Category: ESSAY ONE FINAL

Elayne Susana matos

Prof. Hall

English 1101

9/12/2019

After transferring schools Clinton was NOT  your regular high school at all, I don’t care how much you can relate or compare to your high school. This school was just on some other shit. On my first day of school… let me tell you. That is when I realized this school was not shit. Why right when I walk in through the doors the security guards by the scanners looking at me like I’m their next predictor. Looking like hungry ass lions in the wild. Honestly this is a school. They swore they were working at a prison word to my mother. You got security guards patting you down and passing the hand wand all around you. I’m just thinking in my head “What the fuck do these kids bring to school? Like am I bugging or?” .

     Anyways after the trauma with the security guards..oh that was nothing compared to what I saw. I literally could not tell the difference like was I at school or on Fordham road right now ? These guys posted up on the wall, hollering at girls and playing dice (sort of like gambling) in the corners. I just kept walking straight trying to ignore all this nonsense especially these ugly kids trying to holla  at me. I saw a friend I made on Facebook that went to this school down the hallway. I was so relieved because I did not even have a schedule in my hand therefore I had no clue where my classes were. She was so cute with her dirty blonde curly hair and her Nike outfit from head to toe. She approached me all happy and excited. She laughs at me and says “are you okay you look lost hahahah” which I was honestly. “Yes, I am I need to find an office or something  because I do not even have my schedule bro” I responded stressed. She directed me to an office where I waited a whole hour. Walking with her felt like I was a child at a carnaval who had lost their mother. At every corner she greeted someone and every time I blinked she was on to the next. It was so stressful figuring out where she went and all these people looking at me.

      Once I walked in there was a huge line with students with complaints about their schedules and all that nonsense. When the counselor finally got to me she kept going on how I was not on the system yet and a bunch of excuses on why I didn’t have a schedule set up yet. She looked weird to me. She had pointy reading glasses and looked like the suit maker from the incredibles. Honestly I did not care I just wanted this to be over with. She made my schedule right then and there. I mean you could say I was lucky because I got to pick which classes I wanted which is rare in high school.While she was putting my schedule together breaks were taken in-between with a lot conversation about nothing work related very unprofessional.

     After leaving that office at 12pm I headed to my 5th period class where only 10-7 students were present. Mind you the attendance had about 30 students who were supposed to be there. Now this was the most shocking I see this spacious room with no students. The teacher rushing around the room with her blond curly hair going on about some nonsense. A couple of students on the smart board watching a football game and the rest well talking. I sat down and just stared at everything going on. She exclaimed out of nowhere saying “please take out a pen and paper and look productive thank you”. So is she not planning on teaching a lesson? Anything? I realized how going to class in this school was rare I just couldn’t understand why would that even be rare. I came from a school where if you came late you had detention or if You didn’t wear uniform you got sent home and where you rarely saw one person in the hallways. Also you would have to pay a dollar Friday’s to Not wear uniform but that is another story.

        Coming to Dewitt clinton high school impacted the way I viewed education and school because first and foremost no one seemed to care about their education. The staff and teachers didn’t care about giving it to the students either. This school showed me how a school is an effort everyone part takes in not only the teachers. A teacher can not teach a class if the students do not show up. This also showed me how some educational campuses are corrupted and most importantly none cares about your education more than you. What you put in is what you get out of it. This school that I am describing to you is where a lot of famous people graduated from including Stan lee. A school with money and many opportunities of programs and everything you can name provided and these kids did not take advantage. Education and school has to be something you want and are willing to work for it will not be handed to you all the time. Sometimes you have to work for it. That was a big lesson I learned there. It also impacted me to learn on my own and to not rely on my teachers for everything, to take responsibility for my own education.

 

Shania Romain

Professor Hall

English

September 11th 2019

 

Chain Of Events

 

 That lil boy really saved my life I tell you man! Have you ever heard the saying “ My son  changed me.. he made me a better person ,I am so glad he chose me to be his mother”? That’s me, and I can relate.Let me run you through the “Chain of Events”.I was a troublesome kid in highschool, I went to the Urban Assembly School of Law and Justice located at 283 Adams Street, where I was notorious for getting suspended expelled getting into fights etc.It was literally the worst academic time of my life . Did I hate school? No. Truthfully, I just need a little L.O.V.E. I was literally fighting demons everyday . Let me break it down a little for you.  Every other kid can sit and boast about how they enjoyed their prom , their senior trip or how they became the president of a club or something . They exclaimed how they got into their dream college, dorming etc. I was the opposite. I got arrested , I got left back ,I became pregnant .I was the only one who didn’t graduate . While there was a 99% graduation, I WAS THE 1%. LOL!! Isn’t that funny? No,its not . 

