The Glass Castle: Lost Hope & Perseverance

When the Walls first reached Welch, West Virginia its poverty and run down look didn't effect them because they were used to a poor lifestyle. But one thing about welch was different. The whole town seemed lost, everything and everyone was old and worn and stuck in their ways. This is referring to the racial tensions between the black and white communities in the town. Erma (Rex's mother) specifically was extremely racist which was a change for the Walls children because all their life they were taught to accept all people. Along with this racism and the physical state of the town which caused loss of hope for Jeanette, one could argue that Jeanette's hope was lost before she ever got to Welch. In the beginning of the chapter she talks about the trip to West Virginia unlike she did any other trip or "adventure". Jeanette told the story of the move almost in a aggravated way. This aggravation shows that Jeanette started to think differently of the life she was living. She was losing hope of her family settling down and being a regular family. Once she actually reached Welch, the town reflected her own personal feelings of being run down and tired, tired of going with the flow and rising to the occasion. 

In third grade I started playing lacrosse. In fifth grade I started playing at a higher level, on a club team called mass elite. They are one of the best youth club lacrosse teams on the east coast. I had made the team 2 years in a row. But during tryouts in seventh grade I was cut from the program. A couple of days after I got cut, the head coach called me explaining why they made this decision. I didn't want to hear it. Lacrosse meant so much to me, and it was a big part of my social life. I was worried about how others would see me because now I'm not as good as everyone else. I no longer had the identity of being one of the top teams in the country. This really effected my confidence and for a while I didn't want to have anything to do with the sport. Over time I began to realize how much I missed it, that I can't let one person tell me what I can or cannot do. That fall I tried out for a different club team and made it, and am still part of this team. Ever since I decided to persevere and continue doing what I love, I've regained some of that confidence. Lack of confidence and the ability to have it in yourself is something I always will need to work on. But one thing I've learned is that you can't let one person stop you from doing the things that make you happy and make you a better version of yourself. Lacrosse and my athleticism is one part of me and I learned how to persevere even when this part of me became a little broken or lost along the way.