Eight years ago my parents bought my neighbors house and turned it into the Wellness Anew Foundation. Today it is a youth in transition center. While working their as a mentor for underprivileged youths I learned that the distribution of crack cocaine requires a tremendous amount of ingenuity. In order for a drug dealer to be successful they must be cognizant of their competitors, the costs in acquiring the crack cocaine, how much they are expected to make while selling that product, and the best time of year to do so. I would tell the youths that they had a head start in acquiring the basic skills required to run a successful fortune 500 company. I did not want them to have a one-dimensional outlook on their lives. I wanted them to mix chemicals with aims of finding a cure to cancer, instead of mixing chemicals to distribute illegal drugs. This experience taught me that the most problematic souls could be rendered useful if they are shown proper direction and dealt with favorable circumstances. …show more content…
In 2011 I ran the 3rd fastest 60m time that had been run by a 17 year old in Canadian history.
My coaches decided to intensify my training regimen in the hopes that I could compete in the Olympics the following year. One day during a very intense track practice I collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, where I was told that my blood cells were sickling. This happened because I am a carrier for sickle cell anemia. This would forever alter my approach to training thus making it more difficult for me to achieve my Olympic dreams. The harder I trained to improve my time, the more my body broke down. It was like climbing a mountain of
feathers. Despite my health complications I have still managed to excel in my athletics. I competed as a Varsity athlete for Western and York University. At western I ran the 4th fastest time in the school history finishing 4th at the CIS championships in 2014. I would go on to earn a bronze at the same championships two years later while at York. I also had the privilege of representing Canada in Florida drake relays in 2014. In 2013 I travelled to Nigeria where I experienced abject poverty firsthand. The experience was life altering. What surprised me the most about the trip was the people I encountered; especially the children. They were capable of solving complex mathematical calculations in their head before I could finish typing it out in a calculator. While I was there I introduced them to tic tac toe. After a few days some of the children had completely mastered the game, after hours of relentless practice. By the time I left Nigeria a lot of the kids were beating me regardless of whether I went first or second. Playing tic tac toe made me realize that these children were a lot smarter than I was, and more ambitious than I could ever dream of being; and yet I live more comfortably than them because I live in Canada. If these children lived in Canada or any other first world country they would have a better chance of unlocking their potential that would have been rendered dormant in their present environment. After this trip I decided that I was going to become an immigration lawyer, in order to make a difference in the lives of impoverished children all over the world. I had the opportunity of shadowing a few lawyers at Kingsley Jesuorobo and Associates where I witnessed them reunite a convention refugee with their family. I will also use my law degree to help youths at the Wellness Anew Foundation navigate the legal system. Often times the youths are denied legal aid, and have to pay for a lawyer out of pocket. This is problematic since all of the youths that have come to our home come from impoverished households, and are unable to for a lawyer. As a result they settle for a plea bargain and their side of the story goes unheard in the courtroom. As a lawyer I will work pro bono with all the youths at the Wellness Anew foundation. In 2011 I embarked on my post secondary studies with one goal in mind, which was to make the 2012 Olympics and drop out of school, while pursuing track full time. Thus I was unreservedly committed to athletic excellence. As a member of the Western Varsity track and field team I trained two and a half hours with them, I spent another two hours in the gym and two hours training on my own. I would wake up in the middle of the night and train my obsession with perfection was somewhat fanatical. I liked the idea of building muscle while my competitors were sleeping; It gave me a psychological edge. As a result of my vigorous training regimen my grades and my health suffered tremendously. I got two D’s in my first year in the classes that I missed the most due to training. I put my studies second to my athletics. It was not until my penultimate year of study that my attitude towards my academics changed. I went from being a kinesiology student at western to a sociology student at York. While I was at York I trained with athletics Canada; the best sprint group in the country. I was training for 8 hours a day while working full night shifts at the Wellness Anew foundation in order to pay for competitions and training camps. This was my most difficult year in school without a doubt. I missed more than 50 days of school competing and at training camps. Despite these circumstances my GPA spiked tremendously while I was at York and I graduated Summa Cum Laude.
