I'm a 14 year-old in a crime-filled city.

I was born in Rockford Illinois, a moderately sized city south of Chicago. The politicians are corrupt, and could care less about the city. Our roads have been in bad condition for YEARS, full of potholes, covered in litter. My mother once had to buy a new tire, because someone had thrown razor-blades all over the street. The schools are terrible. My high-school has GANGS. The Wacos and C-Block constantly fight in the hallways, and steal from places all around the city. The city is separated into the east and west side by the Rock River. As soon as you cross the bridge you can see the difference. The east side is full of nice homes that are taken care of, and many nice amenities, whilst the west side is full of abandoned homes in deplorable condition, smoke shops and graffiti. I went to school at West Middle, which is on the West side. One particular day, I skipped, and a man walked up to me and asked me if I would light what was clearly a very large blunt. From 8th grade up, getting weed isn't hard. There isn't one person who hasn't smoked. Everyone has vaped. High-school students sell it, and the administration is none the wiser. People go to school stoned out of their mind and the teachers believe they are "just tired." Almost every night there is a shooting. There are many people who don't do any work, as they are in gangs and are just going to dropout. I have walked into bathrooms and seen other kids cutting themselves. The craziest thing, is that I have been desensitized to all of this. This doesn't feel out of the ordinary. I tell myself, "Surely this must happen to every city." Everyone I know plans to move as soon as they graduate, or drop out.