 

 Classes usually ran like this 8:45 am you had to be in advisory where you basically got prepared for all of your classes. Your advisor usually spoke to you about the events going on in the school. He or she spoke to you about things your other teachers were saying about you the class you needed to improve on, checked attendance etc . My name was never called , I was never there. Your first class didn’t start until 9:00 am. My first class was Global , I had to take that class again because I was a dick head who couldn’t pass it the first time. History was one of my best subjects too, like what the hell ! The class wasn’t even that hard to be honest.For example,Napoleon Bonaparte was a French man who moved his way up during the French Revolution . He led the French Army during hard times blah blah blah and the other nigga got his head cut off cause he was being a Tyrant  and people didnt like the way he was ruling. See? It wasn’t that hard..

 

Fast forward to the time that I got arrested.Like I said I was a troublesome kid who needed some love and this is the story called “Chain of Events”  It was a sunny day in mid winter , you know like when winter is finishing up not that cold but cold,you still had to wear a coat but not a big one .There was no snow. I had a blue Nautica coat, a burgundy H&M sweater, dark blue jeans and some all blue Adidas shell tops. Blue was my favorite color .I loved those blue shell tops don’t judge me, and yes the other reason  had to do with a gang affiliation . The “Crips “ . I am sure everyone has heard of them . I was affiliated ,not official . I didn’t fight or get jumped to get in ,I just had a crip boyfriend will ex boyfriend now .He went by the name “Loco”. Anyways, my hair was in a bob and of course my eyebrows were done well drawn on . I remember having some hoop earrings. By the way ,those are the by far WORSE earrings to wear during a fight especially when you’re eventually going to be escorted  into an NYPD van lol. I didn’t have any nails on thank God because they would have broken during the fight. This was no ordinary fight . This was a fight against a pissed off angry teen and an NYPD cop . Yes he was White , so you can only imagine how I felt. My friends and I were Downtown Brooklyn standing in the corner as we watched the whole block go in shambles as there were also other schools Downtown.On this day everyone was fighting for some reason and we were just standing there  laughing like what the fuck is going on.The dummies (cops) came last minute when everything had settled down and everyone got their fights in and the bock was clear again . Here come the pigs acting as if they were doing something running and pushing people me included . This is what started this whole fucking shit in the first place . As we are standing there officer Bradley yes I remembered his name because to this day I still want to press charges decides to push through our circle and literally break it apart .  How can ONE person maneuver to break a five person circle ? That had to be one big ass push! I turned around and yelled “WHAT THE FUCK “?? Of course I was the only loud one who said something because everyone else were pussies and I didnt think that the goat heard me . Instead this piece of shit turns around stares me down with his blue master of the slave eyes and grabs up my fucking collar . My friends just stand there shook and scared . What CAN they possibly do though , they don’t want to get shot! He does this for about 45 seconds . Im not gonna lie, I was scared as fuck but that only enraged me more. I got angry.”Oh hell no , does he know who the fuck I am”?  I am not your regular black bitch I WILL CUT YOU !” I grabbed my pocket knife out my bag and began cursing out loud “ I am not the fuckng one ..!! “ You messed with the wrong MOTHER FUCKING BITCH “ !! I made enough ruckus to catch the attention of a black officer who put the cuffs on me and took me to the precinct . I was in that dirty stinky pissy ass precinct crying and banging on the walls for about 3 hours where they had me do the regular take off your belt shoe laces earrings etc . Do you know what it feels like to have flappy shoes with no shoe laces?? Eventually they let me out and of course my mother was unhappy she called my whole family and told them I was a big disgrace , which I was. This was only one of many disappointments .

