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Westley Watende Omari Moore is born
Wes Moore, born Westley Watende Omari Moore, on October 15,1978. "My first name,Westley, is my father's. I have two middle names, a compromise between my parents." (Moore,6) -
Wes' father dies from acute epiglottis.
Wes' father dies from acute epiglottis. "He lay in the casket with his eyes closed...He looked at peace." (Moore,15) -
Wes and his family move to New York
Wes,his mom and two sisters move to New York to live with their grandparents after their mom is finding it too difficult to raise her 3 children by herself."I think we need to move up there." "We were actually leaving Maryland" (Moore,37) -
Wes get suspended for fighting
Wes gets suspended from his new school,Riverdale,for fighting. "A few weeks earlier I had been suspended for fighting" (Moore,50) -
Military school wasn't just a threat
Wes first mentions to is friend Justin that his mom has been threatening to send him to military school. "My mother had begun to threaten me with military school if I didn't get my grades and discipline together." (Moore,54) -
Wes gets arrested for the first time
Wes gets arrested for the first time because he got caught tagging a wall with his friend Shea, but neither of them end up getting charged, only lectured by officers to change their ways. "As I lay on the hoof of the car,with the officer's hands pressing against every part of me,searching me" (Moore,81) -
Wes gets shipped off to Valley Forge
Wes didn't believe his mom would do it, but she did, she sent him to Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania. "Welcome to military school. Our days began before the sun came up and ended well after it retired" (Moore,89) -
Wes moved up in the world
Wes became a Platoon Sergeant, a cadet master sergeant and the youngest senior non-commissioned officer in the entire corps. "Three years ago, I'd been one of the insubordinate kids first entering the gates of Valley Forge. In an ironic turn I was now one of the ones in charge of them" (Moore,115) -
Future is near
After Colonel Murphy announced that he was leaving the academy, Wes realized that he wanted to leave a grand legacy like Colonel Murphy was leaving. He decided to become a second lieutenant in the army. "My next decision was clear...receive my associates degree and become a second lieutenant in the army. I want to lead soldiers." (Moore,133) -
Wes exceeds his goals
To Wes' surprise, he gets accepted into John Hopkins University and receives scholarship money, despite his low SAT scores. " I knew that landing admission at Hopkins would be a stretch at best. But months later, I got the large package in the mail. Not only was I accepted but I would receive scholarship money."(Moore,160)
