come from, but where you are going. While this quote conveys a very powerful message, it is simply a dream for many of the people that I’ve grew up with over the years. Some of my friends can only wish for a chance to have a better life or even to move out of a neighborhood where people are shot in their backyards. As we have learned in various class lectures, the overall environment in which you grow up plays a major role in our development, well being, and our ability to prosper regardless of our situation. We are all vulnerable to adverse influences from our communities. On the other hand, there are many positive outlets in our environments that can improve our well-being and provide valuable …show more content…
The interpersonal relationships in Elijah’s life have been anything but positive and he never spoke about having healthy connections with others. Many of people he recalled in his story reinforced his horrible behavior. His mother and father would berate him out of anger and it never proved effective. According to the Wellness Research Project (Prillentensky), a healthy community is one in which you feel safe, supported, and engaged. There is no possible way Elijah could have felt safe living in what could be considered a war zone. In an impoverished neighborhood like the one where Elijah grew up, it becomes a “dog eat dog” type of situation. His community provided no opportunities where the members could build trust between one another and develop as individuals from this bond. Everyone was so focused on making it themselves that they rarely took the time to support others. In many cases, the families from Elijah’s neighborhood did not have to resources to provide help even if they wanted to. As far as occupational wellbeing, Elijah spoke on his job bagging groceries at Kroger and his desire to eventually become a DJ or at the least find another job that would be able to support him. Economic wellbeing for Elijah was essentially non existent for the majority of his life. He had little financial stability and often resorted to robbing some of his neighbors in order to make a few dollars. Elijah’s physical and psychological wellbeing have also been negatively effected by his environment. Psychological well being is about feeling positive emotions and feeling happy about our lives. Elijah had a hard time figuring out what he wanted to do with his life and was overall dissatisfied with his actions and the things he has been able to accomplish so far. Elijah’s health is also slowly deteriorating as a result of his drinking and smoking habits.

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Is it easy to leave your homeland, in order to come to the land of the free, where you know nothing and have to start from scratch? The book, I Love Yous Are For White People, by Lac Su, describes his hardships and obstacles immigrating to America. As Su’s family immigrated to America, Lac had lost the freedom and affection he once had. In Lac’s eyes, Pa was no longer the man that used to take him out for walks in the market and be proud to show off. America had posed a lot of challenges for the family, such as different cultural aspects as well as the language.…

    • 1199 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    College Essay Growing up in New Haven, Connecticut there weren’t big mansions, people with expensive cars, nor any sign of wealth .It ’s a small city filled with homeless people, violence and poor neighborhoods that made me into the person I am today. A city so small you see the same people everyday.…

    • 669 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Grow-Up In Poverty

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Growing up in poverty doesn’t mean people are short only on money. Those in poverty are exposed to abuse, low academic achievements and education, lack of self-esteem, and an uncertain future. The book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie showcases a Native American teenager, Junior, coming to the realization that his only hopes of attaining a better life, is to leave his own back on the reservation. His decisions lead him to attend a school out of town, with a majority of white and well-off residents. Poverty has a negative impact on the success and future of a child.…

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Staying Put” is an article written by Scott Russell Sanders in which he attempts to convince the readers that people can thrive in their homeland instead of moving. Sanders begins his argument with an anecdote of the Miller family, then he states the social and philosophical benefits of staying put. As Sanders have suggested, a person becomes admirable when they devote themselves to their homeland regardless of hardships they will encounter. Moreover, he also claims that people must have a homeland of their own before having the ability to appreciate other cultures. Despite all the benefits that Sanders brings up for staying put; many people are better off moving due to of various social, ideological and environmental issues.…

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    With bloodshed and ashes burning forever in memory from the Civil War, came the Gilded Age of economic prosperity and great migration in the North and West of America. The United States in the late 19th century became successful and an impactful powerhouse due to the expedited industrialization. Railroads, mining, and factories offered numerous opportunities for labor, creating labor unions and migration to increase. The new economic cycle brought the market to be flooded with lower prices so everything had to be cutthroat. These opportunities made America look extremely attractive to people from different countries like Italy, Russia, Germany, Ireland, and China.…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Alana Semuels comments on that in her article, The Resurrection of America's Slum, “ Research out this year from Harvard shows that children who moved from poor areas to more affluent had higher incomes and better educational achievements than those who stayed in poor areas ” (255). In these cases, both authors suggest that if the poor families were to move into a better environment that would help them strive and better their future for them and their kids tremendously both educationally and…

