Everyone spoke Spanish, people would stare at me because of the color of my hair, and I could not go anywhere by myself because it was too dangerous. I was unprepared to deal with the physical reality of Mexico City, it's foreign language, it's impoverished people, it's pollution, and it's frightening crime rate. Wherever I went in Mexico City there were always people begging me for money. ... The crime rate in Mexico City is so bad that you are almost guaranteed to be robbed or mugged if you go out alone. ... His kidnapping shocked me. ...

• Word Count: 475
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

As we continue to see these luxuries as necessities we become dangerously more comfortable as our population increases at an alarming rate. ... Advanced countries like ours need to do more then feed their hungry, we need to teach them how to feed themselves-catch me a fish and you feed me for a day, teach me to fish and you feed me for a lifetime, our country needs to help them to help themselves. ... Since millions of years ago human population has increased and has more recently done so at an alarming rate, a rate so high it is getting attention all over the world. ... With the population...

• Word Count: 978
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Factors that lead to overpopulation that causes social problems are the increase in the number of single mothers in poor neighborhoods opposed to the decline in birth rates in the more efficient parts of the country, how the death rate is at a steady decline because of medical advances in rich and poor countries, the effects immigrants have on an environment and the population growth that occurs, the influence parents leave on children, and what is being done to help prevent the spread of AIDS because this is a deadly disease which is lowering our population but causing many social problems. ....

• Word Count: 2953
• Approx Pages: 12
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Kazin stated he once heard his mother say, "How sad it is," "It grips me! It grips me!" ... She always came home upset and depressed and because being exposed at such an early stage allowed me to become vulnerable to depression. Watching my mother suffer during my childhood could lead me to symptoms of depression. ... For example, as written in Lennon's research, "Rates of depression among women are 1.5 to 3 times that of men".However, even with women having a higher rate of vulnerability, it does not exclude the fact that either I or Kazin may still be susceptible of receiving such a d...

• Word Count: 1291
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

It amazed me how many children between the ages of 11 and 17 would speak about being kept poor because of the wealthy, and would dismiss their current education and the possibility of furthering their education. ... The recidivism rate rises and rises because of the lack of education: educating on the importance of an education to those who have lost belief in education, and educating those not aware of the ignorance which has arisen from a lack of education. ...

• Word Count: 461
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

It made me happy to see how joyful he or she could be although they had no job or place to stay. ... Philadelphia has the highest rate of deep poverty. ... Philadelphia's deep-poverty rate is 12.9 percent, or around 200,000 people. ...

• Word Count: 806
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Urrea gives many examples of this concept in his book, but I think the example that he gave that genuinely made me stomach flip was when Jesusita and her husband were executed by a local militia living in the slum. ... That vivid description had me raging with frustration in my room while I was reading. ... After a while, slums will just form due to such a large unemployment rate and people needing a place to go. ... Urrea explains why these migrants are moving at such an alarming rate when he states, "Imagine how bad things must get to make you leave behind your family, your friends, you...

• Word Count: 1416
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Later in the essay Will states; "Two supposed signs of the "crisis" are America's high rate of infant mortality and low rate of immunization of preschool children. ... We know that the number of people living on our planet is growing at a soaring rate and that within a relatively short time we can expect it to total in the tens of billions.. ... In short, it appears to me that it would be better to start from the head rather than the tail. ...

• Word Count: 1312
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

"In 2011, 46.2 million people in the US were living in poverty and the nation's official poverty rate was 15 percent, up from 14.3 percent in 2009, according to the US Census Bureau. ... But when somebody like me sees that, it hurts me deep down inside because I understand their struggle. ...

• Word Count: 842
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Last year, I was a part of Habitat for Humanities, and I had taken my son along with me into the ghetto to clean up a park for the neighborhood children. When we got there my son looked at me and asked, "How can they let people live like this?" ... It has been said, "unskilled adults almost always have unemployment rates at least twice the national average." ...

• Word Count: 635
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

As one poor man from Ethiopia said, "For me, a good life is to be healthy- (qtd. in "Dying- 4). ... The average income of the poorest fifth of families in Latin America fell $210 or 1.8 percent ("Poverty Rates-). The average income of the middle fifth of families rose $630 or 1.5 percent ("Poverty Rates-). But the average income of the richest five percent of families climbed $6,440 or 3.1 percent ("Poverty Rates-). ... In Africa millions of dollars have been given to help improve their poor state, but their poverty rates only continue to increase (Raghaven). ...

• Word Count: 2145
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

Is Money Where Your Heart Is? In a world where riches rule, it is hard to define wealth as anything but the state of having an abundance of worldly estate. Socially, people who have more monetary possessions outshine those who do not, but why is that? Who defines wealth? What is it? F. A. Wa...

• Word Count: 741
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Schools actively involved in the prevention of truancy and the parental involvement in the school system has proven effective in lowing the drop out rate of student and reducing crime in the neighborhood. ... One such comment that was made to me by a shoplifter sums up the rationalization behind some actions, "stealing isn't that big a deal if you take it from someone rich, cuz if I can take it I will". ...

• Word Count: 646
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

It is obvious to me that love between parent and child is lacking in most families. ... Running away from an abusive home seems to me to be a well developed coping mechanism. ... Homeless adolescents also report high rates of other early institutional contact including inpatient psychia...

• Word Count: 3188
• Approx Pages: 13
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Unfortunately, statistics also show that the national poverty rate has barely decreased as a result of welfare reform (Williams, 2006). ... This course helped me to realize the ways that social policy and government regulations impact health care and human services. ... I, of course, plan to stay on the side of the advocate in order to assist me in my employment endeavors while maintaining professional respect in my position. ...

• Word Count: 1443
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

When I first read these two pieces I was on Kozol's side more then Traub's but as I write this I see that Traub is making a bigger impact on me. ... It will not matter how up to date and functional a school is if the town around it is impoverished with a high crime rate. ...

• Word Count: 893
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

(www.undp.org) Gandhi states on page 118 that "According to me the economic constitution of India and for that matter of world, should be such that no one under it should suffer from want of food and clothing. ... Another quote from Gandhi that appealed to me was on page 119. ... Whenever someone says they are "starving" to me, it is a moronic statement, because in reality they probably have no idea what it is like to be starving. All my life growing up I always had plenty of food for me to eat, however, my mother would always tell me that whatever I put on my plate I have to finish, because ...

• Word Count: 2611
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

One day as I was driving to my sister's house in Ravenswood, I saw an elderly man standing at the end of the off-ramp. The gentleman was holding a sign that read: "Homeless will work for food. God Bless."" As I rolled to a stop, I rolled down my window and offered him my last five dollars. To m...

• Word Count: 4318
• Approx Pages: 17
• Grade Level: Undergraduate