Values and Attititudes of Children in the Inner Cities                                                              By  Nalisia Jackson                                                                       8/6/2000 Members of the church, members of the Long Mountain Youth Club, Mr. Ruel "RULA"Brown, Spellings Bees and all others, a pleasant good afternoon. As the first recipient of the GRANNY- Icy Academic Scholarship and a resident of an inner city community, Jarrette Lane, that is located in the volatile area of Mountain View Avenue, it is my pleasure to inform you on the values and attitudes of children in the inner cities. Inner City is defined as the central area of a city that has particular problems. Inner city communities are also referred to as the ghetto, which is defined as a part of a city occupied by a minority group. Living in the ghetto does not necessarily mean that we should become murderers, rapists, prostitutes and criminals. However, it takes determination and integrity to be a successor when residing in the ghetto. You are not too young to have a vision, not too young to have independent dreams, not too young to have and be role models and most of all you are not too young to be ambitious. As inner city children you should keep in your minds that education is your key to success, without education you are nothing. As the saying goes "silver and gold will vanish away but a good education will never decay." Education is a tree that should be watered daily and therefore in order for this tree of yours to grow you must make sacrifices. You must sacrifice going to the movies, parties and having an intimate relationship at your age; the sacrifices that you should make will bring you success in your examinations. You should get yourselves involved into social services for e.g. the church, which will help you to achieve your goals. For those of you who were successful in your GSAT examination, take this as a stepping stone. It has just began, go to the library and form study groups that will be helpful to you in your studies. Take this from me, you should stand for something so that you won't fall for anything. You must strive for excellence and always remember that the sky is always your limit, you must never give up hope. You can do it, just believe it. GOD is real and should be included in all your doings. With GOD all things are possible. GOD will help you to achieve your goals. Take myself and a few others, such as Rula Brown, Alfanso Christy and Winston "Babba Tunde" Whitter, as examples. Through hard work and perseverance we are your role models. Living in the ghetto did not hinder our dreams and aspirations; we have achieved academically like anyone in the upper class of society and are even doing better. After leaving this ceremony I want you to go home and look at the child in the mirror and say, " if it is possible, then I can achieve it."