Ruano 1

Valentina Ruano

Ms. Angulo

AP English 11

27 February 2017

Argumentative Essay- My Bloody Life

According to Reymundo Sanchez bad choices in life are solely influenced by adults

and not their peers. Of course, some people have terrible lives and have no one to blame but their

parents. But is it really possible for parents to solely impact a childs poor decisions? Bad

choices in life are not just influenced by adults, it can be influenced by anyone.

Personal tragedies can make a person lash out and claim that adults (parents) are to

blame for the careless decisions. One example being, the author's (Reymundo Sanchez) personal

life. As the book begins, it describes in detail how unbelievably careless his mother was with him

since he was an infant. As he grew older it continues on by illustrating the constant verbal and

physical abuse he faced with not only his mother, but his stepfather as well. All of this, caused

him to completely detest his parents. All this hatred, blinded him. Sanchez never allowed himself

to think that the friends he hung around, as a pre-teen, could have influenced him to joining a

dangerous gang, because he was so afraid and enraged with the abhorrent treatment that awaited

him in his own home. One of the main contributors to his poor life decisions is without a doubt,

his parents fault, but as he grew up and avoided his parents, he unknowingly attached himself to

future gang-bangers. All the friends he played with as a teenager are the people that first

introduced him to liquor, drugs, and guns. Sanchez may only blame his parents but in reality, he

had friends that affected his life in the long-run.

Sanchez is not the only one to believe that unfortunate decisions can affect a childs

life, because of the constant verbal/physical abuse faced at home. It is terrible that children must
 Ruano 2

face such tragedies, but that does not account for their future actions. One specific life story that

will be mentioned at this moment, is personal. This teenager parents happened to be drug addicts

that payed little to no attention to him as a child because of the constant consumption of drugs.

As a child he ate very little, lived with no electricity, and little care from adults. He lived through

this as his parents had more kids and lived without recognizing what damage they could have

inflicted on him and his siblings. As he grew older, his father went back to his home country

and left him to be with his younger siblings and his unstable mother. Eventually he lived with his

grandparents, that took him in and had to call child services because of the mistreatment he and

his siblings faced. As all this was happening, this child decided to maintain steady grades and

improve himself as a person. This is a constant thing in all countries, in which children rise to the

occasion when parents or any adults can not. This teenager has faced some tragic events in his

life because of his parents, but it never stopped him from going on with his life normally without

ever making any poor decisions.

Adults can certainly have a negative impact on childrens lives but in most cases, the

influence they have over kids is positive. Many doctors, lawyers, policemen, etc. are created

because of the positive influence that adults have. Most adults that you come in contact with will

speak about how they want their children to prosper in life, and how they will do anything to

help their child achieve their goal. Adults dont say how they plan to drag their children to the

ground and lead them to horrible lives. Most adults, now, simply want a good life for themselves

and their prosperity. One example can be how adults create college savings accounts for their

children. This is an exemplary attempt for children to realize that the path they are directed to by

their parents is, good.

 Ruano 3

Reymundo Sanchezs idea is that bad choices are made because of the influence adults

have on children which is clearly an inaccurate one. Bad choices are made because of all the

surrounding influences (ex: friends). If an adult potentially has a negative impact on a child it

doesnt have to lead them to bad choices, they can simply continue life normally and more

often than not, adults guide children towards good choices.