Lack of education can lead to poverty and poverty can lead to a lack of education, it's a cycle that is difficult to escape from . Author Wes' mother was able to go to college and graduate. She was not the first to leave nor the first two to finish. She managed to overcome poverty and found a way to go to college. This desire to go to college was something she passed on to author Wes. She knew public school wasn't a good place for her son, so she did what she had to have the money to send Wes to Riverdale Country School. Author Wes' schooling focused more on attending college as his end goal by attending Riverdale Country School. Ever since he attended Riverdale Country School, he's had a desire to earn a degree that he probably never would have gotten at his neighborhood public school. Wes's other mother's life was different and she didn't put in her the need to get a degree.