The inspiring memoir, Discovering Wes Moore, written by Wes Moore teaches the reader many life lessons, which are included in the themes of the memoir. This first example of Wes Moore’s life teachings is “But hard work and putting in the effort to be good at something matters” (Moore 142). This quote from Wes Moore is important to me because when I work hard and put in my best effort I succeed immensely. When I read this fragment of Discovering Wes Moore, I am reminded that everything that I do, whether it is academic studies, dance, soccer, or piano, it should be done with my best exertion. If you are diligent with your work and doing your best, you will succeed and achieve greatness throughout life. One connection I have with this statement …show more content…
from this book is the endurance I put into seventh grade to move up a level in math. The summer before seventh grade, I received a letter from the King Middle School seventh grade math teachers. It said that I was placed in the Level 1 math class instead of the Extended math class, because I didn’t pass the Extended math test given at the end of sixth grade. I really wanted to get into the Extended math class, so I worked hard in Mrs. McGovern’s Level 1 class and by the middle of the first term Mrs. McGovern moved me up to her Extended class. Another connection I have with this quote is how diligent I was in dance. Last year, at Medway Dance Authority, I was dancing in Level 3 in tap, jazz, and ballet. I improved in my flexibility, technique, and getting down the steps. At home I stretched to get my splits and practiced the sections I was taught of the dance routine. I accomplished Level 3 and this year I am in Level 4 ballet and tap. I will continue practicing to get into Level 4 tap next year. Hard work and my best effort will get me places where I want to be. An equally significant aspect of Discovering Wes Moore is “But I know that my best decisions have been made when I took input and advice from people I really respected and admired” (Moore 146).
I am passionate about this part of the memoir because it encourages me to listen to other’s opinions and include them in making important decisions. In similarity with the quote, I made many good choices with advice from one of the best teachers I ever had. In sixth grade, I had Mrs. O’Toole who changed my life. She taught her students to work hard with determination and passion. She dedicated herself to seeing her students work hard to their full potential and filling our days with learning and fully understanding her objectives and lessons. Mrs. O’Toole intrigued her pupils with a creative lesson by capturing her students’ attention and invoking class participation. For this reason, I learned many tips to write with powerful words and a lot of description. She opened a new world of imagination in literature by challenging my class to read forty books by the end for the school year. In math, she prepared the class to show all our work for each problem and equation. With Mrs. O’Toole’s techniques and advice, I made good decisions about reading, writing, math, and organization skills for future classes and choices out of school. One more connection I made with this part of the memoir was my dad helped me with my soccer skills. When my dad signed me up for soccer when I was seven years …show more content…
old, he helped me improve and become the player I am now. While I was starting second grade my dad wanted me to try soccer to meet new friends, learn the thrill of playing a spot, and have a fun experience. He taught me how to dribble, score, learn tricks, and defend. Also, my dad showed me how to condition and prepare for games. When I listened to my dad’s advice on the game of soccer I became a great soccer player, met some new friends, and improved my running and coordination abilities. Another vital theme Wes Moore deliberates is “It’s up to us, all of us, to make a way for each other” (Moore 146).
I am enthusiastic about this section of Discovering Wes Moore because it prompts me that we should all try to make the world a better place. Everyone can contribute something positive to our community. This quote relates to me because this summer I joined trail monitoring in Kennebunk, Maine. I wanted to do community service and give back to my society. When my aunt’s friend, Marie Louise, told me about her job at the Kennebunk Land Trust and all the environmental tasks they do for the town, I jumped to the chance to participate as a trail monitor. I was assigned two trails to clean up and monitor. I kept a log of the number of miles and hours I spent on the trails. I loved helping the environment and making way for others to enjoy nature. In addition, I made another connection to this quote when I give back to my community by raising money for animal shelters. I participate in local food drives. In the summer time, I bike in the Tour de Cure race, which raises money for diabetics. When I was little, I had birthday parties and instead of my friends buying gifts for me I asked if they could give money to Birthday Wishes. Birthday Wishes is an organization that raises money for kids who can’t afford birthday gifts and parties. These actions help to make way for each other and makes the world a kinder and better place to grow up and live your life. All in all, the
memoir, Discovering Wes Moore demonstrates many substantial teachings.
The setting of Wes Moore’s, Discovering Wes Moore has an incredible impact on him and helps him make some of the biggest choices of his life. Wes grows in the Bronx during his early childhood years. He lives in a dangerous neighborhood in which drugs are in use. He makes friends in the neighborhood. However, his mother wants him to get a proper education, so she sends him to Riverdale. Wes makes friends at this school and keeps the ones in the neighborhood. Wes is feeling torn apart while living in the Bronx. He feels that “[He] was too ‘rich’ for the kids from [his] neighborhood and too ‘poor’ for the kids at his school.” (Moore 43). Wes does not feel like he belongs anywhere, which leads to reckless behavior.
“The Other Wes Moore” tells a story, two boys that has one name, but their lives are not
James Baldwin once said, “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” In any family, one can see how parental guidance makes or breaks a child’s future. The author of The Other Wes Moore, Wes Moore, explores this idea by contrasting the outcomes of two men with the same name. As a decorated veteran, Rhodes scholar, and White House Fellow, the author hears of a man with his name wanted for murdering a police officer. Haunted by the coincidence, he reaches out to the “other” Wes Moore after he is imprisoned years later. From there, Wes Moore uncovers countless decisions, sacrifices, and mistakes that diverged the two men’s seemingly similar lives,
If someone wants to succeed in life and stay recognized by superiors, then he or she ought to appear hardworking. A person begins with setting goals. There are two categories, the first, “be” goals and the second, “do” goals. In other words, ask yourself, "What to be?" or "What to achieve?" Four categories of goals consist of wealth, health, relationships, and self-fulfillment which equal success. Working diligently to finish a task demonstrates how to live a successful life. Given these points, Thomas Edison, Helen Keller and Harriet Tubman, all exceptional achievers, found that prosperity undoubtedly comes along for everyone who perseveres.
