Environment's correlation with Lifestyle

   

Many people think life is truly dictated through our actions and what we decide to pursue in life. Though this may be true, there are more external and even internal factors that may dictate where people end up. An environment is one of the strongest influences that a young individual as their development is typically strongly influenced from where they reside and come from. It is something that cannot be avoided, especially as a dependent. Most of us will always think back to where we came from because we are a product of our environment.
To put it into perspective, if we are surrounded by a negative environment then a lot of our experiences may result in negative experiences and vice versa. Though environment does appear to only entail residence, it also includes family, friends and even how that changes one's character. Both of the Wes’ resided in a negative environment in which they lacked a fatherly figure, were exposed to drugs and received little to no guidance.

The other Wes Moore’s environment was rather toxic when regarding the people he was associated with. In his home, Cheryl’s drug addiction makes him realize just how bad his lifestyle is based on her addictive actions. Finally realizing that his surroundings had a negative impact on his life, he decided it was time to remove himself from that situation and do better for himself and his family. Joining the Job Corps let him understand the power of being able to do better for oneself and he even described it as one of the best experiences he's had. The change in emotion and feeling can be attributed to many things but the most significant change was the change in his environment. He later realized that when he returned home, not much has changed in the drug game. This only made it difficult to pursue the right means of making a living causing him to relapse those dishonorable behaviors.
Meanwhile, when Wes was removed from his environment, there was also a change in character and outlook on life. His motivation and discipline changed for the better and therefore, allowed him to live out a life with goals. The reason for this was because he was removed from where he resided (where the negativity came from).           
In both of the Wes' lives, their character was strongly influenced from where they came from. Not only did it influence their habits but their mental health and how they believed life should be lived out. One strong example is when the other Wes Moore thought about God; he truly believed his community was abandoned by God. This indicated that the other Wes had lost motivation for any immense change that could flip his life upside down. It was ironic because he did have the opportunity but due to his surroundings, he felt as though he was stuck in this world. This goes to show that even if we are aware of our ability to control our own agenda, our community may influence the will we have to initiate said change. In a way, this can be a vicious cycle but it is up to the individual to push forth and destroy it, for themselves. 

This Ted Talk demonstrates that our environment influences us more than we see. Mental and Emotional impact is rather obvious but the fact that our health can be impacted too only goes to show that our community has the ability to dictate some parts of our future, if we allow it to.