How did getting arrested for gang violence affect my life free essay sample

It was only several weeks ago that a daring incident happened to me that could have impacted me for the rest of my life. Hanging with the wrong crowd and making with the wrong decision could have changed my life forever. That decision was the choice I made to hang with the gangs. In this essay you will find out how getting arrested for hanging out with the wrong people affected me and how gangs’ violence affects today’s society in the United States. I was arrested for fighting at the South Carolina State Fair in October. I am from Georgia and was involved simply to protect my cousin and didn’t realize the severity of the decision at the time. I have since realized that the people you thought had your back actually don’t at the end of the day, especially when it comes down to your court hearing. We will write a custom essay sample on How did getting arrested for gang violence affect my life? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When I was arrested, I was embarrassed and humiliated. During the hours I spent in jail I realized how easy it is to get in trouble and how hard it is to get out of it. I have never been arrested before and it was really an eye opening experience for me and for those who think it’s cool, it’s not; when those cuffs went on and I was place in the back of that police car all I could think of is the scene of being in jail from TV. This has experience has not only effected my family and myself but it has divided the relationship between my cousin and I. I knew that he somewhat proclaimed to be a gang member but thinking of him having the use of one hand I didn’t take him seriously. I guess there a void in his life that he fills the need to belong to something because of his handicap. I have been a good citizen my entire life. I realize that if this stayed on my record, all of my ambitions and future of going to the military or becoming a computer specialist would be ruined. Most people do not understand how one minor incident can change a person’s life. This event is one huge wakeup call and a lesson learned. I now realized that I must make better choices on what I do and who I hang around. After being release I never felt so happy to see my mother, as I know she loves me and was very worry; everything that she was preaching to about was true: those so call friends. In the future I will chose the people that I socialize with and places that I go carefully, even my relatives because I not going to jail for no one. I would like to end by saying thank GOD, my mother and the Officers who believed in giving me a second chance. Gang violence in today’s society is really over rated in my opinion; most of the people that join gangs are highly insecure. Currently, there are so many gangs and unfortunately, there are not enough people that are making the community a safe environment, but instead more people in gangs making it an unsafe environment. The people of these communities are afraid to testify against them because of the consequences faced when they do. What saddens me most is that the majorities of the kids in gangs have great minds and have a lot of potential. But sadly, no one is able to tap into their potential. Being in a gangs can mess up lives forever, kids need to better their educations and there life surrounding. Statistics shows that every two hours in America a child dies from a gunshot wounds or knives and drugs (Kids Count Data Book pg. 14). The teen death rate 69 per one hundred thousand teens in 1993 and increased 10% between 1985 and 1993, â€Å"Kids count data book 14†; during 1994 about one 5th (19.4% of everyone arrested for a violent crime was under the age of 18. The juvenile violent crime arrest rate increased 66% from three hundred and Five per one hundred thousand’s in 1985 to five hundred six per one hundred thousand in 1993. Sadly the statistics goes on and messing with society tremendously. Gang’s violence that used to be only active in large cities such as Los Angelo’s or Chicago has spread over to smaller areas in lots of towns like Lee Massachusetts, a major problem is that offenders are no longer afraid of the justice system. Gangs are becoming a growing problem in American society. More young people are turning to gangs to solve problems in their lives. When youths join gangs they drop social activities with family, friends and school; many fall behind in school and drop out. In summary, there is no question that gangs are problem in our society. Gangs are doing harmful things and hurting our country. Not only are gangs in major metropolitan areas like New York City and Atlanta, but also small suburbs such as Columbia, South Carolina. Gangs violence has greatly increased within the last few years, even though in many area gang violence has become a wide spread problem that can no longer be ignored. Youths in today’s society are allowing their lives to be shaped by the music they listen to and neiborhoods they live in, peer pressure, and many other things. These factors are telling our youth that gangs, thug life is the way to go however if they know what I have learned then they would get a handle on their lives and be better people. The youth in our society is in a direction that is harming our nations and themselves. The gangs’ violence must be stopped we as semarthins need to take a stand and influence our young kids on making the right decisions.