Justification Paper #2

Choices and Second Chances 

     Imagine two boys who share the same name and lived similar lives. These two boys soon turned into men and even though their backgrounds are similar, both of them made choices that made one into a credentialed author and the other into a convict. Not all of the decisions that these boys made were good, and not all were bad, but the true test of character is making a choice and knowing that there won't be a second or a last chance to help you if the choice was wrong. The title, "Choices and Second Chances," for the chapters Marking Territory, Lost, and Hunted, describe the choices that both Wes Moores made, the second chances they did or did not receive, and the impact these choices and redemption had on their lives.
      Wes 1 (the author) made more beneficial choices than Wes 2 (the convict) made. Wes 1, a boy with a loving family, grew up in the Bronx for most of his childhood until he moved to Pennsylvania to attend Military school for high school. What put him in military school was his decision to not care about school and to summon Kid Kupid. He had multiple behavioral problems at school, and he cared more about hip hop and basketball then he did homework. Kid Kupid, a spray painting alter ego to Wes 1, amplified Wes 1's defiance toward his mother and the rulers. Although Wes 1 would deny it at the time, military school was his saving grace from what he would have become. Kids like Wes 1 who had behavioral issues and who grew up in a drug and crime ridden place like the Bronx either don't make it our unscathed or don't make it at all. Military school was Wes 1's second chance to do better in school and set himself up for a better future and to redeem himself of his bad choices. But ultimately, what good is a second chance if you don't use it well. Wes 1 used it well and became a senior sergeant and leader of his platoon; admirable achievements. Wes 2, on the other hand, was not so lucky. Despite his family's warnings to not participate in the drug business, Wes 2 did. At first he started out small, just having a head set and helping the dealers, and then he made it to having his own crew and his own turf. He choose drugs and unstable money over an education. Tony, Wes 2's brother, and Joy, Wes 2's mother, tried numerous times to warn him and to protect him, but Wes 2 ultimately made the choices that put him where he is now, jail. Wes 2 got a girl pregnant. Wes 2 decided to shoot a boy his own age. Wes 2 decided to make and sell drugs. These decisions and careless actions added up and no second chance could get Wes 2 out of them because he was too deep into it. Bad choices are made all the time, but the trick is knowing how to make better choices next time and to use second and last chances to your own advantage.
         While both Wes 1 and Wes 2 had many things in common, they differed in many ways. For one thing, Wes 2 played in the big leagues with the drug dealers and he chose to be there. Wes 1, was more content turning into Kid Kupid and spray painting his logo onto buildings; a minor offense. But however you look at it, both Wes 1 and Wes 2 are where they are today based on the decisions that they made and the 2nd chances that were given to them.