Most children live in a quiet neighborhoods where they play for long hours all day without scraping a knee. Others come from less ideal circumstances. Now, you are probably wondering which environment I grew up in. Seeing where this letter came from should tell you that I originate from this less ideal world. I was nurtured by my mother, who was raised in a poor community in Puerto Rico and occasionally withby my father, who was raised in the streets of New York City. With their intentional love, in addition to the boundaries that they have set for me, they have made a path for me to grow up in without being affected by the citiey's dangerous nature.