It was unusually cold on this morning of September 11th, 2001, and my alarm had just went off. The odd but needed 5 am. was when I woke up, because my flight was going to leave around 8:30 and I needed to be there on time. The reason I was flying to San Francisco was I was having a family reunion with my dad, my step-mom, and my step-brothers. So, I jumped in the shower quickly with joy and excitement. I hadn't seen my family in forever since I had gotten a job as the assistant of the manager in Ralph Lauren Headquarters. I had just gotten my hair dried as I heard my phone ring. It was dad, making sure that I was on my way. I talked to him for a few minutes and then hung up. I glanced at the clock and realized…
Friday, October 24th was the day I almost died. I got in a life-threatening car accident. My seatbelt saved my life. If I didn’t have my seatbelt on when I wrecked I would be dead even with medical attention. I swerved to prevent a wreck between the black suv, the other car involved in the accident at fault, and myself by swerving. Swerving may not have been the best idea because I lost control of the car and ended up, upside down in a ditch with a completely missing window, a caved in roof that would have collapsed on my head if I was a tiny bit taller, a cracked all over windshield, a demolished side mirror barley attached to the car, a lot of dents, out of place tires, bits of glass inside the car, and broken inside mirrors.…
I could not begin to describe the odd characteristics I possess, but when asking my peers they told me that I was somehow strangely unique. I was never that girl who stood in with the “in” crowd nor did I ever seem like the type that stood by myself, I was in any case just me. Growing up I never really ever fashioned myself as being in any group but I could talk to almost anybody. Kids back then did not see in color. I am an African American student, according to everyone else I “marched to the beat of my own drum” but again to me I was just Jasmine. I came from an abusive home, I never really had much clothes but I did what I could to make it work, and I loved sports, it’s how I expressed myself and released frustration. As my generation grew older I noticed people I once could talk to didn’t. They began to look at me different and strange, it took me some time to realize what they were doing was natural to them because the human mind tends to gravitate to things it is use to; instead of thinking in black and white they finally saw color, as I was forced to come to the realization of when I was young. I still trudged on, known as an outcast but still one that kids looked up to. I believed in myself my rights and my dreams and I am determined to make them come true. By the grace of God, he has now moved obstacle’s and people out of my way to let me succeed in life. Not letting anyone tell me otherwise I stood up for myself, and I would never take no for an answer. As stubborn as I am, I am a true friend, a lover of all things, and a genuinely caring person. I’m the girl you would never guess enjoys country music and wearing her boots on a Friday night, the girl that could make just about anyone laugh, the girl who is wildly passionate on any given subject, the girl that goes to sleep at 3o clock in the morning finishing homework after getting…
On April 15, 2016, I was practicing driving with my dad in a parking lot because I had a Driver’s Education test the next day. After I came home, I was very tired and started eating some strawberry mousse. My friend suddenly called me and I ran upstairs to my room. I answered the call and she looked very sad. She told me that my other friend’s dad had past away that morning. She started crying and I started crying right away as well. I had many questions to be answered in my head such as how, when, why, what. The only fact my friend knew was that the reason of death was a car accident. I just could not believe how such a horrible event could happen to someone so close to me. We cried and mourned the whole night and tried to think of a way to support our friend in the best possible way. Our friend came to school the next day and she said she was doing good and that she didn’t want to stay at her house because nothing would happen if she did. I gained a new perspective of life from that experience because it showed me that I really need to keep my friends close and my family even closer, to live everyday to the fullest so I won’t have any regrets, and that anything can happen unexpectedly. My coming-of-age process involved discovering many new…
I was working on a school project when I got a call from my dad saying he was coming right away to come pick me up, I remember the sheathing anger I felt arguing that no he wasn’t going to pick me up that I really needed to finish this school project. I still shake my head in dismay knowing the fact I in fact didn’t need to finish the project I just wanted to hang out with my friends. I can’t pretend that I didn’t sulk my way to my dad’s waiting vehicle that I looked at him with a scowl across my face. Nor can I wipe away from my memory the words he said next “Your sister is in the hospital, she’s lost her baby and she’s asking for you.” This complete wash of emotion that came over me the shame the concern I was mortified with myself. How could I have been so mad about my importance when my sister had just faced a devastating event? Looking up and saying “Take me to her.”…
