Jonathan Kozol: Amazing Grace - Quotes

                      The author Jonathan Kozol in "Amazing Grace", talks about how these poor communities are effected by many different factors and how hard it is to survive and get out of bad conditions. 

                     There were a couple of quotes that caught my attention and it made me realize how lucky I am. The first quote by Kozol was, "Crack-cocaine addiction and the intravenous use of heroin, which children I have met here call "the needle drug," are woven into the texture of existence in Mott Haven." This quote caught my eye because it was surprising that these drugs were being exposed to these young children in these communities, specifically Mott Haven. Drugs can play a huge role in the communities and it can bring a community to becoming poor. People spend there money on these drugs and then they have no money for anything else. Sometimes people will use these drugs to cope with the depression that they have and they think it is the only way out. Needles and drugs can also cause AIDS or HIV which a lot of people die from. 

                   Another quote that I thought was interesting was, "In humid weather, roaches crawl on virtually every surface of the houses in which many of the children live." These children are living in awful conditions and because of this, most of them will grow up to live in these bad conditions and it will be very hard to get out of it. This tells us how poorly houses are constructed and how the living conditions are not safe. Children can get sick and hospitalized because of this. 

                  Jonathan Kozol also stated that, "Times refers to streets around St. Anne's as "the deadliest blocks" in "the deadliest precinct" of the city. The places where these families are living are not the safest areas. People get killed probably everyday and they can not do anything about it. How do you think the kids feel? They probably feel hopeless and they don't know any better. Most of them see this everyday and they do not know how to live a normal life without seeing violence or sickness or bad home conditions. Its sad and most of them will grow up in poverty or in a bad area. The author wanted to show us the poor conditions of these communities and wanted to show us how unfortunate they are. 

                      

   

Kristof Article - Quotes

                  After reading the article written by Kristof, there was one particular quote that caught my attention. The statement was said by Senator, Marco Rubio. "We have never been a nation of haves and have-nots." "We are a nation of haves and soon-to-haves, of people who have made it and of people who will make it."
                  This quote particularly caught my attention because it is giving motivation to the people who live in our nation.  The haves and have-nots are two types of people. The wealthy and the poor. Marco Rubio is saying that we have never been a nation of wealthy people and poor people. We are one. We are a nation that is on the come up and when he says soon-to-haves, he means that everyone will be successful and on the same page. 
                 Another quote in this article also caught my attention. Alan Kruger stated that, "The chance of a person who was born to a family in the bottom 10 percent of the income distribution rising to the top 10 percent as an adult is about the same as the chance that a dad who is 5 feet 6 inches tall having a son who grows up to be over 6 feet 1 inch tall." I agree with this statement 100%. It is very hard to come out of poverty if you were raised in it but it is also possible. The chances are slim but people do get lucky and good things do happen. I have seen friends who are in poverty and they do not get the same support as others do. I believe if you have the motivation and mindset to become successful, you can do it. 
                  

                         

This is my brother and three cousins. Spending time with them is the best because we are all so close and we all get along very well. 

This is my best friend Michaela. We have known each other for about 4 years now and she is amazing. She is there when I need her and I love spending time with her. She's the funniest person I know and always knows how to make me laugh. I hope we stay friends for as long as possible. 

This is my outdoor coed soccer team. It is made up of a couple of family members and the rest are all friends. I played in high school and wish I continued in college but it wold of been to much. I have been playing soccer since I was four and I would like to play as long as possible.

This is when I took a trip to Oregon. My cousin was working out there for physical therapy and I decided to travel with some family to go visit him. I went with my aunt, uncle and my cousins friend Jimmy. We all hiked the Red Woods and did other adventurous things as well.

This is my dog Beckett. He is five years old and he is my best friend. He is a Shitzu and is the best dog I could ever ask for. 

Baseball has always been a part of my life. It is my favorite sport and I have been playing since I was six. I hope to continue to play throughout college.