 

 I then got pregnant and this what really changed my life. My baby boy who was supposed to come onto  this earth February 22nd 2019 arrived 12 weeks early November 30th. Born premature at only 30 weeks ,he is the reason why I am the way I am now ,a different person. The new and improved Shania Romain . There was a huge shift in my academic development and he is the definitive cause of that . When my son came into my life it changed my perspective of life. I thank God everyday for him because I would have still been out there being a dickhead kid. He made me want to do something with my life. I WANTED to get focused.I WANTED to get on track. I had to, I really didn’t have a choice. I had someone who was looking up to me . His name was Leonard Elijah Jermaine Romain-Martin and although he passed away from Necrotizing Enterocolitis which is when the large intestines dies due to being inflamed ,he had a large impact on my life for the little time he’s been here . He gave me a purpose and he is the reason for my change in behavior and the way I view education . I would never want my son to go through the things I went through , I had to switch up quick and take advantage of the opportunities in front of me. First it was finishing school , and getting into college so that I can make him proud because he was and still is the closest thing to me. No one should ever have to lose a kid that young but God knows best. One thing that I admire about him is how he never gave up on life, when the doctors told me that he only had approximately three days left , he showed us that he can push for seven ! He is my angel , my personal motivation to keep going, he changed my life. I made a promise to him when he was passing away to not make my mother disappointed anymore and a vow to make him proud . He taught me to keep going,and  even when life is against you keep trying,you keep striving. This is why I am never going to give up on myself again .This is the new and elevated Shania Romain. I am determined to reach my goals because my son didn’t live to reach his and as his mother, I have to make him proud. 

 

My son saved me. The new Shania Romain promises to make something of herself to not take anything for granted and to make her son mother and most important herself proud by all means.This is my new slate .

 

***FINAL DRAFT

There were many events that completely shifted my view on education and school, but the number one factor was social media. The constant exposure to how hated school was, waking up to go to school, growing old and dealing with more responsibility made me assimilate with how everyone else thought towards school. Most posts I would constantly see were posts I’d relate to which increased my distaste for school. Posts that consisted of making fun of some teacher’s logic, or how dumb the SATs were, or even peers talking about how bad school was and how tiring it was. Eventually, I grew a strong distaste waking up every morning for school only to feel fatigued and lazy. Every single day just felt the same and it was exactly the same, waking up every morning for school, go home and do the work assigned to me that’s due whenever, shower, sleep, and repeat. The constant testing and being forced to socialize with other people massively increased my distaste towards the environment. The fact that I’m in college now and looking back at high school, it makes me feel like it was the easiest thing to go through while I know back then I was stressing out insanely. I messed up my first year by never going, cutting, and just being rebellious but eventually that bit me in the ass. Failing my first year dropped my GPA to below three and damaged my chances of getting into John Jay, which was my dream choice, that I got denied to. I’ve always considered myself to be an introvert and not be that open, and I still am that way. I will push aside any social incapability I have to actually be social and make the first move when needed, but I will not go out of my way. Being exposed to social media really made me follow how everyone else thought towards school, but eventually I became open-minded about education and school, and still, my opinion was still the same. All the testing seems pointless to me and it’s primarily a test towards your own intelligence.

I would concur that my intelligence is insulted if I were to get a bad grade on a test or something, when in reality, I know I’m more educated in other areas. My forte is primarily writing, reading, debating, history, etc. However, with math, it’s like I’m completely a brick wall and I’m incapable of solving anything. Basic math is a given and you learn in back in elementary, but excelling in math is something I’m completely incapable of doing. I was to be put in honors for a government class back in my senior year of high school but I was too lazy to even talk to my counselor on how I was recommended by my teacher to be put in it. Everybody will either have the same opinion as you do towards school, or a completely different one which is alien. Either having a distaste for school is more known and popularized or it’s actually a wide-spread opinion amongst the youth. Finally having a small schedule for my senior year really made me careless towards actually putting in the effort for my classes. After being accepted into a college and knowing I’d be graduating guaranteed, the case of senioritis really hit me hard. Senioristis is a form of disease that spreads amongst seniors when they would stop caring and putting in effort for their last classes. I would even leave my third period class, which was my last class in my schedule, just to work a morning shift at my former job, that’s how I knew my former job was more of a priority than a gym class I knew I was guaranteed to pass.

