Freebie

I am using my Freebie this week

Garifuna (PB)

Outside of medicine and biology my most important activity is my volunteer work with the Garifuna Coalition USA Inc, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the Garifuna people in New York. I have been working with the organization for four years. My favorite responsibility so far was organizing the Lirahunu Chatoyer Youth Leadership Program. The program educated the Garifuna youth on their history, culture and language. My job was to make sure we had instructors for each lesson, metro cards available for the participants to travel to and from class and lunch ready for when the day's lesson was over. I loved learning about my complex history and the beautiful language my people spoke. A lot of people are not lucky enough to know where they come from but I am proud to say that my people can trace their history all the way back to their ancestors. Along with learning about my past, working within my own culture opened my eyes to the many issues that have to be addressed within the community, and to the many solutions I can take part in. I plan on continuing my involvement with the Garifuna Coalition while in college. I can tell that connecting and engaging with different communities and cultures is a large part of the college experience for students. Therefore, one of the things I want to do while in college is expose other students to my Garifuna culture, one of the best kept secrets in the world.

"Dear Marcus: A Letter to the Man Who Shot Me" (SSR)

“Dear Marcus: A Letter to the Man Who Shot Me” is one of those life changing pieces of literature. The author, Jerry McGill, was shot as a teenager in the back by an unknown individual that was never caught. The incident left him wheel chair bound for life. At first McGill was shattered. He lived a life full of hate for this individual that with a single shot had changed the entire course of his life. He also drowned himself in self pity for the condition he had been left in and the every day human activities he could no longer take part in such as jogging or dancing. However, one day McGill woke up and decided he was no longer going to hate himself, or pity his lifestyle. He decided that rather than feel trapped by his wheel chair he was going to embrace the fact that this was now his life and live it to the fullest. This part of the book made me think of the Serenity Prayer “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. The courage to change the things I can. And wisdom to know the difference.” Through his words and his actions McGill brought that prayer to life for me. When certain changes took place in my life that I had no control over, I would feel defeated and like I had no say in what was going on. However, McGill made me realize that you do not allow the situations in your life to shape you. He taught me that you have the power to change your view on life situations so that instead of harming you, they are able to help you grow as a person.

The Heart Of Darkness (CRR)

Currently we are reading "The Heart Of Darkness" in class. I have no idea how to feel about the book. I know that so far Marlow is not my favorite character even though is the main character of the story. Right now he is telling us about his arrival to the Congo. I think what's really making me dislike him is the way that he describes the criminals that are being held captive in the Congo. I do understand that the story takes place during slavery times. But it still bothers me how he speaks about them and makes them sound like animals. They are human beings just like him.

However that's not the only thing that bothers me about him. Another thing is his naivety towards the situation and his surroundings. He doesn't seem to question the big picture, he questions the little things like the holes that are dug in the ground at the most random locations. But he doesn't wonder about these "criminals" that are being held hostage on this island. And when he signed up for the voyage he didn't wonder about the males who never returned home. For an individual that was so eager to leave home he seemed to have no sense of caution. The way Marlow thinks just doesn't seem realistic or mature to me. It seems more like the mentality of a hyperactive child trying to escape home or looking for a home. With no worries no cares and no definite plans in mind. Just going wherever life takes him, without questioning the journey.

Idiots with Guns (SSR)

Two days ago an idiot with a gun went inside New Jersey State Plaza and fired a couple of rounds. Nobody was hurt inside the mall and the aggressors body was found a few miles away from the mall after the shooting. 

I get highly upset when I hear stories like these on the news. First off it makes me feel unsafe to be out in public and it makes me worry about my family and friends being out in public also. I should feel comfortable to leave my house and be out in the open. I shouldn't have to be stressing about a psycho popping up out of nowhere and attacking me. It is unfair that my life is put in danger simply because I step foot outside of my home. I shouldn't be afraid to do a little shopping just because any mentally unstable individual can easily get their hands on a gun.

This brings me to my second point: guns are so easily attainable now a days. The government is so stingy with offering free medical assistance but guns are being sold to minors everyday. It's obvious that these guns are being sold on the streets. But what I'm saying is that at some point that gun was sold from a gun shop. It was sold to an untrustworthy individual that let that firearm make it to the streets and to the hands of another reckless human being. It isn't guns that kill people, people kill people.

It is the government's job and responsibility to protect its' citizens and make them feel safe. I can honestly say the US Government is NOT carrying out this responsibility to their fullest. Facing death should not be an every day part of life. 

Long Division (ID)

Long division is something that I haven't done since elementary school. Once I got to middle school it was all about the calculators. However, this past week I have been required to do long division in two classes, physical education and pre calculus. It had been so long since I had done long division that I had completely forgotten the process. I had to go on the internet for lessons on how it was done so I could refresh my memory.

