Without overcoming problems and obstacles, a community will not have the maximum capability to succeed and grow as a whole. A community is consisted of people who volunteer and have the willingness to strive and help unify one another. When facing hardships, one either decides to make the best out of the situation or to take no steps forwards and have the problem buried upon them. In the story “Gang Days in LA” it signifies and shows the daily struggles of what many people today are going through. The narrator, Luis Rod, attends Mark Keppel High School in the city of Los Angeles. At that time, there were strict demarcations between the whites and Mexican neighborhoods, which had become a problematic situation. Many fights occurred as, the author stated, “This is what the administration/teachers had to deal with everyday” and much racism was an irritating factor they had to face everyday. At that time, many Mexicans were frowned upon and had no sense of hope in themselves from all the discouragement. Luis Rod had gotten invited to compete for a well-known prestigious competition that later had the whole student and faculty body rooting for him. He then received a chance to produce a play. His language barrier was a big challenge, as he had to write the manuscripts. He also received many offers to paint as well. Even though his first language was Spanish, he still managed to overcome his obstacles and believe in himself. In the story “Burro Genius,” the narrator shows an abundant amount of motivation and determination in the passion towards his writing. The story starts off with an author of a book in a conference hall filled with English professors. His recollection of English teachers were negative due to the fact that they had downgraded Victor when he was younger because of this ethnic background and his language barrier. Teachers laughed at his failure and his capability of understanding the English language. The narra