I often find myself reminiscing about my childhood. I remember driving through the major Detroit metropolitan neighborhood where I grew up, Rosedale Park. You see, in those days my community was a jewel shining towards the building of the Motor City. On streets like Piedmont, Grandville, Stahelin and Artesian you could pass by almost any hour and see children outside playing, adults on porches and sidewalks communicating, and homes filled with vibrant lights, laughter and life. This was my community; after all, this was an aspect of my adolescence that I unconsciously took for granted. Today desolation has become sovereign over this beautiful gem. Today the sound of laughter has almost faded into a sonorous and restless silence. You might even say that abandoned homes and boarded-up doors and windows have become indigenous, not just to Rosedale Park, but to every part of metropolitan Detroit. However, one thing has remained constant; Rosedale Park, indeed Detroit as a whole, is still my community. Currently, in Michigan alone, foreclosure has claimed approximately 9,700 homes and the list grows as we speak (mi.foreclosure.com). Unfortunately, my home also failed to avoid this list of potential foreclosures. However, I do not consider myself a victim or a defeat. On the contrary, I consider myself a young person charged with making the difference emerge. I, like most of my generation, have seen the best and worst of the American economy. I grew up on $1.45 gas. I grew up with a middle class mentality. However, I currently live in a state where both of these aspects have become non-existent. So, without doubt or question, because I have lived and seen both sides of the metaphorical fence that divides our American economy and society, I believe in myself and the rest of my generation that lies the variable that can finally solve the financial equation that subjugates the American way of life. After a long pondering on the topic of “if I were awarded $150,000 for a distressed real estate purchase,” the first thing that came to mind was getting my house out of foreclosure. However, I quickly pushed that thought from my mind, because the only thing that breaks my heart more than the thought of losing my home, is the knowledge that many young men and women like me have already fallen prey to foreclosure; I can only imagine the sadness and pain I felt seeing you and your family being removed from the only place where you find safety and peace..