The documentary Heroin Cape Cod, USA focused on the widespread abuse of pain medication such as Vicodin, Percocet, and Oxycodone that has led the U.S. into the rise of an opiate addiction. Many of the users within the video explained that it doesn’t matter where you go, there is no stopping, and you can’t just get high once. Instead, those who do it want that high forever. I think that this is a very important concept that those who aren’t addicted to drugs need to understand, no matter how hard it is to. The documentary featured many addicts including Marissa who first popped pills when she was 14 years old, Daniel who stated he started by snorting pixie sticks, and Arianna who started smoking weed and drinking before age 12. Additionally, the documentary interviewed Ryan and Cassie. These addicts explained that in Cape Cod you either work and you’re normal, or you do drugs.
Bobby and Guard dug the ship us for two weeks with no rest and almost died due to exhaustion. In sports I tend to push myself a little too much. For example, track sixth grade I had extreme heel pain and did not do anything about it for weeks.I finally told my parents and went to the doctor to discover I had a broken growth plate and had been running on iit for weeks. Another instance happened when I broke my toe and sprained my ankle in basketball. I ignored the problem until I absolutely had to
...hink that educating the youth on the effects of crack, and teaching them life coping skills can be the most effective way to cut down on the number of those who use crack. The D.A.R.E. organization does this, but they are only one organization and naturally cannot be in every school or school district. If there were more aspiring organizations such as D.A.R.E., I believe there would be a dramatic decrease in the number of addicts and in turn a decrease in violence. In addition, I also believe that parents have to talk to their children and play a more active role in their lives. Everything begins at home, so if a child is taught about drugs at home, when they enter “the real world” they’re already a step ahead.
One thing I will say is that I recommend everyone to attend a 12 step meeting because it is a gainful experience. Hearing a young man, Brain, speak about his struggles with cocaine and trying to recover was an eye opener. One might not be able to relate, but one can understand their perspective. It was a coincidence how the spokesperson pointed out that Brain would touch his nose every time he said the word “cocaine.” Brian’s addiction took away his privilege to have a driver’s license from getting charged with several DUI’s (driving under the influence). He complained about his girlfriend giving him rides to work every morning, and how he hated that he had to wait for her instead of leaving the house and drive to work whenever he wanted to. He hated how he wasn’t able to take his girlfriend out to dates. He hated how he was never going to get that privilege back all because of
It then started to get harder and each day was a different workout to help me and my teammates improve. I was at a point where all I could do was attend school, go to practice and go home. Each day I was beyond tired. At a point of time I felt like giving up and going back to my regular life, and regular schedule. As the coach started to notice how I felt, he pulled me to the side and started to question what was going on. I explained, but everything I said was not a good enough reason. My coach told me, “If this is what you really want you won’t give up, no matter how hard it may get you will overcome it.” That day I learned a valuable lesson, to never give up.
The drug is a big problem at many colleges today, and is getting worse by time. There are more and more drugs circling in college atmospheres, where many students aren’t aware. If people learn what is happening around them, and watch out for each other, the problem should be able to be contained.
...rom a user except with dealers it is all about making that easy buck. I am not really sure how I could apply this to my particular field of interest other than knowing more of the dangers of crack users and what to look for, but however a drug is a drug and many side effects from crack can and are applied to other drugs, with crack it is more progressive. After reading the material and doing some research it heightens my awareness. The one thing can be applied is having the knowledge that there are agencies or organizations like Narconon that can help addicts obtain support in breaking the habit that can be passed on to clients.
Sickle cell disease is an inherited disease where the red blood cells in the body are produced abnormally by bone marrow as crescent shaped red blood cells. Unlike normal red blood cells, sickle shaped cells are unable to deliver much oxygen to other parts of the body due to the abnormal hemoglobin. Sickle cell’s are stiff and sticky and tend to clump together between blood vessels that can cause pain, damage to the organs, and infections. If a child inherits this disease they can be healthy throughout their life or need special care. “In the United States, SCD is most common among blacks and Hispanics. SCD affects about 1 in 500 black births and about 1 in 36,000 Hispanic births in this country. SCD is also common among people with family from Africa, the Caribbean, Greece, India, Italy, Malta, Sardinia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey or South or Central America (March of Dimes)”.