- to find myself enrolled in a Maryland public school. The school’s teachers and counselors collaborated to get to the pathology of my academic challenges. I was reborn. I was more than another black boy from a disadvantaged background or the Lower 9th Ward. I was Christian. I was no longer invisible. This was my first introduction to democracy - to having an identity. This is when I learned that my academic progress may have been stunned by Attention Deficit Disorder. Eager for growth, looking for a positive outcome, I was willing to accept anything that rationalize my lackluster grades. Anything that justified my existence; anything that signified a greater purpose in life. I graduated from high school, but I was rejected from every single college I applied to with the exception of one. In my mind, college was the thing that validated something that eluded me until I opened that letter - relative worth. Yet the majority of the kids I grew up with - still displaced - finishing high school in Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, and Lord knows where else weren’t going to college. Like me, they were combating the inherited ignorance such as “College isn’t for everyone.” The other shock-jock phrases would include “Some people are simply good with their hands” and “The military is a good option.” It’s not that these statements are false as much as they are remnants of…
Matriculating from a child into a young lady, the color of my skin often times influenced how I felt about myself and who I could be as an individual in society. As I sat in the front of the class at a predominately white school or walked down the hallways, I anticipated the moment that I would yet again be called another racial name- sometimes from those who looked similar to me but did not understand the essence of their doings. Reaching my final year in middle school, I began to define myself in a way that encompassed the names I was called. Instead of describing myself as the intellect I was or by my astounding level of accomplishments, I defined myself as someone who must be unfortunate to be African-American. Witnessing very few African-American women being presented in a positive manner in the news, learning my entire history and heritage in a single textbook chapter, and hearing demeaning words merely because of my dark skin tone inhibited me from seeing what roles I was capable of having in society. I often times asked…
I can remember all the way back to when I was a young child in elementary. I didn’t think much about the kids around me or how they lived and I can honestly say that very few kids stick out from those years maybe because it seemed to me at the time that we were all pretty much the same except for our physical appearances. What I can remember about the kids in junior high school was the need to fit in and be liked at all costs. Making fashion statements were much more important than answering the question about the meaning of life. High school though became a stepping stone into the complex and dynamic reality of the world around me that I had never investigated nor even identified. Beginning with my freshman year I encountered many more students than I ever thought I would. I started to notice quite quickly that the school population was extremely diverse and segmented. Groups were everywhere; jocks, nerds, gothic kids, trouble makers, and of course the ever present popular kids. This was the first time I could see with my own eyes the fact that we were actually quite different from each other. Kids that I had befriended in junior high slowing began to change and pull away from me for reasons that were not understandable to me at the time. In actuality, not only were they going through changes but I was going through them as well. My taste in clothes, music, sports, and my views on certain topics began to expand and diversify. Yet I started to realize that in doing so meant leaving my old friends behind and meeting new ones. My family had always been a cornerstone in my life who established my belief system as far as religion and values and therefore the perspective on the young life I had led up until that point. That upbringing enabled me to be able to compare and contrast the beliefs and ideas of others with my own and so the journey into the world of high school led me to come face to face with that very opportunity. One example which stands out in my mind…
I can never forget November 15, 2006. As I close my eyes and take a deep breath my memory paints the blues, browns, greens, and every other color associated with the horrible recollection. It was around 10:45 a.m., and the house smelled of pine-sol and gain washing powder. My mother was up and about cleaning. I was still sandwiched in between the covers and my bed although the sun smiled as it peeked through my window. The phone sang its song frantically until my mother said “Hello“. From my room, I could hear my mother gasp for breath in the living room. I dashed to the living room to find my mother sobbing deeply. The angels had decided to recruit my grandmother as a member of their team. On her way home the night before while the stars shined their brightest, her red two door car was demolished by the large silver monster call the side rails.…
