essay

John Gutierrez

Being born and raised in New York, you notice the positive and negative of society. This became apparent when I read, “ The Sky is Gray” because there are certain times where I can relate to James. I was the first-born child of my mother, and it was hard times for her. This opened my eyes because it remained me of the scene to where James was hungry, but his mother had no money to give. As a whole we should learn from others experience because it can better adapt us to an environment that we are presently in or about to face.
My mother was a strong worker who wanted the best for me. As ones body meets a certain age, there is little that we can do, so this forced her to stay home and raise me with little money on the table. The situation got more complex because of my baby sister, and that met more mouths to feed. Since I was growing up, I wanted thing that I saw others have that I did not. All that pressure sunk my mother because she had to deal with my needs, my sister, family in the Dominican Republic, and herself. Even though she faced all of this at one time, she had time and money for me. She gave me all she could and had food on the table with a roof over our heads. All she told me was, “Get an education because I want you to live a better life.” With aid from all over, it told me that she was very sociable with everyone because of all the people who would call her or come if her were sick or hurt.
As time years go by, I learn to mature to the situation that is face, not only by my mother, but my family. Soon I am going to college, and I know I have to put my part in it and I know that my mother will give her support for me. Still I cannot stop to think about how I acted when I was younger because it would not reflect the person I am today. Back then I would ask my mother for money so I could eat Mc Donald or some pizza when I see that she cooked food for me. This is something I know would never help my mother because she would loss money both on the food she cooked and the money for me to go eat outside. Nonetheless she gave me the money, yet I did not feel guilty because I got what I wanted. It was because of her kindness and generosity that in September of 2006 when she was hospitalized, I was the one who sent her, I was the one who stayed that night, and I was the one who visited her each day to see her expression. That was when I had to grow up and watch myself and maintain myself with the money she gave me. With that little money she gave me, it opened my eyes because this was how we really lived.
In “The Sky is Gray”, James is a boy that had a toothache. Even though the mother had barely any money, she took him to the dentist. When he got to the dentist, it was full, and it was a colored dentist. As time went on, James never got his tooth checked and he was cold and hungry. Knowing that there was little money that his mother had, he stayed quiet. Even though they passed through several food stores, mostly whites, he never said a thing.
If you were to compare James to me, you will see a difference. However you need to understand the difference in the times. James was around the 1950’s and 1960’s, and my time period is the early 2000’s. Therefore the difference can be seen because James faced segregation and poverty, while I just faced poverty. Segregation is the one difference, but it is the major gap between James and me. As a result James was more mature at a young age because of all the treatment he and his mother received. Personally I never went through what colored people went through, so to be mature at that time was a must if you were to survive. Now I can see that we must not focus on ourselves because whatever we do can and will affect other we love.