From a Child's Perspective

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...the days all blend together. I lose track of time-not that I can tell time anyway. Weeks go by, and I note that nothing has changed. I look around and realize that my family and I still remain in misery. East St. Louis is so deeply poverty stricken, that no one can escape. As a child, I was raised in the poorest city in America, which is equivalent to growing up in a third-world-country. I do not know much, but I know that people in America, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, should be treated better than that.
Imagine living in a place that does not even exist on a map. A city that is so foul it is not worthy of being listed in the phone book. It is everyone’s worst nightmare to be lost in my hometown, and cabs refuse to offer service to this area. I don’t blame them though, everyday is worse than the day before and I lose a little bit of hope each day.
Every morning I wake up and cringe at the smell of rotting sewage. I look out the window of our degrading house and note the endless piles of trash taking over the roads. I have become accustomed to this site ever since the city terminated the trash service….but that was just the beginning of this viscous cycle.
I am constantly told that things cannot get any worse, and therefore they have to get better. However, that is not the case. I lost some of my dignity when our playgrounds became a sewage marsh, when our soil became infected with chemicals, when oversized rats became the neighbor pets, and when the chemical raids and explosions became a daily activity. The worst part is there is no safe haven. There is nowhere to go when my brothers and sisters get sick from the hazardous spills or when my friends are having their babies. All the hospitals have shut down. There is no work. No place to eat. Barely any places to sleep. And murder, prostitution, and rape are simply a way to pass the time.
There is no escape. We are isolated from the rest of the cities. The only time I can get away is when I go to school, but I don’t have class every day. Classes are held in a rotting building and we have to share desks and books. The classes are so crammed that it is hard to breathe. Sometimes the teachers do not show up, but we usually sit and wait in the sweltering atmosphere. The rooms are either burning up or freezing cold. It is so hard to concentrate, but the worst is when you have to use the restroom. Our school cannot afford to fix the toilets.
School is just school and nothing more. It does not grant me a bright future and it is not my ticket out of this town. Few of us will ever make it and those who do are considered child prodigies. Education is not my thing and my parents tell me it is a waste of my time. They consider school ten years of my life that I will never get back. I am in the 9th grade this year, by now must kids have dropped out or had a baby. I am not sure how much longer I will attend classes. I still struggle with reading and literacy has no value in my society. There is not point, educated is not valued in my town because everyone knows we will never get the chance to use it. The only class that is beneficial is Home Economics, because it is helping me learn the trade to work at the local Burger King.
I have given up most of hope and practically all of my dreams. I know I have no future. I face the facts of life and I know that I am surrounded with hate. But, I have no other choice. I will never escape East St. Louis, believe me I have tried.