Hood 2 Hood

To what extent does a person’s neighborhood shape who she or he is?

To a certain extent a person's neighborhood can and can't shape a person and how they live. Hunters Point and Fillmore are the two main neighborhoods in my city, San Francisco. In Fillmore back in the '80s and '90s the crime and drug rate were up. Drugs flooded through the Fillmore District neighborhoods and people made a lot of money off of just that. If you were in the streets back then, then most people saw it as a way of life saying "The streets took me in, we like family." Same as Hunters Point, its low income, (the projects) and with a lot of shootings and robberies to add more drama. My neighborhood however, Diamond Heights, isn't that bad of a neighborhood. There are some shootings, maybe once a month, but you never hear about it. Some years ago they arrested some people in my neighborhood for gun charges, and just recently in the last two years there was a murder directly across the street from my house. I never thought of my neighborhood being like how it is now, especially since my mother and grandmother tried to shelter me from the world, but I learned how life was by watching real “Hood” movies, listening to music, and just hearing stories from my fellow classmates. Some cities just sound bad, such as when you hear Los Angeles or Oakland. When you hear Los Angeles you think about Bloods and Crips shooting each other, but Los Angeles is where the movies are made and the award shows are held. Believe it or not the Bloods and Crips actually get along, so you can’t believe everything you hear or see on TV. Being in a neighborhood can shape somebody if they are not shown in the right direction. I am who I am not because of just my neighborhood but because of my city, Diamond Heights, San Francisco, California. I represent my area because that's how my generation is; we represent our city and 'turf' (Neighborhood Street). Some people in my generation don’t represent their neighborhood, but its ok you don’t have to, people will not make fun of you for that. I must add, for people raising children, don’t try to shelter your children, because then when they get out into the real world they will be ignorant about certain things and/or they will try to get involved with everything they see.