Can you remember growing up in your old neighborhood? Can you imagine how it looked and the overall feel of it? At this point, I know that you are reminiscing on things you have done and things that made you the person you are today. Now if I were to tell you that you are a product of your environment how would you feel? When I asked myself that question all I could think about was a story called "Our Times" by author John Edgar Wideman, which talked about his family and their experiences. Now for the most part where one comes from defines who they are as an individual. You do not have to show where you are from on your t-shirt like how Wideman explained in his essay. However, for people like his younger brother Robby that is doing life in prison would say different. As you may know there are many different views on whether people are a product of their environment or just a product of the choices that they make. So today we are going to explore the effects of environments on early childhood. When I think about what having a childhood means I think about a tender period of time where the littlest thing can affect future development. For example, in Our Times John’s brother Robby lost his childhood best friend do to medical difficulties. That was one of the many life-defining moments that set Robby’s life into a downward facing spiral to a life of crime. However was it the fact that Robby came from a bad neighborhood, or was he just a scared individual because of the pain of losing a loved one? I myself can truly relate to our times in many ways. Some would say that my neighborhood or more of the overall area I come from is not the best place to raise children. I have a brother that is the epitome of the phrase “product of your environment”. He made many bad choices that put him in many bad predicaments. Even though we came from the same family, neighborhood, and the same upbringing. I always looked at the fact that at that pe