The Most Deserving

                   Is it always the most deserving that gets what they want? In the memoir The Glass Castle, that statement is true. This is because the writer, a woman who now lives in her house in New York State, was once a homeless girl living with a drunk father and an uninspired mother. It's stories like these that make you feel good about your life. The writer, Jeannette Walls, grew up in a family that loved to move around and avoid the law. Her father was not only a drunk but also a hustler; and when he didn't hustle enough money for alcohol, he'd take it from his kids. This made for a bad relationship between the kids and the father and in the period of two years, all four kids had left for New York leaving their parents behind. But the surprising things is that all the kids become successful. They do not become homeless like their parents. Jeannette becomes a writer. Lori becomes an artist. Brian becomes a detective. Maureen moves to California and lives a decent life. These kids, the children of a union between two people that loved poverty somehow became successful people. I think this is a rare example of how the people that truly deserved to have a good life, had a good life. This does not often happen in life. Sometimes it is the truly undeserving that has the lucky break. But what set the Walls siblings apart from other deserving people is their hard work. 

                     Hard work is underrated. Many people think that they can become successful by getting lucky or having rich parents. But the most consistent way to become successful is hard work. That is why, Jeannette Walls, a girl who had never gone to college and never finished high school managed to become a journalist for a newspaper in New York City. And when one thing led to another, she managed to settle down on Park Avenue. There may have been some luck involved. But if Jeannette hadn't worked hard, she wouldn't have been able to to both get to New York, and land a good job. It's hard to be successful in life when you grow up with parents who do not care for riches or luxury. Many people are influenced by their parents and it's hard to live a life very different than your parents. That's why Jeannette had to work to leave the lives of her parents. If she wanted to become somebody in life she had to leave the principles of her parents behind. 

                        I take growing up in New York City as a given. That's just who I am. But like I mentioned in a previous blog post, reading books about childhoods filled with dreaming of living in a city like New York make me wonder about what I take for granted in this world. If I become successful, am I ruining the dreams of a girl who grew up in poverty? I don't think people should be held down by what their parents are. That's why after reading The Glass Castle, I felt privileged. I grew up in New York City with parents that I can look up to. I was born given a headstart in the race of life because my family is not in poverty. I don't think this is fair. Nobody should be given a headstart. It should be a fair race.