Author: Ashley Vaughn

Out of all the potential topics I wanted to expand on, there was one that really stuck out to me. What does government housing in New York City serve exactly? All over New York City there are specific areas that you can find government housing in. Usually all the apartment buildings/ complexes share a very similar structure on both the outside and inside. They typically are brick houses that range from 5-12 floors.  Often at times the buildings are shaped as a cross in which you can truly see from the top.

I have a particular interest in this subject because of a personal connection. Along with many of my relatives on both sides of my family, I once resided in government housing on the lower east side. But some people would know it by the term “the projects”. As the years progressed, City living expenses became more and more expensive due to inflation. Which made a lot of people’s living choices very limited. The apartments were mail=nly marketing to individuals that would make six figures. But despite the extensive history my family and I have with housing, I’ve never really been able to grasp the logic behind it. Except that its primary purpose is to provide assistance to the people who lack the resources to pay for conventional NYC residences.

In my research on this subject, I’m looking for the fundamental causes and effects of the official start of the NYC housing program. Additionally, the aim is to identify common patterns and recurring issues the New York City tenants had to deal with. Such as who was primarily in need of housing compared to the remainder of the city. Furthermore, another goal was to determine the reachability and competitiveness of lower-cost housing due to the rising population as well as post-covid circumstances.

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Even though America has had many hardships, James Baldwin is emphasizing to his student that there is still a vast and lovely world outside of the country. When he says in the text “the world is larger”, it is to my understanding that when you compare the U.S. and the trials and tribulations that they went through with  the world as a whole, one can see that many of the issues are in fact worldwide.

When I was a kid,  I found myself interested in true crime. The intensity of some of the cases really sparked my curiosity. Which inevitably caused me to go down a rabbit hole of serial killer stories and documentaries. Luckily, I’m still very interested in that topic and due to me being older, I’m able to access resources that I couldn’t beforehand. When i started to ask questions regarding the cases, the minor details start to make themselves known. Everything tends to click in one way or another.

Over the years, my curiosity have changed maturity wise. The older I got, more I became aware of the severity of the cases. I started to fully process the disturbing and gruesome details that were in these acts. But luckily the school that I was attending at the time gave me access to books that focused on one case at a time so that I can really dig deeper into what took place  and what the victims had to go through.

Based off of what I read in the two passages, there are tons of tools or  “ingredients” that can be used to help build a well formed narrative essay . When reading, there was a lot of imagery that was being used. Describing the authors surroundings in her eyes and how she views it. One technique that would help one start their narrative  is to first, identify what impactful moment you’d want to talk about. Following that, do a free write of the entire moment. Treat it like a diary entry. Include every detail that one would think should be included in the paper. So you have a solid summary of the experience. Then using the writing that you have, identify the parts of the story you would like to expand on. One concern that I do have is that I will not be able to write four pages worth of details of the moment.

A moment that changed my views on the educations system was when i was made to feel insecure about my ADHD by my very own fourth grade teacher. In the classroom that was covered in words to help with students academic skills. While the lights were off and the natural sunlight filling the room from the windows. The smell of pencils and dry erase markers were very prominent. In the middle of our reading period, the class was expected to read 10-15 pages of the book we chose from the classes library then answer questions about what we just read. Unfortunately I had a lot of trouble comprehending anything that I read when I was a kid. Focusing on one thing was a struggle as well. Suddenly every color and picture were yelling at me to look at them. By the time the clock ran out, I had only been able to read four pages. Student after student stood up explaining what they had just read along with answering the teachers questions. The closer it got to me the more nervous I became. I knew that when it would be my turn, I could not deliver the answers the way the rest of the class did. The sweat in my palms started to become more prominent as time went by. When it finally became my turn, reluctance was displayed in everything I did. As I was slowly standing up, the sweating has intensified. Ringing in my ear was as loud as a siren that was a block away from me. The teacher asked me questions that I was unable to answer. The more I stuttered the more the look of irritation grew on her face. Eventually her small amount of patience ran out and told me to sit down. Following that, she proceeded to say a set of words that I will never forget for the next 10+ years. “ Maybe this level is not meant for you since you can never seem to answer a question”. There was a feeling of a spotlight on me. The class grew quiet as 9 year old tears were welling up in my eyes. The feeling of shame and humiliation was one I couldn’t run from anymore.