Sanyika's Monster

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In Monster The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member the author, Sanyika Shakur discusses his life and all his struggles. Sanyika did not grow up in the safest area, he was around gangs all the time with no escape, his father was not a good influence and his mother was always working to support the family. Everyone has issues within their lives but how they deal with them is what can help them. Some people let the issues they have to or have dealt with get to them; they let it change them as a person whether that is positive or negative change. In order for one to feel full- filled and at peace in life one must show commitment to others and be able to forgive the wrongs in life. Everyone in life needs commitment, whether it is to something…show more content…
Forgiving someone or yourself might take time but it can easily occur. It can take time because the crime that has been committed might to be too large or that it has left emotional damage. Kody had many opportunities were he needed and wanted forgiveness from his mother for all the wrongs he had done, he needed it from Tamu for abandoning her at the birth of their daughter, but most of all he needed to forgive himself. Everyone has his or her own way of showing forgiveness. “[Monster] changed [his] name while [he] was a prisoner. [His] name was now Sanyika” (363). The only way Sanyika could move on with life was to change his path. He needed to change himself to the man he wanted to be not the man he had grown up to be. He could have easily remained in the gang life but he realized that in staying apart of the gang would result in his death or else he would spend most of his time behind bars. While in prison he had lots of time to himself, time to think and reflect. The only way Sanyika could move on and forgive himself was to forget everyone within the gangs and the many people he hurt and remove himself from it. His way in doing this was to change his name. Sometimes when forgiving it is important to figure out what will make ones self feel better and make it possible to move on. It’s a personal decision, it does not matter what others think. Sanyika took a long time to realize what would make him happy but once he realized what he wanted he learned to forgive and forget and just move on. This just goes to show one can forgive, it might take time and show its challenges but it is one of the few things one can do to reach a point in their life where they feel at peace and full-

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