Luck vs. Choice Tyler

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We often hear in life that “sometimes in life, you just have to get lucky.” This could apply to numerous things, like a great job, winning the lottery, finding the love of your life, etc. No one ever achieves a goal of theirs without a little luck. Why is that? Because we are not perfect, and never will be perfect. Just like both Wes Moore’s were not perfect. One of the biggest, if not THE biggest, theme in The Other Wes Moore is Luck vs Choice. One Wes was dealt with poor luck, and unfortunately made some poor decisions. The other Wes got lucky with a lot of things in life, and was able to make good decisions. 2 names with 2 totally different fates. For this final project, Wes Moore will be the author, and The Other Wes Moore will be the ladder of the two. 



In this matchup of Luck V Choice between Wes and The Other Wes, we will talk about luck first and how it impacted their lives. Both men grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. Wes (the author) was surrounded by a great environment, which we talked about in the first and last week of TOWM. What I mean by environment is he had a great supporting cast of family and friends. These people wanted more for Wes than they wanted for themselves. Although Wes dipped into the street life environment for a bit and went through some hardships, his supporting cast was there to guide him out and to a better place. The Other Wes faced these similar challenges as the author in regards to being involved in the streets. He also suffered from poverty and committed crimes here and there. We talked about role models/mentors in the last week of content and the importance of having them in our life. Wes was surrounded by numerous role models who allowed him to be set up for success, while The Other Wes did not have these types of people in his life early on to help him succeed. 



Wes was fortunate enough to attend private school. His grandparents were among those of mentors who 

provided him guidance and support throughout his life. While The Other Wes came from a troubled family life and was not able to have the educational opportunities Wes did. The Other Wes was steadily involved in the crime and drug game as well. With Bes being inspired by positive role models, the only people that were influential in The Other Wes’s life were all involved in criminal activity. There was no one there for The Other Wes to help him navigate through hardships in life and make good choices that would benefit him in the present and in the long run. 




Now we talk about the choices these men made in their life that got them where they are now (military officer veteran, author, built & launched a business, CEO of Robin Hood, governor of Maryland vs a prisoner in solitary confinement). Wes Moore decision making led him to be able to receive a valuable education that paid off in the long run. He graduated from The Valley Forge Military Academy with an associates degree, and then received a bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins University. He served as an officer in the U.S. Army. He was deployed to Afghanistan as the rank of a Captain and then served in The White House when he returned from deployment. He then became a successful author and is currently serving as the governor of Maryland.  



As for The Other Wes, his decision making did not lead him to much success, if any success at all unfortunately. One thing The Other Wes had going for him was athletics. Some could say being a tremendous athlete comes from luck. Whether your parents had athletic genes, or if they were born tall and in shape etc. The Other Wes had the chance to choose to keep pursuing an athletic career. As we all know, he did not. He chose to stay involved in the drug and crime game he was brought into. He made no effort to get clean and steer away from this life. He succumbed to the bad environment that surrounded him. On a Monday, February 7th in the year 2000, The Other Wes made his final choice. A final choice that would put him behind bars for life. He and another person robbed a jewelry store while armed. Sergeant Bruch Prothero was on duty working an overtime shift and was assigned to this jewelry store to be on the watch for things like this. The armed robbery went down, and Prothero confronted the two men. Prothero was shot and struck twice, he was rushed to the hospital and succumbed to his wounds there. The 2 bullets came from the gun that The Other Wes Moore fired. The Other Wes Moore is now in solitary confinement in prison where he will spend the rest of his life. His final choice in life cost him his WHOLE life. 



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