Rehabilitation should also be implemented in helping those teens who are affiliated with drug cartels cope up with a normal life not including drugs, weeds or cocaine that destroys their life. This would also help them find a better job and career that does not involve illegal smuggling that can risk their lives. Teenagers who are affiliated with drug cartels should receive help to get them out of their current situations. Teenagers aren’t that good in making decisions which is why they should be more educated to help them realize and learn that selling and smuggling drugs isn’t the only solution to getting out poverty, there is much more out in the drug world that is a far more better opportunity for them than dealing with drug
Sickle Cell is a disease that affects many people in the world today. It is the number one genetic disorder in the United States. Sickle Cell is deficient hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is what functions in providing oxygen to the cells in the body. The sickle shape comes from the atypical hemoglobin s molecules. Hemoglobin molecules are composed of two different parts called the alpha and beta. The beta subunit of the hemoglobin molecule has a mutation in gene, on chromosome 11 which produces the change in the red blood cell shape causing them to die and not reproduce accurately. The change in shape causes the red blood cells to get stuck in the blood vessels and block the effectiveness of oxygen transport causing pain and organ damage to the body. This disease does not have a cure and some common treatments are used to help patients live with the disease. Some treatment options are antibiotics (penicillin) to prevent infections, blood transfusions, folic acid that help produces new blood cells. These are just some of the current treatments for Sickle Cell.
...substance abuse must continue, and it is imperative that more teens are educated about different substances and their effects on physical, mental appearances. More educational classes are now needed because of the risk of losing an entire generation to the streets and world of drugs and alcohol. The slow but sure takeover of drugs and alcohol is a problem than can be obtained if proper precautions are put into place. If we, as America’s team, act now to stop to the spread of meth, alcohol, and other fast increasing substances, there will be hope for America’s future.
The drug control policy of the United States has always been a subject of debate. From Prohibition in the early 1930’s to the current debate over the legalization of marijuana, drugs have always been near the top of the government’s agenda. Drug use affects every part of our society. It strains our economy, our healthcare, our criminal justice systems, and it endangers the futures of young people. In order to support a public health approach to drug control, the Obama administration has committed over $10 billion to drug education programs and support for expanding access to drug treatment for addicts (Office). The United States should commit more government resources to protect against illegal use of drugs by youths and provide help for recovering addicts.
Thomas, Janet Y. Educating Drug Exposed Children: The Aftermath of the Crack Baby Crisis. Ed. Routledge. 2004. University of Phoenix. 3 April 2008 .
It was the start of summer 2002, and the Mid America Youth Basketball (MAYB) national tournament was taking place in Andover, Kansas. Along with the rest of the team, I was excited to play some basketball for the first time since the middle school basketball season was over. Our team, Carlon Oil, had been together and played every summer for the last four years. We were a really good team, with an overall record of 65-4 over those four years and were hoping to continue our legacy. Lonnie Lollar, our coach for the summer, was also the coach of our high school basketball team. I had a history of groin injuries, and every summer it seemed that I would have to sit out at least a game on the bench icing my groin. But this summer was different, and I along with everyone in the gym wouldn't have expected my summer to end with a injury such as a broken leg.
Living in America I had the misconception that this form of poverty exists only in third world countries, but as it turns out I was mistaken. Our welfare system is broken, our neighborhoods are destroyed, and the future of our kids has been stolen, all for the sake of the governments need to save money. Many of these children, such as David from (Kozol, 68), are filled with a wisdom born of religious faith and they seek to better their lives and their families lives. They are just trying to survive their unfortunate fates and they feel buried, condemned, hidden, powerless, afraid while trying to do so. Among the obstacles these kids face are being addicted to drugs and