The Town I'm from - Passaic

Payal Rana

English 1H

Ms.Jose/P9

December 16, 2010

The Town I'm from--Passaic

I believe in where I am from. Passaic is a small town on the map of New Jersey that has a population of a ton. It is topped to the brim with people of different backgrounds and colors. No one here is ordinary and they all take a step out from usual spectrum and take a stand in their own distinct way. It is not the greatest or the wealthiest town to live in. The streets are polluted and full of foul language, but it's my town that I live in and I'm proud of it.

When I usually meet somebody the first question they ask is where you're from and I reply by saying, "Passaic." The first thing that pops up is, that girl is going nowhere, and she has no future. They do not say it directly but their facial expression speaks it all. This really upsets me, because according to my philosophy anything can happen. You have your life in your hand and you get to color it in the way you want it. I am not going to let anyone come and erase all my hard work and sweat in a blink of a second. Because you know what I may be from Passaic but it is definitely not going to stop me from reaching my goals and dreams. They are going to stay their imprinted, and I am never going to sacrifice those for the sake of others. Especially not for people who discriminate from the place I am from.

"Ghetto" is the word that is associated with my town, and I for one am not going to disagree with that because it speaks the truth to the core. The streets are flooded with ghetto language and curse words flying around the place. People are doing drugs right around the corner and drunken people are flopping all over the sidewalks. But that is one part of Passaic, the people that do not know any better. Whether it is their parents or the poverty their living in these knuckleheads often are not

born like that, their forced into it. As I said before Passaic isn't the richest town and people are in constant poverty. This poverty becomes a problem when a brother or sister has to put something in their family's stomachs. While people in other towns are enjoying nice gourmet meals, many families here are scavenging for a bite to eat. Left with no other option helpless brothers, sisters, moms, dads, whoever they may be are forced to perform actions they aren't so proud of. This is the only side some people see. But they forget that there's another side of Passaic, who are different and want to have wonderful educations and do something with their life. I happen to fall into that group. And I feel if people continue to demoralize people like this nothing but negativity is going to result and many of your future doctors are