Orlando Rodriguez
By Orlando Rodriguez (Whetstone Staff Writer)
I have learned so much from my four years here at Wesley College.
I have met people from all over the East Coast and each has his or her own story. But one thing we all have in common are the problems associated with the 3-Block neighborhood near campus.
Just like other troubled areas around the country – including my own in Trenton, N.J. – 3-Block is sometimes filled with violence, drugs, prostitution and poverty. But where there is bad, there is good. Not everyone who comes from an unfortunate area has to become a product of his environment and I am a living witness.
I know what it is like to come from a city filled with violence and to wake up in fear.
I know what is like to only have one parent around and to have the other absent due to a life of crime.
That is the reason why I came to college – to better myself and my life. Not once did I think that I would have to deal with the same problems at school that I once had to deal with at home.
Life away from home has given me a better picture of what life for me used to be as I became accustomed to Dover and 3-Block. Watching people on the corner after hours, abandoned homes, children without the proper clothing, and homeless people really hits home.
It’s enough to make anyone think: Is there anyone who is trying to help those who cannot help themselves?
I understand that some people cannot push themselves and they need that extra push to get started. They need words of advice from those who have been in their shoes. They need the help of their community. They need the protection of the police. And they need to be given a chance.
Not everyone who comes from that kind of environment believes in God or a higher being. They may find it hard to have faith or a strong belief system because of their circumstances.
I remember saying to myself when I was younger, if there is truly a God and he says he loves me, how could he allow certain things to happen in my life that were negative. But then there are those people who live in unfortunate neighborhoods, like 3-Block, and who retain a strong faith in God or a higher being and rely on their relationship with their God to get them through their situations.
For example, when I did my profile story on Seadric Corbitt, I remember his father mentioning that God was the main reason why he made it out of the violent streets of Philadelphia, and that his family is where they are now because of God. It made me look back at my life and all the people who have come from these rough areas around the world and it made me realize, we have been fortunate enough with a second chance.
But because we are given a second chance, it will become a greater task to complete. Old habits will have to be broken. We will have to leave some friends behind. We will have to take ourselves out of environments that are not beneficial to our growth and goals. And it will require late nights and early mornings.
So no matter what people may believe in or what their circumstances may be, there is always a way out.
We just have to dig deep within ourselves and make things happen even if no one believes that it can be accomplished.
