ESSAY1~SHA-NESE

SHA-NESE COHORT 3 DREAMLAND ESSAY

One theme in Dreamland that also relates to my life is Overcoming Adversity because I've went through things and had to make the right choices to make a better life for myself. The main character in my book also did, and in some way I think we are alike. Caitlin had many problems in Dreamland and she overcame them all. An example from my life is when I was in the eighth grade I used to hang out with these girls that lived around my way. They were the type of girls that your parents wouldn't want you to have any contact with, but I liked to hang with them because they were kind of adventurous. They smoked, drink, and fight all the time. I didnt smoke or drink, but when it came down to fighting I was always present. We did alot of bad things that I couldn't possibily see myself doing today. One thing that I always thought was looked pretty cool was robbing a bank, because of after seeing the movie "Set It Off". I told the girls my crazy idea of robbing a bank, (not that i was actually serious), but they thought it was a good idea to rob the drug store down the block whre they sold the best candy that the old chinese man owned.I tried to tell them that I was just joking,but they already had there minds set on it. I didn't want to do it because it wasn't right, then I thought about the past the things we did and none of them were good. So everyone voted me to be the one to get the money from the cash register(since I was the bravest). I told them I'll do it as long as I get the most money since it was a tough job. They agreed and from that day we planned what we were going to do from the time we get in there to the time we walk out. The day before the big day I had second thoughts about what I was about to get myself into. when people steal or rob they go to jail and I wasn't even raised that way. I didn't have to steal because anything I wanted my parents went out their ways to get it for me, so I decided not to do it. The next day finally came and the girls were knocking at my door at 1in the after noon ready to do what we planned. Then I told them I wasn't going to do it because we could get into some serious trouble. I was really trying to talk them out of it, but they wouldn't listen to me. They told me that I was a punk because we were a team and I let them down. They were mad at me and we started to argue and I told them to get out of my house and act like they never met me because I didn't want to have anything to do with them ever again. Then one of them said that when they come back they'll still give me some of the money because it was my bright idea. I told her no because it wasn't mine and so they left. I hadn't seen or heard of them for a whle hour until my cousin called me and said that they were getting locked up for trying to rob the drug store. My cousin somehow knew that I had something to do with it and that she's glad that I didn't go into the wrong direction. I'm really happy I didn't do it either because I wasnt getting anything but some time in jail just like the rest of them that are still in there as I write this.