hallRIGHTSfall2109

Shania Romain

Professor Hall

English

September 9th 2019

 

“Chain Of Events”

 That lil boy really saved my life I tell you man ! Have you ever heard the saying “ My Baby Boy changed me .. 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 Urban Assembly School of Law and Justice . it was literally the worst academic times  of my life . Did I hate school? No I just need a little L. O . V. E . I was literally fighting demons everyday . Let me break it down a little for you for you . Every other kid can sit and boast about how they enjoyed their prom , their senior trip or how they were the President of a certain 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 . Out of the 99% of the graduates I WAS THE 1%. LOL !!!! Isn’t that funny? Classes usually ran like this 8:45 am you had to be in advisory where you basically get prepared for all of your classes . Your advisor usually spoke to you about the events going on in the school spoke to you about things your teacher was 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 because I was a dick head who couldnt 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 . 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  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… Let me get 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 Nautica coat,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 part had to do with gang affiliation . The “ Crips” . I am sure everyone has heard of them . I was affiliated not official . I didn’t fight or get jumped ,I just had a crip boyfriend well “ ex boyfriend now “ He goes by the name “Loco “ Anyways  My hair was in a bob my eyebrows were done. I remember having some hoop earrings worse earrings to wear during a fight and being 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 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 Downtown Brooklyn go in shambles because there were other schools downtown everyone was fighting and we were just laughing like what the fuck is going on . The dummies came last minute when everything settled down everyone got their fights in whoever was fighting 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 thing 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 perosn break a whole circle that had to be one big 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 as i didnt think that heard me . Instead this piece of shit turns around stares me down with his blue master of the slave eyes and grabs my fucking collar . My friends just stand there shook scared . He does this for about 45 seconds . 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 one “ 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 the 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?? They let me out and of course my mother was unhappy she called my whole family and told them I was a disgrace , which I was . One of many disappointments . I then got pregnant and this what really changed my life . My baby boy who was supposed to come into this earth February 22nd came early November 30th. Born premature three months early at 30 weeks he  is the reason why I am the way I am now a different person . The whole shift in my academic development. When my son came into my life it changed my perspective .  I thank God everyday for him because I probably would have still been out there being a troublesome kid. I wish he was still here . He made me want to something with my life . I wanted to get focus I had to I had no 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 his is the closest thing to me  and one thing I admire about him is how he never gave up when the doctors told me in the hospital that he only had 3 more days on the earth , he showed them he can stay 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 to make him proud . He taught me to keep going even when life is against you keep trying keep going and this is why I am the way I am 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.

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”. 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, “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. 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. Over the years 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. 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 got to college, or dropped out of college. I 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 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.

 

EVEN THOUGH YOU DO NOT HAVE PROF. COUGHLIN’S CLASS ON TUESDAY, YOU DO HAVE MINE– AND YOUR ROUGH DRAFTS ARE DUE ONE HOUR BEFORE CLASS. REMEMBER, MISSING ROUGH DRAFTS ARE WORTH TWO MISSED HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS!

1. SIGN UP FOR THE OPEN LAB!
2. Read and annotate the correct copy of the Keith Gilyard chapter (excerpt from Voices of the Self) Look– you don’t have to annotate a ton. I just want you to be in the habit of reading with a pen in hand. Draw related pictures if you want. Underline things that stand out to you. Talk back (“that’s crazy!” “What did you do that for?”) Definitely read this before writing your own essay. It’s gonna help you. I promise.
3. ROUGH DRAFTS OF UNIT ONE ARE DUE ON THE OPEN LAB– as a post (not a comment)– AT LEAST AN HOUR BEFORE CLASS. YOU MUST POST THESE ON THE OPEN LAB (DIRECTIONS BELOW.) Remember– rough drafts equal TWO homework assignments and if you show up to rough draft day without a rough draft you get marked absent! The assignment itself is listed under the UNITS tab at the top of the page (or under MENU if you’re on your phone.) Review this assignment before you start writing!  The RD should be at least 700 words, but I suggest getting as close to 850 as you can– the final draft is due Sept 12.

I will be collecting the triple-entry journal (the homework for Tues Sept 3) and the annotated Gilyard article on Tuesday.

To post on OpenLab: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/blog/help/writing-a-post/

Please note: you need to choose a category. In this case, the category is “Education.”

1: SIGN UP FOR THIS WEBSITE, USING DR. COUGHLIN’S  INSTRUCTIONS (below.)

2. Read and annotate the excerpt from Keith Gilyard’s Voices of the Self that I handed out in class. While you’re reading, mark passages that stand out to you for whatever reason– you love them, you hate them, they make you think.

3. Fill out the “triple entry journal” I handed out in class using quotes from the Gilyard article. At least 5 quotes. There are instructions on there, but to recap: in the first column is the quote (don’t forget page #) second column, summarize the quote in your own words, and third column, respond to the quote. Don’t be afraid to be opinionated! Use slang or a “different English” if you want! Be you!

As I said in class, do step 3 AFTER step 2. If you try to fill out the triple entry journal while you’re reading, you’ll get distracted.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR JOINING: (1) Log in to OpenLab.  (2) Click “Courses” at the top of the screen.  (3) Go to “Find a Course” on the right side of the screen.  (4) Make these selections: School = Arts & Sciences; Department = English ; Semester = Fall 2019; no need for other selections.  (5) Click “Submit.”  (6) Scroll through the courses displayed for “hallRIGHTSfall2109,” click on it.  (7) Under the photo of the guy in the “I know my rights” t-shirt, click “Join this Course!”  That’s it!  You’re in.  Click “Visit Course Site >” at the top right corner and enjoy!

Hi everyone! What a great class! I really liked meeting all of you and telling you weird stories of “Sergei.”

So, as I said in class, your homework is as follows: read and annotate Amy Tan’s “Mother Tongue.” I gave you a copy in class, but just in case you lost it, you can find another copy HERE.

Also, please write a response of 250-300 words, responding to Tan’s essay. Print that out and bring it to class. In this response, I would like you to:  write about how your experience has been similar or different to Tan’s. BE SPECIFIC. That is, respond to specific quotes or passages of the text that stood out to you!

email me at Chall@citytech.cuny.edu if you have any questions! Please don’t email me here on OpenLab– I don’t really get those.

Hey, also one other note: If you miss the conference hour (as one student who attended the first part of class did,) it does count as a whole absence!