To begin with, the role models of both Wes’ has positively and negatively impacted their future. In regards to the author Wes, his mother, Joy, played a huge role in Wes life because she pushed and motivated Wes to do well in school regardless of the environment he was living in and the financial issues his family was facing. As Joy explained, “ ‘Well, your grades obviously aren’t bad because you can’t pick this stuff up or because you are stupid, you are just not working hard enough’ ” (The Other Wes Moore 76). When Joy started to notice that Wes skipped school, she needed to take action to prevent Wes from making bad decisions for his future, such as becoming a drug dealer. On the contrary, the convict Wes had his mother, Mary, and his