Here it is, an edited version. I hope it is fine now :)

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Your Full Names
Name of the Instructor
Name of the Course
Date: November 14th, 2017
Coming of Age; Growing up makes you a decision-maker.
When growing up, young people have to go through a lot of experiences in becoming
an adult. During the childhood years, the parents or guardians, or any other adult is the source
of authority, and it is from there that a child seeks audience, advice, protection, not to
mention that the adult is the person whom the child looks up to regarding anything including
being a source of food. The adult is everything to a child who knows little of the world. But
as one grows up, he or she learns to take everything that they are getting from adults and their
environment with a pinch of salt. They learn to filter out what they do not want and do what
they wish. Growing up puts a child in a position to make decisions on their own regarding
what they want in their life.
From the story by Bambara, “The Lesson,” the persona who is a female explains how
she should be left to decide the person with whom to hang out. Right from the beginning, we
see that during her growing up days, she saw everyone as foolish and stupid. This is seen
when she says that, “back in the days when everyone was old and stupid or young and foolish
and me and Sugar were the only ones just right” (Bambara, 1). When one is growing up, he
or she tends to see everyone as not being right in their eyes. That is why the two fail to find
Miss Moore interesting. They fail to understand why Miss Moore has “nappy hair and proper
speech and no makeup” (Bambara, 1). They failed to get why she always dressed up nicely
every day as they see that she “always looked like she was going to church, though she never

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did” (Bambara, 1). What is more, they do not get why she was so weird so much so that she
was “the only woman on the block with no first name” (Bambara, 1). At one point, the
persona states, “I’m really hating this nappy-head bitch and her goddamn college degree”
(Bambara, 1). As if that is not enough, the way the persona describes Miss Moore speaks a lot
about how she did not want to be associated with her. She describes her being “black as hell,
cept for her feet, which were fish-white and spooky” (Bambara, 1). From all these
exemplifications, the persona shows that she is growing up and unlike a child who rarely
makes decisions regarding what is provided to them, she is beginning to notice some things
which she upholds like wearing makeup and having neat hair. It shows that she is slowly
st...