Everyone says that you know when someone’s time has come you feel at peace and in distress all at once and, it is as if time slows itself and everything in your body becomes aware to every little thing. The ride to the hospital seemed to take forever but now, as I look back I wish that it would have taken longer. At the hospital my cousin was calm so, I felt the light reassurance, but it was crushed when she told me “Shay he’s gone” “who’s gone?” I asked hoping that it was not my father. “Shay, your dad he’s gone” and at that moment my entire world just stopped. I was daddy’s little girl, he loved me so much and I loved him even more.…
Imagine being a 23 year old male, six feet two inches, broad shoulders, a scruffy beard, and walking through Chicago in the late evening. Oh I forgot to mention one thing, also imagine being African-American. African-Americans have always been assumed to be up to no good or to be big trouble makers. That is a stereotype that we see become reality in some places, but also see to be completely false in other areas. In the essay “Just Walk on By” by Brent Staples, he describes a couple of his encounters with other pedestrians while walking through different cities. He talks about the development of a thug and the mindset of a young thug. Youngsters find out early that the intimidation factor can get you what you want by simply taking it. After the intimidation factor is discovered, the so called “tough guy” is created. Not every boy that learns the intimidation factor is a tough guy, such as Staples. He was shy but managed to survive that way. Some might think this the coward way to go about life, but to Staples surviving is more important than being the tough guy.…
Seeking teenager’s glory, I stumbled upon a group of guys who in my eyes were instantly the rock starts of secondary school. I admired the fame and attention they got from all other students. In my head I knew that I wanted to be just like them. I didn’t care back then if their actions were good or bad. I began observing and imitating their social behavior so closely. I began doing anything they did so they could accept me into their social circle. Soon enough, it started off with drifting after school putting our lives in danger, to stealing my father’s car, to disobeying elders, to skipping classes and not performing well in school to smoking cigarettes ruining my health, to initially ignoring my religious duties and eventually stopped praying. I was now officially a member of this social circle. I wasted my precious youth years of secondary school indulging in irresponsible negative activities.…
On January 8, 2008, I left for work at 5:30 am with coffee in hand and my backpack strapped tight ready to start my busy day. (I was a driver for DHL). I said my goodbyes and I love you’s to my parents as I walked out of the door. To my surprise it would have been the last time I would have spoken to my father. Around 6am, that morning, my father decided to take his own life for reasons unknown. I received a phone call, at 7am, from my brother-in-law telling me I needed to come home. Something happened to my dad, he said. When I arrived home there were people everywhere. Ambulance’s, police vehicle’s, and fire rescue units, lined the street in front of my house.…
I saw myself as a simple girl that would never be notice when put in the middle of the crowd. I didn’t possess anything special; something that can catch everyone’s attention. But as I go by, I perceived that life isn’t that unfair! It’s unfair to everyone and that makes it fair. Back to my elementary life, I ranked fifth when I’m on my second grade then down one spot on my third. After it, I got my fifth place back but suddenly I slipped it again when I was on my fifth grade. That’s the time when I realized that I’m missing some important things of being who you are, the faith and self-confidence. My sixth grade adviser, friends, and family always push me to anything that can help me be a better person. They told me not to give up no matter how hopeless the situation is.…
May 2014 was by far one of the most life changing moments I ever experienced,On Sunday mornings we always hope to have that extra sleep we have been missing the whole working week. It was a warm, clear day. The laptop was on, the music was slow and I didn't have a care in the world.All of a sudden there was a loud noise outside my door & continuous bell rings. I opened door to see my room partner ketan seriously wounded. he sustained injuries on head and his face was covered with blood. his nose was bleeding and his arms and legs were badly bruised. I was frozen to my core to see him, I dint knew what to do I just stood shocked and numb.he came tumbling in the room and crashed on the floor with heavy breath as if he was out of breath.…