Abbys Blog

               Now that I’ve finished the book The Other Wes Moore, I kind of want to go back to the question are we products of our environments or our expectations? Before I read the book, I argued that both were true. Our expectations and environment affect who we become as people, and I am still going to stand by what I said about that, but I am going to add to it a bit.  Ok, so when I first responded, I said that our expectations and the expectations around us create the environment that we live in. I still agree with this, but I think that there is a little more to it because where do these expectations come from?  Expectations are the belief that something will happen or be true in the future. These beliefs can be almost anything, it can be where someone wants to go to school, the career they want, where they want to live, or even what they want to become. I think that these expectations come from the people we look up to in ...

            Music is a very powerful force. It can invoke feelings and thoughts and has even helped people with Alzheimer's parts or feelings from their lives. In The Other Wes Moore, the author uses music as a safe and comfortable space and as a way to connect with those around him. I know for me it is very similar. I have always had a strong connection with music, even before I knew that dance was something I wanted to pursue. The music I listen to is often a reflection of what I’m either currently feeling or how I want to be feeling. When I’m feeling sad I always try to listen to music that is either uplifting or has no specific feeling associated with it, which can be hard to do. I know that sometimes I like to listen to sad music because it makes me feel better about being sorry but it almost always makes me feel worse later. The sadness in the music makes me feel more anxious and even though it makes me feel seen in the moment it always leads to ...

     Coping is a very personal journey, and I have been lucky enough to find resources that support me through my times. But these coping mechanisms don't work for everyone, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. For me, dance has always been an outlet for my frustrations and a place and thing to turn to when times get rough. I specifically remember a time when I was 16, and dance was really there for me. When I was 16, I had a dog, his name was Rubble. Now let's get this straight, Rubble was my baby, he was more my dog than anyone else. But when I was 16, he suddenly passed away. I missed a lot of school around that time, but I always went to dance after those first few days. Dance was the one place that was consistent, and I wasn’t as affected as I was by Rubble's death. I went back to dance two days after because we had pictures for our spring show. I didn’t really want to go, but I also didn’t know what else to do because all I had been doing was crying, so I ...

          I watched a video the other day about Wes Moore talking about his book, The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates, and the impact he had wanted to make with it. One thing that he said both in the book and his presentation is that “We are a product of our expectations.” This confused me at first because I have always heard that we are a product of our environment, not our expectations. But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Our environment directly affects our expectations. What we see and are surrounded by throughout our childhood is what we grow to expect for ourselves and those around us. Both Wes Moores grew up in what I believe is the same neighborhood, but the difference between them was who their parents were and how they changed their own lives. One ended up being a Rhodes scholar, decorated combat veteran, White House fellow, and business leader, while the other ended up serving a life sentence in prison for felony murder....