Growing up in the Bronx was tough. As a child I grew up in an area prominently surrounded by gangs. Yes they kept the streets safe and looked after their own, but it was still pretty risky going to the store without worrying about walking into a shoot out. Before I became a teenager the gangs died down and then the drugs moved in. Every corner was infested with drug pushers and users trying to get their next sale or fix. The crime shot up and the police were scarce. Living in an area mostly inhabited by blacks and Latinos wasn’t a top priority for them. They had better areas to patrol and actually protect. It was as if the cops had no desire to see us kids grow up in a decent environment.

The area I spent most of my life in was not too far from the Bronx Zoo or Botanical Gardens. No one knew or cared to share that just a few blocks down the drugs and violence was prevailing and kids had to walk through abandoned lots to get to school, which were infested with users and drug dealers. The drug wars for a corner spot became another issue we had to deal with and lots of innocent lives were taken. If you left it to the cops to help, they just assumed it was just another dealer and no attempt was ever made to stop the bleeding or save a life. They would just stand over the body of the victim gasping for air while they waited for an ambulance to arrive.

By the time I was sixteen I was sure I didn’t want to remain glued to an area that only brought out violence and despair. I tried very hard to finish school to no avail. By the time I was eighteen, and based on the fact I wouldn’t attend Gym class, I was detained from graduating with my class and eventually dropped out. I then got my first job in a Stationary store and hated the customers who wouldn’t take into account you were only doing your job by rearranging the greeting cards and placing them back in their place. The job lasted all but two months and then I decided to go back to school and obtain my GED. With that accomplished I was able to find a job with a clerical temp agency, and four months after I was working full time with a major health insurance company and attending college. I made it my business to make it out of the ghetto and the knowledge I obtained on the streets as well as in school made me a better person.