In “The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates,” written by Wes Moore the author writes about two boys growing up in Baltimore that share the same name and similar backgrounds but end up taking drastically different paths in life due to many varying factors. The author goes on to earn a college degree, become a Rhodes Scholar, a veteran and more while the “other” Wes cannot avoid the inevitable fate of dealing drugs and ultimately spends his life running from the police and in prison. This reflects how both Wes Moore’s became products of their environment as the way a person is shaped and guided in their developmental years does unquestionably play a large role in the type of person they will become as adults. A lot of elements come into play that help to determine a person’s success or failure, but at the end of the day the most important factors are family, education and opportunities.
“This is the story of two boys living in Baltimore with similar histories and an identical name: Wes Moore” (xi). Wes Moore became obsessed with this man, who had the same name as himself, after seeing him in the newspaper. The two men were born just blocks away from each other. After the story of the robbery he wrote a letter to the other Wes, and he was surprised to get a response. They were intrigued to share their stories so Wes Moore decided to start regular visits with the other Wes; this inspired him to write a book about it.
Eighth grade was one of the greatest school years of my life. This year was full of new experiences, and I have learned so much from them. In English class, we’ve learned a bunch of skills and did numerous activities. We learned about Anne Frank and the Holocaust. We had the opportunity to read many great books, all having a special and unique meaning to them. Our class also learned a variety of skills and strategies ranging from reading comprehension tips to learning how to use the comma. ELA this year was extremely informative and helpful but amusing at the same time.
“Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in.” – Unknown.
Grit written by Angela Duckworth is an excerpt explaining the psychology of talent, effort and achievement. Angela gives us her blueprint of success and what makes high achievers so determined and focused. To go deep into detail my favorite piece about this excerpt was she explained the talent from skills, skills are only developed by hours and hours of beating on your craft and talent is something that comes s and is how quickly your skills improve when you invest effort. This excerpt reminded me back when I played High School Football and wasn’t very experienced with the sport while my fellow teammates understood each position and play but overtime with extra training with coaches and daily repetition of studying plays I became one of the best players on the team.
Even after reading this novel, Hyde’s concept of paying it forward remained firmly on my mind. As demonstrated in Trevor’s plan to change the world, what if all it took was performing three random acts of kindness to three complete strangers who then performed three other random acts of kindness to three additional strangers? If all who received these random acts of kindness stayed under the same commitment to pay it forward to others, could we see a chain reaction that would change the world? Could someone as young as Trevor with a similar background, really make a positive impact in today’s
Volunteering enables an individual to make a positive impact on his or her community, while empowering the individual to better his or her life. This summer, I had the opportunity to volunteer at many diverse locations. From the hospital to the local library, I truly value my experience and treasure everything it has thought me. Volunteering lets us experience and learn things that we otherwise would not have learned; volunteering opens doors for us that we may not have been able to open before. Volunteering provides us with guidance and tolerance which we may use in the future to aid us in our decisions. At first glance, volunteering may seem to only benefit those who are helped, but on a deeper level, one can realize that volunteering benefits the volunteer as much as, if not more than, those who are helped. Not only does volunteering make a difference in one’s community, but it also helps the volunteer become a smarter, happier, friendlier and more caring individual.
Through Ms. Chisholm saying “service is the rent that you pay for room on this earth”, she is saying that any person who is living and taking up space on Earth should give back. When I began to volunteer with the Cascades Library specifically, I realized how much help other people in my community needed. On the news you always hear that Loudoun County is the richest county in the country, yet I saw parents struggling to pay for summer programs for their kids to get involved in. Through helping kids read and learn at the library, I learned to look into my community and give back. There are so many intelligent and innovative children, but they just didn’t have the resources to succeed. It’s great to help out the big name charities, but there are a lot of people in our neighborhoods who could also use some help. My father was born in a small town in Ghana. He was not very rich, and he had 4
The personal narrative set the bar for me. It was the first example I had of what to expect as a writer in this class. I got to expand on a memorable time in my childhood and merge it into my writing. This element of the paper made it easier to write because I got to choose the direction I wanted
“Selfless Service and Service to Others.” Our Ultimate Reality. 16 Feb. 2009 http://www.ourultimatereality.com/selfless-service-and-service-to-others.html>. ThinkExist.com - ThinkExist.com Quotations.
Also, I never want to settle for becoming average. I deem that we as highly intellectual individuals owe it to ourselves to aspire towards becoming better than everyone else, for we must oppose mediocrity and undertake the task of standing out among the crowd. Similarly, a lack of complacency is necessary to keep moving forward in the path towards success. There will be a point in my life where I wish to look back and be satisfied with what I have accomplished, but for now, my focus is fixed on moving forward onto the next chapter of my journey. In addition, I don’t have a specific talent that defines me, but I do take pride and going above and beyond to achieve academic excellence. Throughout grade school and high school, I’ve academically held myself to a high standard, focusing on quality and diligence, and I’ve consequently been able to obtain an exemplary education. Furthermore, I take pride in my grade point average and my yearly grades, not just because they’re high, but also because they represent the countless hours of vigorous work, study, and preparation that I've invested to become