Since I've become a boring lame ass, I spend my friday nights curled up with netflix eventhough there are clubs just a few blocks from my door. Last night I watched Akeelah and the Bee. The movie is simplistic but it is extremely heartwarming. The ficitional character is from the neighborhood I'm from. I could identify it all just by the way the house looked. In fact, almost every Los Angeles hood film is filmed where I grew up. Safe enough for a film crew but still south central Los Angeles. I consider myself blessed in many ways because my life could have been just like Akeelah's. The only difference was that I had two parents, although divoriced who made sure I did my best. I did however, have a sister who was like Akeelah's brother and no matter what my parents did she was on her own thing. She always bought into the peer pressure to be the cool kid. So even with the same rearing you can have vastly different outcomes.
What if my father didn't come around after the divorice?
What if my mother didn't care?
What if they didn't get me into better schools?
I might have been that akward kid in an environment where my peers shunned learning. I'm so glad that wasn't the case. I really appreciated that this move took the time to show how hard to succeed when everything is against you. People are lying to themselves if they think it's a level playing field out there.
1 comment:
I really like your comment that even with the same rearing you can have different outcomes. We really shouldn't judge people based on how they grew up because it just really doesn't matter. It amazes me how one person can have two supportive parents and access to resources and be a mess, while someone else grew up in poverty, didn't know their father, mom's working on the streets, or in an abusive environment and ended up normal or exceptional. Thank you so much.
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