Within the society that we live in today, many have a difficult time truly understanding the paralyzing effects of poverty and the underachievement that all too often accompanies severe economic hardship. <Tab/>I live in a situation very similar to the one above. I live in a large African American family, in which my father boasts about his eating meat once a week. My family is full of pride and determination …showed first 75 words of 828 total…

…showed last 75 words of 828 total…I was in, I felt that there was no other way to avoid my life of poverty and addiction than being forced to live without it. Later that very day, I fell into my own addiction of "breaking and entering" into a bank right inside city. I turned myself into my idea of freedom from addiction and poverty, but now I would spend the rest of my life behind bars leading a very similar lifestyle.