A Good Kid by Yesleen

A Good Kid by Yesleen - February 2014 Scholarship Essay

“...The typical prostitute earns more than the typical architect,”
-Freakanomics, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

An assigned book for AP Macroeconomics is where I realized why criminals do what they do.

At the age of six, we visited my uncle in jail. A game of checkers resting atop a metal table awaited me each visit as he sat across in a vibrant orange jumpsuit. My parents and uncle conversed while I played checkers with him. I was too young to understand why he was there. All I knew was that where he was wasn’t in a good place; it was where bad people went. At six years old, I knew I didn’t want to be one of those bad people, confined within three stone walls and steel bars. Our allotted visiting time was over in the blink of an eye. When it was finally my turn to say goodbye, my uncle reached down and pulled me into a warm embrace and whispered, “be a good kid.”

As I got older I understood why my uncle went to jail. He wasn’t a prostitute, but a foot soldier in the drug world. He was charged with a federal crime of transporting drugs through the US mail as well as trafficking drugs. He was released after three years for good behavior, precious years he would never get back. The reason why he became a criminal? Money.

A prostitute earns more than an architect and a criminal earns more than a hard-earned profession with little effort, yet with high risks. For my uncle, the incentives for making money outweighed the risk of being caught. Defying his morals, my uncle joined the drug circle to earn fast money by seeking the easy way out; he was trying to get rich quick so he could afford expensive shoes and cars. He became something I did not want to be. His methods of cheating and getting caught only encouraged me to want to earn money the old fashioned way; the right way. Without transporting drugs or selling my body, cheating or breaking the law, I worked hard all through school so I could obtain a degree doing what I love, and make my money the hard way, not by feeding off of people’s addictions.

I could easily take the easy route like my uncle did. However, I want to become something more than a criminal. I don’t want to make money just to buy expensive shoes and cars. Sticking by my morals and doing what is good, not only for me, but for everyone around me will take me far in life. With my values in hand and strong beliefs, I'm taking my uncle's advice and being a “good kid.”