Senior Year!
It’s finally here, my senior year! This is something that everyone thinks, dream, and wonder about. This is what they can not wait to happen and experience. It’s the year that you as a person become an adult and buckle down to the important things. It’s the time where you take care of business and understand that there is a time for you to have fun and a time for you to work and take care of your business. Your senior year is like a job, you need to be able to dedicate your full time too. A person’s senior year is a time to know whether you have all of your credits, classes, and to make sure you have everything you need to graduate. You also have to take the time to think about what you are going to do after graduation. Whether, you are going to be working, going to college (university), or even trading school. You need to have a game plan for yourself in order to succeed in your life. Senior year is stressful, but still fun, exciting, and kind of a little challenging, you have to be able to balance it out with other things that you may be going through.
Most people may call the seniors in each high school, The Top Dogs, in the building. Majority of the seniors look down on the underclassmen’s because it’s like a tradition. I know it may sound stupid, but it’s true. We figure they have a long way to catch up to everything we have done that’s good in order to call yourself a senior. I mean that’s what everyone thought their senior year or at least did. At John Hope College Prep. Their senior class was known for not being able to succeed and change as a class. Seeing thirty students being sent to jail for fighting in the school isn’t an example of trying to succeed. It’s even worst when the students were majority of seniors. As a class they have decrease enormously as a whole each year. The students came in with about 365 freshmen and as the year pass into their senior year it’s about 233 seniors. Out of the 233 seniors their only about 100 on track to graduate. There were some who only came to school to play or basically do nothing. They weren’t dedicated to the learning system as others were. This is why the suspension rate is so high and the attendance is low. The rest of the senior class was there to succeed and achieve their highest goals ever among each other and that’s why they will be the ones going in to college or something that will help them in the future to succeed.
The major things that seniors look forward to are becoming a senior, college acceptance letters, prom, and graduation. Being accepted to the college of your choice and receiving scholarship money is a blessing and it’s one of the greatest feeling ever. Another thing that stresses the seniors more, especially the ladies is going to prom. They need to know how their dress is going to be and who their date and what they are driving. Going to prom is basically what your senior year is about. Everyone wants to outshine everyone and look better; it’s basically a popularity contest. Having a elegant gown and a nice person to take with you should be the point, it shouldn’t have to be about no one else.
To all the seniors, I hope you have a successful senior year and remember make good decisions and keep your head on for the prize!
Roonesia K. Newsom
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
LOL.... Laugh Simpe Things Off
LOL... Life Throws Unexpected, but, I’ll Live and Laugh It Off
Well, life is a game in which change is inevitable, and trial is served to us gourmet. Life is a Rubik’s cube, and we have to slide into position after position to ensure that at the end of this “puzzle” all of our colors are in perfect alignment. But there are times in which we have two squares that are off and we get to the point that we want to throw the cube on the floor, or give up. The same can be said with life. There are times where people want to “throw our cubes” on the floor or times where we want to give up.
Personally with me, I feel that the most unexpected thing for me is the rejection. The rejection that I receive and feel on behalf of a lot of things make me the person that I am. For instance, there are students in John Hope College Preparatory who do not like me (accept me), and reject me because I am fun loving, and I have a strong sense of humor. I have learned that not everyone wants to have a happy day and not everyone wants to be cheered up. But with me being Demitria, I have learned to laugh that off and keep my positive spirit active.
Another main factor that is not necessarily personal because a lot of people have this problem is: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender (LGBT) “issues.” Not a lot of people are accepting to what they know nothing about, and so most people are apt to shun others out because of unimportant and minor differences. The neglect in general happens at school, but not really at my school, because a lot of my school is “out in the open” or “closet” LGBT’s. But one of the factors that are terrible is that at my school people try to make being an LGBT a competition. It isn’t about being yourself anymore, it’s as though people do this as a passing fad, to see what fame they will get and how many people they can “bring down” with them. Again all I can do is laugh things off, because no one expects to be unaccepted, and shunned out.
The moral of my blog is that sometimes what you do or what you say may not be okay in the eyes of another, but all you can do is laugh it off. Because at the end of the day you’re not going to change and people will always think their own thoughts about a situation. So stay you but laugh stupid things off and say “LOL... Life Throws Unexpected, but, I’ll Live and Laugh It Off.!
