Darrius Pitts

Sarah Hughes
Photographic Memory Final Draft
2/15/16

Photographic Memory Essay

Life Memories
September 25, 1996. The day i was born, Darrius Demetrius Pitts the name my mother
would decide to put on my birth certificate. A younger parent with a stable job and a way to
provide for my family. I was born in Berwyn, but i lived in Bellwood. Growing up i didn't see
this being the perfect environment for me. The neighborhoods werent as bad as the town right
next to us, maywood. Maywood was and still is a town known for its poverty and violence.
Notably noted the worst suburb to live in, in the state of Illinois. The schools were not very
indepth and the high school was known to be nicknamed as the prison. I was grateful to grow
up in Bellwood, but in my head there was no difference between the two. I grew up with
majority of my friends from Maywood, we went to the same school, and also played on the same
sports teams. Bellwood had less homicides,and a little higher median income, but other than that
the two towns are very identical. I loved growing up in this environment, it made me appreciate
things for the way they were. I grew up mentally and physically tough. You realized natural
family problems and some of your friends had the same. Even though these kind of communities
are frowned upon or looked down at because of the violence of poverty, at the end of the day

living in a town like bellwood or maywood you get a sense of being in a family with your
neighborhood. A feeling that is irreplaceable
Continuing on my last thoughts, I was a child who grew up in an average setting. I wasnt
glamoured with nice clothes, we didn't have cool cars, and lived in a normal household.
Everything i had, i cherished and i valued. For my 10th birthday i remember having a party at
Brunswick Zone. This one one of the best days of my life. I received a blue NIntendo Ds. I knew
it was expensive and it just came out but my mom was able to provide this for me. Key moments
like this taught me a couple key things in life. One, no matter where you come from, or what
mistakes you made in your life, through hard work you can make something of your life. This
concept really hit me at the age of 13. I moved from Bellwood to Woodridge. This experience
changed my life forever. I lived in an apartment and went to an elementary school called Prairie
View Elementary school. This neighborhood I now lived in didnt fit the lifestyle i once lived. I
felt like i didnt belong and it made life hard for a couple of months. The people who lived here
existed amongst one another like normal issues didnt exist. Like regular people dont struggle
and the flaunt of money was very prevalent in relation to house or cars, or other various
materialistic items. If you didnt fit in or do things that seemed like normal for a community
like this you were often deemed socially unacceptable and looked down upon. for the 4 years I
lived in woodridge I felt out of place and needed an outlet. In 2007, i moved again and this time
it was a town name Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Here i gained a large amount of friends very quickly. I
felt at home, there was just one thing missing this new place i lived was still very affluent. Why
was this place so different. I felt at home and i was able to be myself. What was different about
this place. The answer was very simple. People realized they had problems and didnt pretend to
be perfect. It was alright to let your flaws show a little. This to me reminded me of my childhood

growing up in Bellwood. Switching environments in a way like this make you think a lot about
life and the so called what ifs. Let's be honest what if i never moved from bellwood. Would my
life be the same. Could I have wondered off my so called life plan to become an FBI agent?
Would I be motivated to become an influential figure in my life or just conform to the standards
of my neighborhood like so many of my other peers i went to school with. Would I strive to
attend a four year university like i am now? To be honest with you i dont think so. I blame this
on my socioeconomic status, my family's priorities back when i was younger was to work to be
about to support our family. It wasnt go to college to get a degree and have a prosperous life, it
wasnt to start investing in stocks and bonds or a 401k plan. At the end of the day. We had to
survive and with little to no college education it was tough. Things finally began to fall into place
when my mom made the decision to go back to school again. I remember sitting there as a young
teenager and was just so proud of my mom. During this moment i knew i had ambitions higher
than to just work under someone like 70 percent of jobs in the United States. I always revered
myself as a leader and not a follower. I saw my mother work countless hours in order to see me
and my siblings have everything that we needed and to provide for our family. Some say this was
my turning point in my life. I just call it another selfless act by my mother. This instilled in me
the desire to chase my dreams and goals no matter what sacrifice you have to make, it will pay
off in the long run.