I never really understood the concept of regents, as New York is the only state to have them. I questioned if it’s only to test a student’s intelligence or categorize students, and to this day I still don’t understand it. It’s the least of my worries now as I’m in college and have other things to worry about. College has a whole new esque which I actually really enjoy in comparison to high school. You have more responsibility, which can be a con to others, but you have free reign to do what you want with your time. I’m responsible to show up to my classes and pass these classes to move onto the next year and fulfill my major and not having “big brother” constantly watching your every move is relaxing. Finally turning eighteen has its wonderful perks of being an adult and actually living life, and the majority of my youth I’ve always fantasized how adult life would be and would I be ready for it. I’ve always felt like my mentality was older than my age and it was a constant struggle for me. College feels a lot smoother than high school and I cherish that completely and I have high hopes for college than I have ever had for high school. I started hating high school as soon as I realized how bad the environment was. The people were horrible and fake, the testing was ridiculous, and people even cheated on the regents when it’s strictly forbidden. Now I ain’t gonna lie, who wouldn’t cheat on the regents you know, but it just goes to show how bad it was. Having a clean slate in college to meet new people and have a different perspective on education that wasn’t forced by social media really made me open-minded about it and happy. When Amaya’s mother told her, “school ain’t officially free so you gotta go,” that really hit me hard and realized how important college can be. It differs dramatically from high school cause I just didn’t care but now in a whole new environment, my opinion changed dramatically. Social media always deemed college was important, and so did many adults I’ve met.

Dennise Fernandez

Professor Hall

9/10/19

Growing up my parents always told me that having an education was the only way that people would take me seriously and that that’s how I’d never be stepped on. One particular moment inmy life that changed my view on education was in second grade and even if it was 12 years ago,I still remember it as if it was yesterday. Second grade is a grade where it’s not hard, there isn’t a lot of challenges, but for me I’d say it was the hardest year and I still say it now, which is crazy because college and high school should be the most difficult, not elementary school. I was 7 years old and I had been in the United States for only 4 years so the language was new to me still and my parents only spoke Spanish in the house so I only learned Spanish my whole life until I started going to school.

When I started the second grade, I was so excited to make new friends and to meet my new teacher but everything changed so quickly. I spoke a little bit ofEnglish but it was ‘’broken’’ and you could still hear my accent. Besides the fact that I was embarrassed about the way I spoke, I was the only Hispanic in my class, so that made me feel even more uncomfortable. Every night I would go home and read book after book after book hoping that the words would stick to my brain and I could say them the right way. My mom and dad were my biggest supporters, they always reminded me that I was really brave for being in a class where everyone spoke English, they gave me hope. The first few days school was good and I felt good about myself, but one day everyone in class was taking turns reading a book and boy was I nervous, when it came to my turn the teacher told me ‘’Denise get up here and read ‘’I was so nervous that I was shaking and even more because I was the only one who was told to go up while everyone was allowed to read sitting down from their desks. I began to read and I was clearly struggling so the kids began to laugh and my teacher said ‘’ alright It’s useless you’re making the kids get confused’’ and I felt so disappointed and useless. That night I went home and I told my parents, and they said that maybe she didn’t mean it, maybe she just didn’t want the rest of the kids to get confused by the way I was saying the words so I kind of felt better because I thought my parents were probably right. During the rest of the year the teacher continued to make feel less of a person because I didn’t speak English, she would get in trouble if I didn’t pronounce a word right or if I didn’t answer I a question correctly. She would also tell me ‘’you should’ve stayed in your country, you would’ve done better there’’ It was up to a point where I didn’t want to go to school anymore because I felt useless, and I thought school wasn’t for me. I thought I would never be able to overcome the challenge of not speaking English. The school year eventually came to an end and it was time for report cards, I was so happy becauseI could finally move on to third grade and get another teacher, but that wasn’t the situation. I got left back and I was in shock, my parents were in shock and they were upset with me which was what hurt me the most. My parents came up to the school and tried to explain to the teacher that I tried really hard and that I didn’t deserve to get left back but the teacher wasn’t having it. We even tried to show her my cousins report card and mine because it was exactly the same, our grades were so similar and she had passed, and so that’s how we knew it wasn’t my grades, it was the teacher. She told my mom that I didn’t deserve to pass, that I wasn’t putting effort into learning and that it was useless if she passed me to third grade. I had lost hope. Some people might think it wasn’t that bad and I should’ve just ignored it but especially when you’re just a child those kinds of hurtful words stick to you and what said has always impacted me.

Thanks to her though I do so well in school, remembering her words give me the motivation to do better. After that there hasn’t been a year where I haven’t been on honor roll and I’ve been offered scholarships for out of state colleges. I now know I am smart and I can do anything I set my mind to. Being an immigrant should not affect anyones school life or just life in general. You should be able to go to school and not feel judged about your race. You go to school to learn and that’s the only thing you should be focused on, especially at a young age.