Well, life is a game in which change is inevitable, and trial is served to us gourmet. Life is a Rubik’s cube, and we have to slide into position after position to ensure that at the end of this “puzzle” all of our colors are in perfect alignment. But there are times in which we have two squares that are off and we get to the point that we want to throw the cube on the floor, or give up. The same can be said with life. There are times where people want to “throw our cubes” on the floor or times where we want to give up.
Personally with me, I feel that the most unexpected thing for me is the rejection. The rejection that I receive and feel on behalf of a lot of things make me the person that I am. For instance, there are students in John Hope College Preparatory who do not like me (accept me), and reject me because I am fun loving, and I have a strong sense of humor. I have learned that not everyone wants to have a happy day and not everyone wants to be cheered up. But with me being Demitria, I have learned to laugh that off and keep my positive spirit active.
Another main factor that is not necessarily personal because a lot of people have this problem is: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender (LGBT) “issues.” Not a lot of people are accepting to what they know nothing about, and so most people are apt to shun others out because of unimportant and minor differences. The neglect in general happens at school, but not really at my school, because a lot of my school is “out in the open” or “closet” LGBT’s. But one of the factors that are terrible is that at my school people try to make being an LGBT a competition. It isn’t about being yourself anymore, it’s as though people do this as a passing fad, to see what fame they will get and how many people they can “bring down” with them. Again all I can do is laugh things off, because no one expects to be unaccepted, and shunned out.
The moral of my blog is that sometimes what you do or what you say may not be okay in the eyes of another, but all you can do is laugh it off. Because at the end of the day you’re not going to change and people will always think their own thoughts about a situation. So stay you but laugh stupid things off and say “LOL... Life Throws Unexpected, but, I’ll Live and Laugh It Off.!
My Outlook on Teen Pregnancy
Statistics say that every 1 in 3 teens in the United States get pregnant every year. It’s known that no one can actually prove why this is a fact for young girls. Well, it has been said that young girls that grow up without a father figure in their life tend to get pregnant at an early age, as well as teens that grow up without parents at all. I strongly disagree to that statement because, if that were true, then why are girls that have both parents and a very stable living environment still ending up pregnant in their teen years? My personal opinion is that teenagers are going to do what they want to do regardless. Some girls feel the need to be pregnant as a teen because they think that’s what they need to do to fit into today's society. Some girls feel that they are ready to become a parent right now, and some teen girls out there just don’t know what they’re getting themselves into. Then again I know of a girl who got pregnant because she felt the need to be loved by somebody, and she figured that if she had a baby then she would have somebody to love her, and someone to play with and keep her company. Last but not least, there are young girls that are in relationships with guys, and they think that by having his baby, then that’s supposed to guarantee their love for her, that he’ll never leave and take care of their responsibility, and they are completely wrong! Nine times out of ten the boy that gets you pregnant will not be around to watch the baby grow up, or be around to support you financially. Then again you have the boys that will be around to help out with the baby, but can’t support you financially. Unfortunately, most young girls don’t put all of those facts into consideration before they decide to make those types of adult decisions. Still in all, we teen girls are only human, we’re certainly not perfect! Sometimes we know right from wrong, but yet we still choose to go left when we should’ve gone right, but that doesn’t make us stupid or lost, it makes us human. Adults have to let us make our mistakes, even if they know that what we're doing is wrong, but we’ll have to figure that out on our own or we will never grow up, and we will continue to be dependant on someone else’s guidance, instead of learning to follow our own natural intelligence.
My Path
Your past is the foundation of your future. How you are raised and the values bestowed upon you will finally develop as you grow as a person. Growing up in a neighborhood where young black females are either pregnant, on-drugs, or confused with no futures or dreams, these values are not only appreciated but needed. My journey to become the lady that I am today was not easy. Temptation and peer pressure did its job. As I look back, I remember how I overcame every obstacle and accomplished many goals during my high school years, always keeping in mind the knowledge that was passed down upon me.
