English Essay (New version , new ending)

Living in a world like this can be scary. Not knowing when or how you may die, fearing that it would be today. I don’t know why nobody has tried to stop this insanity. I guess they’re just too afraid. There is never one moment where you can’t hear the screams of a child being assaulted, or the sirens of a police car going off on the next street. Everyday I walk down the same road, see the same things, and hear the same foul words. I don’t really go home for anything but to sleep if its stormy outside and I rarely ever eat anything at all. So many things are just better undone just for your safety. What exactly is safety anyway? Having gates around your neighborhood, or having nice homes with decent security? In these rough parts of the city, safety is knowing self defense when you get jumped. Safety is trusting nobody and telling nothing to anybody. It sickens me when people drive through here with their windows rolled up and that familiar expression on their faces telling us they don’t want to be here.Since I was little, I’ve been telling myself that I’m going to get money and move out of this horrible place. Until just recently, I didn’t know how hard that was going to be. I have a dream to be in a better place where stuff like this is cut down to a minimum. But those dreams are often crushed by the nightmare of reality. I don’t have family, and I don’t have friends. I’ve always chosen to stand alone, to be free, and to be independent. I hope that one day, I will find somebody. Someone to care for me and help me as I make my way to the world I wish to live in. they would be the only people I would let get close to my heart. But until that day, I lay here in the park, under the stars, and hope I see the morning.I wake only to hear the firing of a gun only about two streets away. Although I’ve made it through the night, I sometime wish that I hadn’t. if I cant go to that better place, I’d rather be nowhere at all. Instead of getting up to go and find something to eat, I just stayed here on the bench and began to think. People would often tell me I think too much, and that I need to get over the fact that I’m not going anywhere, and move on. I believe today will be the day, the day that I will run until I can’t breathe anymore. Possibly even, until I’m even out of this trashed city that I can’t stand to see anymore. I hate having to live my life wondering if I’ll see tomorrow.I didn’t realize how long it was going to take to get out of this horrible place. Even if I did manage to get myself out of the streets, I wouldn’t have the money to support myself. I would be another homeless person ruining the image of a better city.A lot of gang action takes place where I live. They usually rob banks or convenient stores for money, and most of them end up in jail or a detention center. I’ve never been a part of a gang, but I have definitely gotten myself into the Center a few times. Not that I have done anything wrong, but I tend not to be in the right place at the right time. When I was released from my most recent visit to the detention center, I walked as much as my feet would allow me. I was hoping to see a better life in a neighboring city, but I couldn’t. I wonder if a place like that even exists.
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It’s been two years since I got out of the Center for good. Several times since my release, I’ve made a run for it. Finally, I won. I was the girl who actually managed to leave that old city behind. The people in the new city put me in a new center for a while. Not a detention center, but a center where I could live. My foster family is taking really good care of me and is making sure I get a proper education. All of that thinking I did in my free time while on the streets really paid off. I’m in the top ten percent in my school, I’m going to a nice college where I can major in literature, and I found a job that I really love. I constantly find myself going back to the streets that I used to call home, and I decided to do something about it. The idea had dawned upon me while trying to go to bed. Just because I had to suffer the loss of family and the struggle of poverty, doesn’t mean other people should. I told my foster parents about my old life, and they really had taken it to heart. They joined me in the attempt to fix up my old neighborhood. We collected some donations from friends at church, and we made enough for now. Every day when I drive down the streets, I keep my windows rolled down and a smile on my face. I drive down the same roads, see different things, and hear less and less foul words. I can see the progress that is coming clearly. The future for those people look a lot brighter and filled with more happiness. Between school and work, I don’t have much time for making my daily visit to the city anymore. All the seniors are asked to write an admissions essay on a certain given topic. I chose the topic: Something that you will never forget. I would sit at the table for hours not being able to come up with any ideas. While eating dinner, I noticed myself subconsciously excusing myself to get some paper and a pen. The black ink was scribbling across the blue lines on the sheet and I read the words : “Living in a world like this can be scary. Not knowing when or how you may die, fearing that it would be today…”