Things can change yet somehow remain the same

In my previous post, I talked about my hometown in Los Angeles, California. In this post, I want to dive deeper into the thoughts that crossed my mind while watching the video. As my brother walked through the house I grew up in, my brother pointed out an old furnace in the hallway that used to warm our entire home. It was in front of this furnace that my sibling first learned that our father was in prison. Until that moment, they had probably held an idealized image of our father, which was probably shattered at that moment.

During his tour of our old house, my brother came across children in the bedroom he had once shared with our younger brother. He inquired about the current state of the neighborhood and shared stories about the schools he attended and the places he used to go swimming as a child. One of the children's responses to my brother's stories was both shocking and sadly not surprising. The child mentioned that the Bethune pool, where my brother had gone many years ago and where one of the children was currently enrolled, had been closed due to a tragic murder.

Before leaving, my brother asked about the neighborhood's current condition, and the response he received was disheartening – "prostitutes." It was astonishing that among all the possible things the child could have mentioned, this was the first that came to mind. It's ironic how things can change yet somehow remain the same.

As children, we are born with innocence, and what we expose them to can shape them into greatness or lead them down a troubled path. Our surroundings, the people we interact with, and our life experiences can warp that innocence. Sometimes, we may not have the means to shield our children from the harsh realities of the world, but we must find a way to do better for them.

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