On The Rez

In "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian", Junior spends his entire life on a rez, or an Indian reservation. On the rez, Junior is belittled, bullied but very intelligent. He lives a poor life on the rez, and dreams of getting away to become something bigger, but his mindset on the rez is that it's really hard to grow out of poverty, and he's right. His only consolation on the res is his best friend, Rowdy, and his drawing. Once Junior enters high school, he begins to realize how he can't get out of his current situation if he continues to stay on the rez. With the guidance of his geometry teacher, Junior transfers to a school outside of the rez, which is predominantly white. Junior is discriminated against at first, bullied, but he is still not intellectually challenged. If anything, Junior is at the top of his level in this school and it's helping him gain hope. In the end, junior becomes their basketball star and is popular in his school. He's one step closer to growing out of the hopelessness he was born into,

Fortunately for me, I don't really have a place that I would consider my "rez". The only place I can think of that comes close to the rez is my old middle school (6th, 7th, and 8th grade). My school was entirely Mexican, with little spots of Black and white here and there. I was never challenged in that school, and I didn't consider myself socially active. The main thing about this school and it's occupants that remind of the rez is the lack of hope. Most of my classmates and friends didn't think they could get into good high schools, they didn't think they could amount to something more than they were. In fact, most of them never tried. Most chose the easier route of joining gangs, doing drugs and going to the neighborhood high school. This high school was the go to place for everyone who didn't want to try. My parents went to this high school, and they both decided that I would not go there. They didn't want me to become limited in knowledge and opportunities. From the seventh grade, I knew I didn't want to follow my friends to this high school, even though it would've been an easy four years. Middle school can't  really compare to life on the rez, but the students who attended my middle school had the same mindset as those on the rez. Only some found their way out of this system.