My journey began my freshman year. I wanted to fit in. A follower, one might say, I agree. I hung around with people I thought were my friends and did my best to stay in the “in crowd”. I was soon surrounded by drugs, sex and alcohol. Though I was intelligent, I began to take my education for granted and did what I wanted to, instead of, what I should.
One day before school, we were all standing outside and they decided to smoke. They knew I did not smoke, but they insisted that I join. I declined, and watched them for a while. As I watched, I remembered what my grandmother use to tell me, "Association brings on assimilation", and I realized that I was smarter than that. The people that I stood there with were not my friends. They did not care about their futures, better yet mines.
Sophomore year, I turned my life in another direction. I moved along and my true friends came with. We became leaders of our own lives. I decided to buckle down on my grades and was greatly awarded. Now that I am a senior, I’m proud of myself. Though I’ve lost “friends” and felt alone at times, I came out a winner. I do not regret my past or the path I choose to follow, because those trials only made my skin tougher and made me more focused. In the fall of 2009, my journey will continue, I will be entering college. I will make the transition successful and not become overwhelmed and I feel like I have to follow someone else, to build me up.
My journey began my freshman year. I wanted to fit in. A follower, one might say, I agree. I hung around with people I thought were my friends and did my best to stay in the “in crowd”. I was soon surrounded by drugs, sex and alcohol. Though I was intelligent, I began to take my education for granted and did what I wanted to, instead of, what I should.
One day before school, we were all standing outside and they decided to smoke. They knew I did not smoke, but they insisted that I join. I declined, and watched them for a while. As I watched, I remembered what my grandmother use to tell me, "Association brings on assimilation", and I realized that I was smarter than that. The people that I stood there with were not my friends. They did not care about their futures, better yet mines.
Sophomore year, I turned my life in another direction. I moved along and my true friends came with. We became leaders of our own lives. I decided to buckle down on my grades and was greatly awarded. Now that I am a senior, I’m proud of myself. Though I’ve lost “friends” and felt alone at times, I came out a winner. I do not regret my past or the path I choose to follow, because those trials only made my skin tougher and made me more focused. In the fall of 2009, my journey will continue, I will be entering college. I will make the transition successful and not become overwhelmed and I feel like I have to follow someone else, to build me up.
Fertile Generation
Fertile Generation
Teen Pregnancy is a subject that is on the lips of almost everyone in America. From Brittney Spears’ little sister, to females that live in my neighborhood and ones that attend the same school as I do, it seems that now-a-days everyone is getting pregnant. As a seventeen year old virgin attending a Chicago Public School, this is a scary subject for me. It personally makes me afraid to have sex. It also makes me wonder if this out break of teen pregnancy was intentional. It makes me wonder are all these females having babies to fill some void in their lives. Each day I observe that at least two females in every class that I attend are or have been pregnant. Please don’t misunderstand me; I’m not attacking pregnant teens. My mother was a pregnant teen and I do not feel that there is anything wrong with it as long as the teenager is mentally ready for a child. However, this huge out break of teenage females getting pregnant in my generation makes me wonder if its fate or simply the effects of a generation of reckless sexual behavior. It has become extremely easy for teenagers to get away and have sex. I have had multiple conversations with sexually active female friends of mine and at least five out of ten of them admit to having unprotected sex with their boyfriends at least twice. Each of them saying that raw sex feels so much better than safe sex. Two out of the five were pregnant. One of them decided to keep hers saying, and I quote, “I did it, he and I were having sex without ever using condoms so why kill the baby? We knew what we were doing.” The other young lady aborted hers after deciding with the help of the baby’s father that now was not the right time for a baby. Personally I respect young women that take responsibility for their actions and keep their baby. However each person is different and decides to do different things. With that being said I propose this question; are we living in a world of pure sexual recklessness or were we born in a fertile generation?
