Rosa Lee

Rosa Lee leads a life similar to many others in the urban underclass. Her story is shocking and reveals the truth that many, including myself, are completely unaware of. I cannot help but feel mixed emotions as I’m reading through the chapters learning about Rosa Lee’s past, her mother’s past, and her family’s entanglement with drugs, shoplifting, and prostitution. It saddens me that Rosa Lee and her family are in this situation, using their welfare checks to buy drugs, being in and out of prison, and frequently staying at the hospital all because they are trapped in the addictive cycle of drugs. At the same time, it angers me to read how Rosa uses her own grandchildren to ferry drugs on the street corners. So far, this book has completely opened my eyes to what really goes on.

The quote that stuck out to me while reading about Rosa Lee was something that Ben, Rosa’s eldest brother, tells Rosa about her stealing habits and survival behavior. After hearing that Rosa has robbed churchgoers of money from their coat pockets during mass and feels no remorse or guilt Ben remarks, “Girl, you are going to be a survivor.” He continues, “Anyone who can walk in and out of church and not feel anything. Sis, I don’t see a frown on your face. You’re just as cold-faced as ever…Rose you’re cold.” Rosa started stealing when she was only nine-years old. It became a routine, it became a part of her life, and it became a way to survive. At such a young age, Rosa didn’t know right from wrong, so she did was she knew could get her by. She wasn’t given the best opportunities as a kid, but she did what she thought she had to do.

Rosa adapted to the life and the family she was born into. There was no escape; the only option was survival. Rosa now survives by going to the methadone clinic and paying off the debt her children owe to drug dealers. She has managed to get by not knowing how to read and only being able to recognize a few words. This mirrors the survival skills we witness at service. Just as Rosa was not provided with the best environment to grow up in, our learners were not given the proper education. We see how these adults have coped their entire lives with having minimal reading, writing, and math skills. Our learners may have dropped out of school and received very little education. However, they have managed to survive in this world and get by with familiar words and phrases that are necessary. Rosa’s childhood had consequential effects on how she lives her life, just as the environment our learners grew up in affected where they are now as adults. We see similar circumstances between the life of Rosa Lee and the stories of our learners: both have learned to survive.