    • 761 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    For the past several weeks we have been reading memoirs on multiple sources, ranging from the hills of the Appalachian Mountains, to the streets of Chicago. Both of these places come off not only as different in geography but in lifestyle as well. They also share similarities in some instances. In Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance, and Our America by LeAlan Jones, and Lloyd Newman, both stories share similarities in the fact that the people in these stories are restricted by the environment in which they are raised in, but also stricken by poverty which is responsible for the frustrations and hardships in life they face, and the path which was paved for their life. Our America focuses on two boys living on the southside of Chicago,…

    • 1337 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout my life I have been part many diverse cultures and of many community that contain a wide range of race and ethnicity. I was born in Ecuador and moving to the United States was a huge slap in the face. The culture and the way thing were done here compared to my home country was totally different. The life style in Ecuador was harsh and unpleasing but in the states life was so much more pleasurable with all the opportunities that are given me. The only problem is that people where closed minded.…

    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    My hometown is Perth Amboy located in the heart of Middlesex County. Perth Amboy is a small suburban town full of rich history. This wonderful small community is home to some of New Jersey’s most important history. Perth Amboy consists of a total area of 5,957 square miles. Although that sounds like a big city it is relatively small.…

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis is the recipient of the 2008 Coretta Scott King Author Award. Elijah of Buxton is the story of Elijah Freeman an eleven-year-old boy in Buxton, Canada, a settlement for runaway slaves. Elijah is unlike the others in his community; he was the first child to be born free, he’s fragile, and mischievous. However, in attempt to prove that he is more than a trouble maker, Elijah goes on a dangerous journey in attempt to help a friend. While on his adventure, Elijah learns lesson about slavery, freedom, expectations, and defying odds.…

    • 313 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout history the world and its people have been constantly changing without warning or consent. For humans though it might seem like an issue, well its not simply because of the fact that humans are the most adaptable species on the planet. Even though we are the most adaptable beings on the planet we still go through struggle to adapt and learn, but at the end of the day we survive. In Gustavo Arellanos book Orange County A Personal History he give us an incite how his family adapts to prosper in a new world.…

    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The author believes that America is the homeland of new and rich opportunities when coming out of a different country. It saves lives and also improves them little by little. A belief that the author had mentioned about why America was like this, was of how fully-spirited America is. How so many people want to take out some of their time to help the needy get better. That it is very good-spirited almost everywhere, in every person.…

    • 323 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    MORGANTOWN, W.Va.--When Elijah Macon committed to West Virginia University as a sophomore in high school, tall expectations were placed upon him. He was predicted to do big things but never quite lived up to his potential. On Saturday afternoon, Macon played with fire and passion and emerged as the athlete everyone thought he would. The Cincinnati, Ohio native recorded 17 points, 12 rebounds and one assist in the Mountaineers 83-74 double overtime victory against Texas Tech.…

    • 404 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hardships Of Immigrants

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Immigrants often came to the United States around 1880 because there were so many opportunities. Their own countries were strongly lacking things that the U.S had such as jobs, democracy, and land. Still, the U.S gave many of the different immigrants a hard time. Immigrants often had to face hardships, but had graspable opportunity which explains the changing patterns in immigration during this time. Immigrants face many difficulties such as terrible living conditions and awful, even dangerous working conditions.…

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    CCJ 6638: Communities & Crime Mariel Snouffer Topic 2: The Origins and Legacies of the Urban Crisis Contrary to the belief that anyone that works hard enough will be rewarded, “real life” is not necessarily the “American Dream” that everyone thinks. Neighborhoods do indeed matter for individual outcomes both independently and beyond individual characteristics. There are many long term impacts on the intergenerational transmission of poverty and wealth; and most certainly crossing racial and ethnic lines. The “American Dream” is the idea that is the primary story of American Immigration; the proposal that steered much of the thrust for civil rights. It is also a suggestion that has been undeviating with the American’s perception of impartial and just treatment, as long as there is a universal option for advancement.…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays