Dreams of escaping this place consumed everyone's minds, but the sound of blood curdling screams filled the air. It was October 12, 2015 and an eight year old boy was clutching his hand with the other filling with blood.

With the spread of factories, the idea of urbanization brewed. More factories equal more workers which means more people living in one place which resulted in cities. Factories need a lot of workers so they would take basically anyone that could stand on their own two feet. Factory workers were given $2.50 a week, if lucky, for 72 plus hours of terrible, dangerous, and grueling work.

A group of 3rd grade boys and girls were sitting at their desks listening to their teacher tell them fascinating tales of this thing called agriculture manufacturing. It's the idea of farmers growing crops and raising animals that they would use to survive. However, these kids were only familiar with the new invention of factories. Mechanized factories were made up of machines and were there to make people's lives better not worse. Everyone wanted the benefits of mass production of essential products, but no one wanted to be a factory worker.

From the day the first factory opened, everyone was taught to never work there, because the employees had to work in terrible working conditions with unrealistic hours. Unfortunately, for one kid, he didn't wish hard enough and his worst fear walked in the door.  

“C’mon James, I got a job for you,” a big scary man declared as he marched into his 3rd grade classroom.

“No, I don't want to go. I want to stay and learn” James fought back.

3rd grade is a time to learn multiplication tables, run around the playground with your friends, and fantasize about your future career and to popular belief, a factory worker was not one of the more popular dream jobs.

His pleas were not successful as he was pulled out of his classroom against his will kicking and screaming. James thought back to the inalienable rights he learned about. Every person on this planet is equal and we all deserve the same rights including the right to liberty or freedom. The Enlightenment thinker, Jean- Jacques Rousseau, believed that everyone supposedly has freedom, but in reality we don't. Everyone is granted the inalienable rights at birth, but we are encouraged to give them up to benefit the community. Technically, we have freedom, but that does not always matter. If someone has more power than you and they want you to do something, you most likely will in order to stay safe. This idea took after Thomas Hobbes idea that monarchy was the best form of government. The men in charge of the factory should have complete control over all the employees, because then everyone would be guaranteed equality. However, we all know, that's not what happened. The middle-aged men with high skill sets were always paid the most and had the best jobs. Young children like James were at the bottom of the totem pole ranking with the lowest income and the most dangerous and boring jobs.

Rousseau also believed that people should work together as team which is included in factories, because people have to work together to meet the end of goal of helping the factory succeed and make as much money as they could to help them and their family survive. Children were forced to work in factories to help their parents make ends meet. These were lessons James would learn very soon as he was entered the factory.

James entered the factory and almost immediately dirt flew into his eyes, screaming filled his ears, and dust crept into his throat. The musty air made his nose hurt and the picture of kids getting hurt trying to run complicated machines snuck into his mind. An immediate sense of fear consumed his whole body like a volcano erupting.  

“Follow me, I will take you to your station” the scary man boomed to James. Shivering with fear, he trailed behind like a nervous puppy following their owner after getting scolded. Dodging bustling men, rounding sharp corners, and avoiding big machinery, he was directed toward the corner. He was welcomed to his new home, a big scary looking machine. An elderly woman was to the left of him and another little boy was to the right.

“Better get working if you want to keep your job” the man uttered.

“But, where do I begin?” James questioned to the man’s back as he hustled away.

Turning back around, James met the face of the other little boy.

“Hi i’m John!” he squeaked. You need to crank that handle and make sure the wheel keeps spinning the yarn without getting caught or tangled.

“Wow, welcome to my great new life” James whispered to himself.

Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years tick by one millisecond at a time. James was now 10, 2 years later, and was still working in the exact same factory at the exact same workstation. The only difference was the new woman to the left of him, because they previous one passed away. She died from lung cancer, most likely caused by working in the factory for so many years. Everyone is replaceable and new people were cycled in and out of the factory everyday with no reason why or for how long. As long as you were not sick or injured, you could keep your job, but the first day you don't show up, don't bother coming back again. After being there for 2 years, James had had a good amount of people leave him for a variety of reasons, but John had been with him for every step of the way.

Everyday, James walked into the factory with a frown, went to his station, and spent the next 12 plus hours of his day turning the same handle. Eventually, he became tall enough to reach the wheel without the assistance of a box to stand on. Yes, this job seems awful and it was, but it gave him time to think.

“When I become big enough, i’m going to leave this terrible place and join the NBA” he told everyone that he had ever worked with and for awhile, it was true. James went home everyday after work and instead of sleeping or spending time with his family, he would play basketball until it was too dark to see his hand directly in front of his face. Even though he never played on an actual team, his determination drove him to greatness and his perseverance made him believe that one day his dream would become a reality. His ball handling was better than Curry, his shooting was more accurate than Thompson, and he had his family and friends with him every step of the way.  

“How’s the basketball coming?” John asks James everyday at work and everyday it was the same response, good. It might have seemed that James did not like John, but secretly James was forever grateful for John’s company. John was the one person that could always turn his frown into a grin.

“How was your night last night?” James asked John one morning.

“Pretty good, I spent time with my parents and got a good amount of sleep” was John's response. Small talk like this made the 12 hours spent in the same location more bearable than it would be by themselves. Throughout the several years of working together, James and John had become pretty good friends. They told each other everything and if the budget allowed, they would get dinner together occasionally. John was James’s number one person that he called on for help, support, and advice.  

The feeling of dust, sounds of crying, and the smell of smoke became a part of the daily routine. No one ever wanted to be there, but everyone knew if you had a job at the factory you were a lucky one even if it didn't always seem like it. Even though it was an extremely dangerous and not rewarding job, at least you had a job with a little bit of income.  

October 12, 2017. It was James two year anniversary at the factory, and it started off as a normal day. James woke up, got dressed, went to work, and started his normal conversations with John.

“I saw the cutest puppy on the way to work today” James proclaimed to the side of John’s tired face. With the effort to cheer John up, James turned his back for just one second to smile at his friend. The sense of excruciating pain overwhelmed James whole body in half a millisecond. His head snapped back to see his wrist practically in half and consumed by blood. John turned around in moragany and stares at the hand swimming in a pool of blood and his eyes grew to the size of saucers. They screamed and cried grasping for help, but no one came to their rescue. No one saw the boy’s hand hanging on by a thread. No one came to their aid. No one seemed to care. The factory workers were programed to do the same thing over and over. James and John ran through the factory wailing like sirenings toward the hospital. Clutching his arm at the elbow, James sprinted up to the front desk flashing his arm to the nurse.

“Oh my, i’ll get a doctor” she proclaimed.

Half a dozen doctors and nurses rushed out of the double doors dressed head to toe in white. James was coached inside with words of encouragement that everything was going to be ok, but he knew better. He knew it's not going to be ok. Hours of fearful pain went by and before he knew it, he had one hand. James felt his dreams of being in the NBA flush out of his body and there was suddenly a lump growing in his throat as he realizes he was now unemployed.

After a few hours of panic, he took several deep breaths and turned back to the positive person he always was. Instead of being sad and depressed, James took his extremely negative situation and turned it into a positive.

“I don't need two hands like most people do” he said to himself.

“I’ve wanted to be in the NBA ever since I was a little kid and nothing is going to change that” he preached to the nurse closest to him.

“Yes. Yes you will” she proclaimed back.

With a sudden burst of energy, James hopped out of bed and marched out the door and towards his future.

Flash forward to the 2028 NBA draft. It’s the Golden State Warriors first choice, but they don't go for the most dominant and well known players. They chose the upcoming newbie that promised a lot of hard work, dedication, and potential. Oh, and did I mention, he's a former factory employee with one hand.

After several years of slightly bickering and mainly ignoring, Rousseau and Hobbes came to the agreement that Rousseau was right. People need to work together as a team to reach an end goal. The manager of the factory should not have complete control over the people, because he did not give equal rights to everyone the way Hobbes had hoped for. Rousseau and Hobbes agreed that since all people have equal rights to freedom, they should fight more to keep it instead of giving it up to the government. James did that. He fought against the system and he worked hard for his freedom and his dreams.  

James used his excellent determination and perseverance that he learned from the older women he worked with his first day at the factory. Her kind and powerful words changed James life forever and it got him to where he is today. After years of hard work, dedication, failures, and victories, James finally turned his childhood dream into his reality. He was now, officially, an NBA basketball player!