As a sixteen year old girl, I learned to love the city I live in. I never realized the problems in my community until I got older. I grew up with the stories about the killings and the deaths, but it was not until I first witnessed it when it became real. I had to accept the fact my friends did not want to come over, or hang around my community, because of its “dangerous reputation”. If I were mayor of my community I would like to improve the violence, health, and low incomes.

The first major problem in my city is the violence. The violence has gotten worse over the years and the older I get, the more I am involved. Now the stories are no longer stories but memories that I was apart of. It is mournful to say, but my generation are the ones causing the problems. I was eleven years old when I heard about the first homicide that happened in my community. It did not really affect me as much until I heard about another when I was sixteen. I was at a local community event with friends, when we heard the screams of people and sirens of police cars. We later found out that our old classmate was stabbed and killed that night. The actions people make in my community not only affects us but it affects us all together; in other words a damage to one is a damage to all. As mayor, I would like to change this problem in my community because it is very hard to go out without the fear of something happening or someone getting hurt. I would change this problem by improving the security at local community events, and also increasing the police presence around the community to provide a safer environment for friends and families to spend time together. This change will improve the safety of lives in my community. A community is not just your city, but it is your home where you should feel guarded instead of dreading it.

The massive health conditions in my community is another problem. The pollution in the air caused by the refineries around us are causing lots of residents to die of cancer. My school tries to overcome this problem by keeping students inside the classroom whenever it is too bad to go outside. If I were mayor I would like to change this problem because it is affecting the health of the people and the health of the planet. I would contribute more health clinics around Wilmington. This way people could have affordable health care, and have an easier way of checking their health. I only hope that one day the people realize the importance of this problem and start doing something about it.

The final problem in my community I would like to change are low income families. I come from a low income family and it is hard to get by. Families find it difficult to find homes because housing is immensely expensive. Families try to solve the problem by coming together and live in one home. I used to live in a house with eight people, with only two rooms and a bathroom. Putting multiple people in one home is a major problem because it can be dangerous. It impacts a child’s education because they lack work space to read and do homework. It also causes people to become easily sick. If I were mayor I will like to fix this problem by having more shelters around the community to advance a safe place where families and homeless can stay. This will help with the education of children because it will provide a quiet place where they can do work, and also let people have their own privacy. Improving this problem will make me satisfied because I went through it myself, and I always wanted the help from someone, now I can be the help for them.

If I were mayor of my city I would like to solve many problems around my community so we all can offer a safer environment for families and friends. Wilmington may be known as a “dangerous reputation”, but it is my home, and I love my home. Wilmington is a small city where everyone knows everyone and everyone grew up together, like a family. So when these terrible things do happen, we are all there for each other to help one another. I did not get the chance to choose the city I lived in, but I’m glad my city choose me.