In New York City, The Bronx is the borough of diversity, food, music, girls, and crime. The Bronx is where I spend my life trying to become a man. “The Bronx can either break you or make you.” The Bronx influences people’s choices but accepts their failures. I grew up in this borough of struggles and poverty where I learned to love my life.
Bronx neighborhoods are filled with people from Italy, Germany, Mexico, Russia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Canada who live in the same neighborhoods. The streets are filled with all different genres of music which pours from car radio speakers and $20 speakers from Walmart. Music is a big part of the Bronx so there is plenty of music to choose from. There’s Old School, Rap, Country, R&B, Soul, Gospel, Bachata.
Music affects the social life of teenagers in the Bronx. When people start public school they often have to make up their minds which music group they want to be part of before they even go to school. In school music can be heard throughout the classes,halls, and the lunchroom is no exception. The lunchroom is the stage for those who want to show off the music they enjoy listening to. On one side of the room people are blasting One Direction while on the opposite side people are listening to Wu Tang Clan. I am part of the group that likes to listen to all different music genres. Many people refer to me as “ the Wizard” because I am a good poet and rapper. I perform in the lunchroom, often making rap lines. For example, I might say “I am the title and composition, I have more lines than your notebook so there is no competition.” I love the lunchroom especially when the music is louder than the fire alarms.
The Bronx has food that is a major part of one’s life. There are many places to visit in the Bronx for food. Chinese, Mexican, Italian, French, and Jamaican restaurants have food that make stomachs happy. I often go to Tony and Tina’s near Little Italy because it is near my house. The food there tastes great because the meat is well cooked and the bread is homemade. The Chinese food can be typical fried rice and wings but there are places that serve Sushi and Wasabi from Japan that will explode your taste buds. Chinese food in the Bronx tastes great because it is cooked and not frozen and microwaved. The food is spread all over the Bronx so there is no going hungry. Fish sprinkled with lemon juice with a side of rice that comes from South America. Cheese Cakes with milk from cows in Europe. The food will amaze one’s sense of taste.
Crime is a major part of the Bronx. I live near the most dangerous street in the Bronx called Mt. Eden, which isn’t terrible. I encountered many dangerous situations where I was uncertain whether I was going to get out hurt or dead. One day when we had half a day I was chased by some gang members because I was in the wrong section of the Bronx called Port Morris. I met bad role models such as drug dealers and gang members but I have never followed in their footsteps. There have been incidents where crime increased by 6% from one year to the next. I know friends who sell drugs or take them. There are peaceful days and horrible days in the Bronx. Crime may vary depending on the street you live in. I live on 187th and Prospect which has 134 robberies a year and 47 homicides. Most of the people who die are younger than 24. I am proud of the way the Bronx has nurtured me because I have learned how to defend myself in hazardous situations. Crime in the Bronx is nothing but a life because all you do is learn how to survive.
The girls in the Bronx are a mixture of Spanish descent and European origin. They can be classy, top notch models, or just plain gold diggers. I only experienced one positive effect from the girls there. I met a girl named Daisy, who was French and Puerto Rican. She had beautiful white milky skin and curly hair that looked like she had cotton candy on her head. Her body was well proportioned, and she had a personality that turned me into Romeo. Daisy was outgoing, optimistic, and loyal. I became a poet because of her. She was a vital part of who I am because we belonged together. We both loved music and poetry so I decided that I should impress her. She left the Bronx because her family had better financial opportunities in California.
I first met Daisy was when she transferred from her school to mine. I was listening to Drake-Trust Issues when I saw her looking intently at me. Our eyes connected and that moment felt like a romantic movie when the two main characters meet. I started to talk to her and she was kind and respectful when I talked about my rap songs and stories. Daisy asked me if I wrote poetry and I responded “Yeah, I’m a great poet”, which was a lie. The following week I spent more than 45 hours trying to write a poem that she would like. The first poem I wrote was called “ Juan.” It was about me loving my mom and growing up without a male role model. When Daisy was about to leave for California I wrote her a poem called “Thousands Of Miles”; it was meant to be a goodbye letter but I had to tell her how much I liked her. I still talk to her but the Bronx is where I had my first love so I love the memories I have there.
The Bronx neighborhoods are now my fingers; I know them like the back of my hands, The Bronx is a place where dreams come true or dreams stay dreams. I am a young priest because I treat the knowledge of my neighborhood like religion because it makes me keep going in life. I grew up in the Bronx where each part of the culture became who I was. I have absorbed the music, food, and personality of the Bronx. I am the Bronx.