The Other Wes Moore: Assignment #4

 Mentors In Life:

By: Destiny Portillo

  Having finished the novel, we reach the final conclusion in which Wes Moore gives thanks to those who have changed his life for the better.  Of course, understanding he made plenty of mistakes, he views them now as forms of growth and learning.  As well as knowing he would not have been the man he was at the end of this novel if it weren’t for the guidance of his mother, grandparents, aunts, and uncles.  Being human beings we are consistently coming along these instances and paths in life where we have to make critical choices.  There will of course be times where we may follow the wrong path, or make unhealthy decisions that may affect us negatively.  

  I myself have had my fair share of mistakes and stubbles down the wrong path.  A particular instance that tends to come into mind would have to be the time I lied to my parents about being at “cheer practice”.  During my sophomore year in highschool I hung around with the “cool kids” group.  There were fun times and of course the terrifying times in which this particular group would be in severe trouble, and I happened to experience one of the most eye opening events in my life.  One day I decided to not head home after having found out my cheer practice was canceled and went along to hang out with these “friends at the time”.  We had gone to eat at the mall and I believed we were going to shop afterwards.  As naive as I was, we entered multiple stores and browsed around and none of my friends had bought anything.  As we stumbled upon a clothing store and once again just walked around, I felt the intense eye watching made by the employees of the store.  I made nothing of it as I felt I was doing nothing wrong, but it wasn’t until we were approaching to leave that one of the employees stopped us and checked everyone’s bags.  With my tremendous luck, each of the individuals I was with had stolen items inside of their backpacks.

  It was at this moment that I honestly felt that my world was going to fall apart out of tremendous fear.  The store employees called mall security on us and the group and I were all held in the security office as they began to call each one of our parents.  When it came to my turn having to speak to my parents over the phone I could just hear the anger and disappointment in the tone of their voices.  Anxiously waiting, my mother and father had finally arrived to pick me up from the holding area I was in.  The silence was killing me and I began to burst out crying to my parents admitting to lying about being at “cheer practice”,  but as well as pleading to them that I had not stolen anything.  Although my parents were upset and notifying me of my consequences, they wiped my tears and hugged me.  They were disappointed about my lying, but only worried about my safety at this point and what I was surrounding myself with.  On the ride back home my parents gave me a lecture about knowing the people I hang around with and to always be truthful no matter what the instance.  Both my mother and father always reminded me as I grew up that no matter what, the truth was always the best solution to all my problems.  This stuck with me forever and molded the way in which I thought, because I would never like to harm those around me by lying or even withholding anything away from them.  Of course nobody is perfect and I made a terrible mistake of not paying close attention to who I hung out with, so I decided to follow in the footsteps of doing right like my parents.  They have always been my mentors and to this day manage to help me know right from wrong.  Had it not been for them, I probably would have still continued to lie consistently and hang around individuals who were no good for me.