Kaitlyn Rowell

        In the other Wes Moore, Wes spoke about his new interest in hip hop music. Since Wes went to a mostly white and mostly wealthy school, the kids in his neighborhood felt like he wasn't "like them". His family had more money than a lot of the neighborhood kids because most kids in the neighborhood couldn't afford the school Wes attended. This made them think of Wes differently. Wes explained that knowing and listening to hip hop helped him fit in more with the neighborhood kids because they could see that he "understood". This to me really shows the true power if music. Music is a way to bring people together, it's a language that everyone can understand and appreciate. It's a way for people to express their creativity, personality and a way for people to escape. In my high school everyone I knew listened to music. You would see people with headphones on, nodding their heads to the beat as they moved from class to class. I think music made the

     In "The other Wes Moore", we see Wes and his friends escape the outside chaos through playing basketball. Basketball gave him something to do and felt like a distraction. Wes was feeling torn between his school friends and his neighborhood friends, he also started to feel like he missed being home in Maryland. Playing basketball was a way for him to forget all of that and to just have mindless fun. I can totally relate to this feeling. When I was in school, I never felt like I truly fit in some place. I always floated around friend groups and never believed I belonged anywhere. I struggled with my identity because there were many different groups with different types of people and at the time, I didn't know what person I wanted to be. Then I found dance. I started competitive dance in 7th grade. This absolutely changed my life. I truly began to understand what passion and devotion to a craft felt like. I felt at home when I danced, I was swallowed by the music, and I