Teen Pregnancy is a subject that is on the lips of almost everyone in America. From Brittney Spears’ little sister, to females that live in my neighborhood and ones that attend the same school as I do, it seems that now-a-days everyone is getting pregnant. As a seventeen year old virgin attending a Chicago Public School, this is a scary subject for me. It personally makes me afraid to have sex. It also makes me wonder if this out break of teen pregnancy was intentional. It makes me wonder are all these females having babies to fill some void in their lives. Each day I observe that at least two females in every class that I attend are or have been pregnant. Please don’t misunderstand me; I’m not attacking pregnant teens. My mother was a pregnant teen and I do not feel that there is anything wrong with it as long as the teenager is mentally ready for a child. However, this huge out break of teenage females getting pregnant in my generation makes me wonder if its fate or simply the effects of a generation of reckless sexual behavior. It has become extremely easy for teenagers to get away and have sex. I have had multiple conversations with sexually active female friends of mine and at least five out of ten of them admit to having unprotected sex with their boyfriends at least twice. Each of them saying that raw sex feels so much better than safe sex. Two out of the five were pregnant. One of them decided to keep hers saying, and I quote, “I did it, he and I were having sex without ever using condoms so why kill the baby? We knew what we were doing.” The other young lady aborted hers after deciding with the help of the baby’s father that now was not the right time for a baby. Personally I respect young women that take responsibility for their actions and keep their baby. However each person is different and decides to do different things. With that being said I propose this question; are we living in a world of pure sexual recklessness or were we born in a fertile generation?
VIOLENCE!!!!!!
Violence, What the …
Remember in the old days where when you got into a fight, you would make an appointment first. Everybody would stand around and watch while you handled your business with that person. And after the fight you would be scared to tell your mother because you knew she would beat your tail. Well things have come a long way down. It’s to the point where now if you see somebody fighting you just keep on walking by like nothing happened. No more appointments more like surprises, no more scrapes and bruises more like hospital beds and death. Should a person be scared to go to security personnel when now even they are engaging in the fights? Schools seem more affected than any other location in a city or town. I attend a Chicago Public School and in one week we have had Two (2) riots and our school has been on lockdown because of it. So do we now have to be considered inmates because we don’t have the self control needed to be on the outside world?
I don’t think this has to do with being black or even living in the ghetto because not all of us live in the ghetto. Self control has everything to do with it. If we act how they, and I mean that loosely, want us to act then our schools will continue to have nothing. We would continue to have the worst of the worst and in reality we would only have our self to blame. Now back on topic, the fighting needs to stop. People just can’t walk away for nothing anymore. If I stayed and fought all the people I got into it with I probably wouldn’t rank number one from missing so much school because of suspension or I wouldn’t even care about the affect violence has had on us, the society.
I don’t want to give a sob story or even sing we shall over come, but I do want to say stop messing up our neighborhoods and giving people a reason to stereotype others. Yes there will be altercations even some fist thrown, but never should a child watch their mother or father being beat and think hey maybe I’m supposed to do that because that shouldn’t be the world we live in.
CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG? LOL
Remember in the old days where when you got into a fight, you would make an appointment first. Everybody would stand around and watch while you handled your business with that person. And after the fight you would be scared to tell your mother because you knew she would beat your tail. Well things have come a long way down. It’s to the point where now if you see somebody fighting you just keep on walking by like nothing happened. No more appointments more like surprises, no more scrapes and bruises more like hospital beds and death. Should a person be scared to go to security personnel when now even they are engaging in the fights? Schools seem more affected than any other location in a city or town. I attend a Chicago Public School and in one week we have had Two (2) riots and our school has been on lockdown because of it. So do we now have to be considered inmates because we don’t have the self control needed to be on the outside world?
I don’t think this has to do with being black or even living in the ghetto because not all of us live in the ghetto. Self control has everything to do with it. If we act how they, and I mean that loosely, want us to act then our schools will continue to have nothing. We would continue to have the worst of the worst and in reality we would only have our self to blame. Now back on topic, the fighting needs to stop. People just can’t walk away for nothing anymore. If I stayed and fought all the people I got into it with I probably wouldn’t rank number one from missing so much school because of suspension or I wouldn’t even care about the affect violence has had on us, the society.
I don’t want to give a sob story or even sing we shall over come, but I do want to say stop messing up our neighborhoods and giving people a reason to stereotype others. Yes there will be altercations even some fist thrown, but never should a child watch their mother or father being beat and think hey maybe I’m supposed to do that because that shouldn’t be the world we live in.
CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG? LOL
Change
Change is the one thing that is constantly occurring. It happen everyday, sometimes unconsciously. It can be named the easiest thing to endure but at the same time it can be the hardest thing to overcome. People must adapt to change in order to transition through out life smoothly. Change has been the biggest dilemma I have been faced with.
As a child I was very shy and very smart, which caused high expectation as I got older. When I was younger I never got the opportunity to find myself because I was so busy satisfying and getting approval from various people’s views. This developed a box that I was stuck in or a restraint that I carried with me daily. I always thought that I dealt with change pretty well because I was use to enduring it, but as I think back to it now it was the leading explanation of the problems I have dealt with.
I have decided the only way for things to get better is that I start changing myself. I have come to know my purpose its now about perfecting it. I will not allow people to dictate my future. I will crave my own path and move along in that way
Change comes within. The first step at solving a problem is admitting that you have one. I definitely have a problem. I must overcome change, and start changing. One way that I coup with things is through poetry. That’s has been my major reason for change, because instead of keeping everything inside, the best release is through my poems. I have been blessed with the opportunity to perform and share my poetry with other people. I have hopes that they understand my poems and it may possibly help them in whatever they are encountering. I want to be able to help people change as well. Everything is connected. There is nothing that is new under the sun. I am sure that there are people dealing with things far worst than I do. So I am grateful for the things that I have. Change is indefinite and is occurring at this very moment.
As a child I was very shy and very smart, which caused high expectation as I got older. When I was younger I never got the opportunity to find myself because I was so busy satisfying and getting approval from various people’s views. This developed a box that I was stuck in or a restraint that I carried with me daily. I always thought that I dealt with change pretty well because I was use to enduring it, but as I think back to it now it was the leading explanation of the problems I have dealt with.
I have decided the only way for things to get better is that I start changing myself. I have come to know my purpose its now about perfecting it. I will not allow people to dictate my future. I will crave my own path and move along in that way
Change comes within. The first step at solving a problem is admitting that you have one. I definitely have a problem. I must overcome change, and start changing. One way that I coup with things is through poetry. That’s has been my major reason for change, because instead of keeping everything inside, the best release is through my poems. I have been blessed with the opportunity to perform and share my poetry with other people. I have hopes that they understand my poems and it may possibly help them in whatever they are encountering. I want to be able to help people change as well. Everything is connected. There is nothing that is new under the sun. I am sure that there are people dealing with things far worst than I do. So I am grateful for the things that I have. Change is indefinite and is occurring at this very moment.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Welcome to the Neighborhood
This is Collective Creativity. Welcome to Chicago. Welcome to Englewood.
While I am ostensibly the leader of this endeavour, I have no doubt that the student contributors to this venture will be far more eloquent and articulate than I.
This project is an multimedia assignment of the AcaDec Collective at John Hope High School. Expect video, podcasts, commentary, photos, and (hopefully) a first-rate, critical take on the myriad issues facing youth in our city. Or at least more detailed and in-depth analysis than what you'd find in the Tribune or Sun-Times. It's amazing how many people claim to know best what happens in these parts without ever actually setting foot here.
If you like what you see, let us know. If you hate what you see, comment constructively - this is a work in progress. We look forward to your feedback, and at the very least hope you think a little differently about "urban schools" than you did before you read this blog.
Kurt Hilgendorf
On behalf of the AcaDec Collective
While I am ostensibly the leader of this endeavour, I have no doubt that the student contributors to this venture will be far more eloquent and articulate than I.
This project is an multimedia assignment of the AcaDec Collective at John Hope High School. Expect video, podcasts, commentary, photos, and (hopefully) a first-rate, critical take on the myriad issues facing youth in our city. Or at least more detailed and in-depth analysis than what you'd find in the Tribune or Sun-Times. It's amazing how many people claim to know best what happens in these parts without ever actually setting foot here.
If you like what you see, let us know. If you hate what you see, comment constructively - this is a work in progress. We look forward to your feedback, and at the very least hope you think a little differently about "urban schools" than you did before you read this blog.
Kurt Hilgendorf
On behalf of the AcaDec Collective
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