It was in gym that I was first asked to do long division. We are learning how to calculate the body mass index of an individual by their height and weight. The equation is the individual's weight divided by their height in inches squared and then multiply that by 703. Mr. G makes us solve the problem without use of a calculator. The tricky part is when the decimals come in and you have to start adding zeros to the dividend. In pre calculus we are dividing polynomials. Even though the divider has multiple terms, I find it MUCH simpler than dividing decimals.

The process of long division is extremely annoying. But I understand where my gym teacher comes from when he states that we should be able to figure numbers out by hand. There's going to be a day when a cashier at the store isn't working and we're going to have to make sure that the clerk is charging us the right price. It's annoying, but it's good to learn it just in case, you never know.

Freebie

Using my freebie for the marking period.

The College Process (FC)

Applications,  resumes, SAT's, personal statements. Just thinking about them all is making my head spin. I'm so excited to be moving on to my college career but the process is extremely stressful. Let's start with the college list. I haven't done any applications because I haven't completed my college list yet. It's like every time I think it's finally done, I find out about a new college or decide that I don't like a college that's already on the list. And then I don't know what to look for in a college. I'm not sure what size campus will work for me, if I'd work better in the suburbs or in the city, or if I want the campus population to be majorily colored. I don't know what to ask for from a university.

However, what's really making me want to pull my hair right now is the personal statement.I have written four or five drafts of that darn paper. I know my topic and I know thw message that I want to get across but sometimes it's difficult to word my thoughts. I feel a little more confident with my current draft but I know someone will find something for me to change or fix on it. That is what annoys me the most. I appreciate the pointers but I hate feeling like others are twisting my words and my message is being lost in the process.

I know that all I have been doing is complaining but I just had to get it out of my system. I know that by January when I've completed all of these tasks I'll feel accomplished and more at ease. I know that all this hard work will pay off when those acceptance letters come rolling in.

Mental Oppression (CRR)

I'm glad that we read over some of our fellow classmates blogs today. My favorite one was the post written by Ademola about mental slavery, I could not have agreed more with him. Mental slavery is the worst type of slavery that a human being could be subjected to. Physical slavery creates bruises and wounds that can be healed over time. On the other hand, mental slavery breaks you in ways that can not be repaired. You are stripped of your morals, your personal beliefs, bared from your entire sense of self. You are told what your beliefs are, you are told what your ethical values are and consequently you are being told who YOU are. It’s a process in which you stand for nothing, and therefore you fall for anything.

Sometimes I wonder if this was the case with Phillis Wheatley. I just can’t wrap my mind around the idea of someone being grateful about being stripped of their basic human rights. I understand that she felt saved when she found Christianity, that part I can comprehend. But she could have easily converted to Christianity as a free person and it’s as if she doesn’t understand that concept. It seems as if from her point of view she would have never found Christianity if it wasn’t because she was enslaved. I believe that Christianity was the way in which her oppressors deprived her of her cognitive independence. Christianity told her what to feel, what to believe in and how to act. Converting might have made Wheatley a better person but it also robbed Phillis Wheatley of Phillis Wheatley. 

free post

Using my freebie

Free Write

College. One simple word that is the entire universe of most high school seniors. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to be a freshman in one of my dream colleges but the stress is so overbearing. There are so many points to hit before a college even considers your application. You have to have the right grade point average, the right SAT scores, the right after school and extra curricular activities and lets not mention the right topic for the oh so famous college essay.
I had a first draft of my college essay and I thought it was my best piece of writing I'd ever done. WRONG!!! When my teachers and mentors read it they had all sorts of criticism. The topic was too broad, it didn't tell the admissions officers anything about me and it just wasn't interesting enough. What I thought had been one of my best works easily became one of my worst in less than a day.
Truth is, it's hard finding a good topic for our college essays. And even when we do find it it's hard to find a way to word it so that it captivates everyone's attention. It's a lot of pressure when you have to find a story from your life that embodies your essence and personality and scrunch it up into 500 words. There's so many moments and people and experienced that have occured in my life for me to be able to put all of that in 500 words. My personality needs WAY more than 500 words to be defined.

The Human Body (PB)

The human body is the most fascinating thing in the world to me. I'm mesmerized by the way in which it functions. The way in which we are able to breathe subconsciously while we sleep and how the body creates platelets when it notices an injury. I guess what i love about the body is that it's self sustainable. I'm mostly interested in the dead human body though, that is why I am pursuing a career in pathology.

I like probing around and being able to feel the squishy brains and the smooth liver. I am very hands on when it comes to cadavers.I remember my first and only time I interacted with a corpse at Cornell Medical School. It was an unexplainable mixture of excitement and nervousness. I was excited to get my hands on it but nervous that I wouldn't have been able to handle the situation. But at the end of the day I was pleases to find out that I was not scared or intimidated while working with a dead body. It was one of the best days of my life. Knowing that I was able to handle such an experience so maturely was priceless.