ASHLEY LINN
CWNC JOURNAL
18 October 2017
THE ROAD NOT TAKEN VS. THE OTHER WES
WORK CITED: MOORE
“Championing LGBTQ
Issues in K-12 Educa- “The Road Not
tion since 1990.” Taken” and The Other
GLSEN, Wes Moore are both im-
www.glsen.org/ . portant works of litera-
ture about important de-
Deaton, Jamie Page.
cisions and where those
“How Rhodes Scholar-
decisions can take us.
ships Work.” How
Both give us perspective
Rhodes Scholarships
on our past decisions and
Work, HowStuffWorks,
on our future. They both
18 May 2010, mon-
show us how decisions
ey.howstuffworks.com/
effect our lives and the
personal-finance/
lives around us, short
college-planning/
term and long term. They
financial-aid/Rhodes-
both have similarities in
scholarship.htm.
their message but they
Frost, Robert. “The also have some differ-
Road Not Taken.” ences that can be found.
Moore, Wes, 1978-. The Other Wes
The Other Wes Moore: Moore is a non-fiction
One Name, Two Fates. book that follows two
New York: Spiegel &
boys both with the same
Grau Trade Paper-
name as they both grow
backs, 2011. Print.
up in similar Baltimore
“Oxford and the neighborhoods, father-
Rhodes Scholarships.” less, around drugs, vio-
The Rhodes Scholar- lence, and in and out of
ships, trouble with the police. It
www.rhodescholar.org/ is written by one of the
Wes Moores but it also
.
talks about the other
Wes’ life. Even though
they both grew up
around the same things
they went on to live dras-
tically different lives.
Other Wes Moore goes
on to live a life of vio-
Volume 1, Issue 1
lence and drugs as many down the other one even
other people in his neigh- though he already knows
borhood did, while the how unlikely he will get
author Wes Moore went another chance to. The
man then admits that one
on to live a life of pros-
day, when he looks back
perity. The Other Wes on his decision, he will
Moore asks the question, say that he took the less-
what made the differ- traveled path. The narra-
ence? Was it their fami- tor says, “the passing
lies, their backgrounds, there / had worn them
their school? While read- about the same / and
both that morning equal-
ing The Other Wes
ly lay / in leaves no step
Moore you get to see that
had trodden
our lives aren’t decided
black,” (Frost) meaning
on one decision we’ve that neither of the paths
made but tens of thou- were less or more trav-
sands of variables and elled. So, the author
situations. No one says it knows that when he
better than the author, looks back on his deci-
Wes Moore, “The sion he’ll say he took the
chilling truth is that his road less-travelled possi-
bly in order to reassure
story could have been
himself that the decision
mine. The tragedy is that
he made was worthwhile.
my story could’ve been In the title of the poem
his,” (180). One decision itself, “The Road Not
has the possibility of Taken,” it teaches us the
changing our future, but lesson that there are only
only if we let it. two paths, the one we
take, and the one we
“The Road Not don’t. We will always
Taken,” is written by look back on the deci-
famous poet, Robert sions we didn’t make and
Frost. It is about a man wonder, “what if,” be-
who is considering a fork cause it is simply human
in the road. The narrator nature. The Other Wes
must choose which path
Moore and “The Road
to take. The man goes Not Taken” are both
down one path and while about important deci-
doing so he tells himself sions. They both .
that one day he will go
 show that some-
times the two decisions
that are laid out in front
of us can look the same
but they will not have the
same outcome. They also
show that in retrospect
we might regret the deci-
sion we made or wonder
what would’ve happened
if we chose differently.
In “The Road Not Tak-
en” the author expresses
that the one decision he
Wes Moore—author
made changed the out-
come of his entire life
and while one could ar-
gue that other Wes
Moore’s life changed
forever when he decided
to rob a jewelry store but
the truth is that the out-
come of their lives was a
build up of decisions.
The two works of litera-
ture both give the reader
an outsider perspective
to their own decisions.
“The Road Not
Taken” and The Other
Wes Moore both give
important life lessons on
how decisions can im-
pact us. The truth is that
every day we make im-
portant decisions and
those decisions can im-
pact our lives immensely
and sometimes we’ll
regret not make a differ-
ent decision. Lastly, it’s
important to note we will
all make mistakes in our
lives and that every deci-
sion we make will not be
detrimental on our fu-
ture.

GLSEN: PROVIDING A PROMISING FUTURE

The Gay, Lesbi-
an and Straight Educa-
tion Network’s (GLSEN)
mission is, “to create
safe and affirming
schools for all, regardless
of sexual orientation,
gender identity, or gen-
der expres-
sion,” (GLSEN). GLSEN
was founded in 1990 by
a small group of teachers
in Massachusetts. They
came together so that
they could improve an
LGBTQIA+ Pride Flag education system that
allowed LGBTQ stu-
dents to be bullied or
discriminated against.
Twenty-five years later,
GLSEN is now the lead- their shared expertise
ing national education into creating better op-
organization that is fo- portunities for all stu-
cused on safety for dents. We can all make a
LGBTQ students. At difference and make a
GLSEN administrators, positive impact by edu-
“believe that all students cating others about
deserve a safe and af- equality and standing up
firming school environ- for those being targeted
ment where they can for their sexual orienta-
learn and tion. GLSEN offers the
grow,” (GLSEN). They opportunity to make a
partner with decision positive impact by giving
makers to make sure safe donations. Lastly, no
school policies are con- matter your sexual orien-
sidered, passed, and im- tation, everyone should
plemented. They also support organizations
partner with other na- like GLSEN whose goal
tional education organi- is to spread acceptance
zations to bring together and equality.

THE RHODES SCHOLARSHIP

The Rhodes is the oldest international and their academic ca-
Scholarship is a scholar- education fellowships in reer. Rhodes wanted to
ship that rewards eighty the world. The Rhodes create something that
students with financial Scholarship wasn’t would offer equal oppor-
aid for their post- awarded to American tunity to everyone de-
graduate degree. Rhodes students until 1904. The spite their race or reli-
Scholarships pays for Rhodes Scholarship pro- gion. Some notable
students’ work for a post gram was established by Rhodes Scholars in-
-graduate degree at the the will of Cecil Rhodes. cludes Former President
University of Oxford in In Rhodes’ will he set Bill Clinton, Former
England. The Rhodes out what was the begin- Governor of Louisiana
Scholarship awards this nings of the Rhodes Bobby Jindal, and For-
Bill Bradley to thirty-two American Scholarship Program and mer Senator and NBA
students every year. The what he believed would star Bill Bradley.
Rhodes Scholarship was create leaders who would
established in 1902 and be dedicated to service