Justin Hyppolite

In the book "The Other Wes Moore," the other Wes Moore talks about the role music plays in his life and explores the importance of Hip-hop, which was extremely influential for him as a teen and helps him build a sense of identity. Hip-hop plays a huge role and acts a "validator" at this point in Wes's life and it gives him a way to reconcile the self he presents among other young men in his neighborhood. We recently celebrated 50 Years of Hip-hop, and its global popularity made its visions of Black life and messages of Black pride accessible to the other Wes’s white classmates and at the same time, his devotion to the form and easy memorization of lyrics led his neighborhood between Wes Moore’s two worlds and two selves. Now, on to the role music plays in my life.  Music plays a vital role in my life. I love listening to music and it's become one of my favorite things to do in my free time. I was exposed to music since I was in kindergarten and now to my age...

In the nonfiction book " The Other Wes Moore"  on Page 44, the author Wes Moore talks about basketball becoming his getaway and escape from life in the Bronx. Over the course of his life, he continued to play throughout high school and was on the way to the NBA when his priorities changed. For Wes, the sport wasn't just his favorite activity to do, it was also his salvation. After waiting on the sidelines, he was called in to play. He played his best and despite not winning or succeeding against the older and bigger kids, Wes was opened to a new world. The point is there are a lot of fun activities that people enjoy doing while in any difficult situation and can help relieve stress.  First, walking is one of my favorite activities to enjoy while dealing with difficult situations and it’s a good way to distract me from them. I walk home from my classes almost every day and at first, I didn’t want to do it but after doing it from Day 1, Day 2 and all days after, I felt comf...

Many people believe that we are simply all products of our environments. Punched from paper and molded into what society expects us to become. But our environment only teaches us survival skills demonstrated through every individuals’ story of how they respond to situations. The expectations society lays on our chests may influence our choices but we are ultimately in charge of our own choices. Some may study humans for our lives and only gather that we are simply human; we cannot be measured. That answers we are not products of our environment but instead our decisions produce the path we choose.  “I mean others’ expectations that you take on as your own. We will do what others expect of us. If they expect us to graduate, we will graduate. If they expect us to get a job, we will get a job. If they expect us to go to jail, then that’s where we will end up. At some point you lose control.” (Moore, 126) While and after reading, I realized how difficult it was to separate the two. The...

When someone hears the term “higher education”, the first thought that comes to mind tends to be college, of course. College has always been thought of as the one-way ticket to a high salary occupation. The reality of the situation is that while that may be true in some cases, it’s not as easy as it seems to receive that ticket aka the Bachelor’s degree. College tuition is a large amount and it’s even more expensive to attend college only to drop out. This leaves the student with no degree and vast amounts of debt. That debt is averaging 20,000 dollars for four years of schooling. Higher education is beneficial for anyone with the dedication to attending and knowing what they are striving for with while doing so. But the question: Is Higher Education Worth the Price? One of the biggest reasons students attend college is for the chance to get a better job once us, the students graduate. No student wants to work out of high school as a truck driver or fast food employee for the rest of t...

In a 2003 court case, “Caesar Barber v. McDonald’s Corporation,” Barber claimed he was unaware of the nutritional and fat content of the fast food he ate on a near-daily basis for decades, and which he claimed caused his multiple illnesses (Daily Caller). The people of the court ruled that Barber’s choice of food was the cause of his many health issues, not the restaurants which supplied the fast food. In this case, the court held the consumer responsible for his selections. However, the court’s expectation of personal responsibility in food selection will most likely become anachronous. With many of these restaurants (etc. McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell) and more and the health issues it brings and do nothing to change their environments, it brings up this question: Is Fast Food the New Tobacco? Anywhere we travel today, out of town, to a big city or a small village or anywhere in between, consumers are bound to see some sort of advertising for fast food. Many billboards display li...

  Everyone is surrounded by pop culture in our society today. It is everywhere. From watching TV, to reading magazines, being on social media, and just browsing the internet. Pop culture is the entirety of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, images and other phenomena that are within the mainstream of a given culture. The question, Is Pop Culture Good for You?  Pop Culture makes a great impact in our society today. The main problem with pop culture is that some people think that it can dumb us down and it can and in some situations, it already has. It also promotes violence in today’s youth. It could do the exact opposite. Pop Culture is just another thing to learn about in life. It could actually help us think more complex to figure out what is going to happen in the next episode in our favorite TV shows. It can even have the youth reading at an early age just to figure out what is happening in the magazines, and to be able to text family and friends. Also, it could help us learn...