Aisse Tounkara

Professor Hall

09/02/2019

                                                         Unit One Essay

     As a young child I knew education would be my way out. My way to escape my environment and become something/ somebody in life. Education saved me from a lot of the violence that was going on in my neighborhood. Education allowed me to stay hopeful. One particular moment that I experienced changed my entire view on education forever. I remember it like it was just yesterday. It was junior year and it was time to start looking into colleges. I remember telling my counselor, I would like to attend St John’s University. She looked at me and stated “that school is expensive your family can’t really afford it”. In my head im like “bitch bye”It really brought me into a deep depression. Here I am having hope that my future would be so bright but I have someone who was supposed to be guiding me help me look for schools and encourage me to keep going in life say “your family can’t really afford that. I went home later  that day and spoke to my mother. I said to my mother “Mami my counselor ruined my hopes of attending the school that I dreamed of always attending. My mother looked at me and said never let anyone stop you from doing and going places where you always dreamed of going. That taught me to never let financial barriers get in your way.                          

    Financial barriers are a big issue when it comes to college. Often people get into these really good schools and when the time comes they never end up going because of financial situations standing in their way. That’s a huge issue. A couple months ago I was honored to be apart of Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher Initiative program. Out of 200 students only 10 highschool seniors were selected to be apart of this Conference at Howard University in Washington D.C. This conference was mainly for first generation college students and all the obstacles it took us to get to the place we’re at now. It taught me to never give up, to keep beating the odds, and strive against everything. One thing in particular that stuck with me was when Mrs Obama was a highschool student, her counselor said to her, “Your reaching too high, You should look into other schools because you are not Princeton material”. From there on forward she knew she could do anything she wanted to achieve despite what people would say.   

      As you maneuver on in life people will always try to discourage you with their negative comments. They will always put their fears onto you. But you have to rise above that and not let no counselor stand in your way, no financial barriers, not anybody. If you allow people to project their fears onto you, you won’t live. I’ve had jobs throughout highschool but I said to myself “education is going to be essential for my success, my future, and the people who love me. As the years went by, I realized that education was important to me and that it always will be. I’ve struggled a lot and I’ve seen the struggle right in front of me. But I knew with education I’d be able to change that struggle my struggle. I did not allow that moment with my counselor define who I was, who I am, and who I will become. I knew I would redefine success by pursuing higher education. Attending law school was something I knew I’d be interested in pursuing.     

        Even as a youngin I did college programs, started networking with people, enrolled in internships, and did everything possible to be successful in life. I also remember entering City Tech the first day of July to discuss my financial aid. The lady at the financial aid desk would send me back every day for a whole month. “Your missing this, your missing that”. This kept going on until the second week of the fall semester. She said to me “If your financial aid is not processed you will be forced to drop your classes, or pay out of pocket for your tuition”. I reached a breaking point because I was so overwhelmed. I had to endure so much just because I wanted to pursue higher education. I managed to save enough money for textbooks, and transportation fees until my financial aid was processed. In highschool I learned that financial barriers were a major problem in why most of the people in my community never reached college, or had no other choice but to drop out of college. I Aisse Tounkara was never going to let financial situation get in the way of what’s dearest to me. I’m sending a message for people to understand that financial barriers are a major problem when it comes to pursuing higher education. Financial barriers suck. It should be addressed more often. It makes you not want to attend college because it’s a lot to deal with. But you have to have patience. Now imagine a young girl from the Bronx who did not let financial situations stop her from dreaming, and achieving.

 

 

Hey everyone! Your essays are due ON OPEN LAB before Thursday’s class! You need to add a category to your posts! Please click ESSAY ONE FINAL. If you don’t do that, I might end up grading your rough draft! Please also say “final draft” someplace.

Also: Make sure you familiarize yourself with the essay requirements (under UNITS) and GIVE THE THING A TITLE  (don’t call it essay one or education essay or Carrie’s Essay.) Give it a title that pops! We’ll talk more about titles as the semester goes on, but for now, do your best!

To recap: essays MUST be on Open Lab for credit. I will comment on them on OpenLab, the grade book is on OL, etc…  If you are having a problem with OL, you must contact me BEFORE class– email me a copy of your paper, and we’ll post it ASAP.