Safety on Campus

I can’t believe that we are actually graduating in a few months. It seemed like yesterday we just started as little freshman. So I read the article about guns on campus and whether or not it is safer to prohibit them. I for one am not a fan of weapons, like most people. If I had the choice, guns would not be allowed on campus at all. Guns just cause unnecessary problems. For example, I have a best friend that goes to the University of Louisville. During the first semester, he posted some news reports about people getting robbed around or outside of the campus. There weren’t any shooting but they did hold up a gun. It was happening multiple times.

But according to the article, schools are actually the safest place to be because there is no easy access to guns. In fact, shootings and other crimes usually happen outside of campus instead of inside. To be honest, I don’t think I’d have to worry about situations like this at the school that I’m going to. I think that I will be pretty safe on campus. But, hey, you never know what’s going to happen? You just have to be prepared for whatever. 

My Guilt

The Guilt Trip is REAL!! I'm sure the we all took a journey on it once in our life. I know I have. Tat article made me realize how often I feel guilty. I mean, I already knew about the guilt trip, but I realize that there are so many things that I have done that I have felt guilty about, but I never admitted to them. I haven't done anything wrong that would make me build up so much guilt that I would just explode. My guilt is never that serious. There was only one time that I had so much guilt inside of me that I broke down into tears and that was when my sister made my mother cry. It wasn't even my fault but I still felt terrible because she is my mother. I mean, who wants to see their mother cry. Nobody!!
Speaking of mothers, my mother is one of the only people who can find out if I'm hiding something by just looking at me. If I'm not looking her right in the eye, then she knew that something wasn't right and she was not going to leave me alone until I told her what was wrong. I think of it as one those motherly instincts because she is like the only one who does it the best. It's not just when she looks at my face. But the tone in my voice can give hints as well.
Guilt is something that all humans experience. It shouldn't be new to anybody because nobody is perfect. We are human and we all make mistakes.

Not Without Laughter

My second independent reading book in entitled Not Without Laughter by African American poet, Langston Hughes. This was Hughes' first and only novel. It is about young boy named Sandy Rodgers who lives with his mother and grandmother. Sandy's father is constantly moving around looking for employment. When his mother decides to leave town and join her husband, Sandy has no choice but to live with his aunt and uncle because his grandmother passed away. Sandy does not enjoy living with them, but has to stay with them until he is old enough to live on his own.
While reading this book, I hope to learn about the struggles that a young African American boy would go through while living in a time period where money, success, and happiness was not earn very easily. African Americans did not have the best jobs in the twentieth century. They would work in fields that required little or no education at all. In the book, Sandy's mother is a housekeeper for a wealthy white family, his grandmother does laundry, and his father is currently unemployed. Sometimes, I think about how grateful I am to be able to have a opportunity to earn a college degree and be able to achieve my goal on becoming an Athletic coach.

Outside Reading

Well, I’m not sure if we will have school tomorrow or not, but I thought I’d share my opinion about my first outside reading book. I read Anyone Can Dream: From Mud Hut In Kenya to Ranch House on San Francisco Bay by Philip M. Makau. Honestly, this book was not what I expected at all. I think it was trying way too hard to help the reader create an image of what is going on in that specific chapter. It was so descriptive. It didn't take that long for me to lose interest in it. For example, I’m pretty sure it took about two pages just to explain what kind of clothes he wears every day. To top it off, the book isn't even that long. It’s only 195 pages.

This was not the best novel that I have read. But the good news is that I got it over with. Now I’m excited to read my second book: Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes. I’m a fan of his poetry, so I was really glad that I chose the topic of racial inequality because I get to his first and only novel. I am certain that I will enjoy this book as well as my third book better than my first one.

The B-Word :(

So I’m going to talk about the word “bitch” and how I feel about it. After reading the article that was given to us as a topic, I couldn’t help but think to myself that this article was 100 percent true. In the past, it was an insult for a woman to be called a bitch. Then as the years went by, it developed another meaning: someone who is strong, independent, and speaks her mind. I have a feeling that I know where it came from. A few years ago, hip-hop icon Trina was one of the best female rappers out there. As her career grew, she began to develop an image. She started referring to herself as a “bad bitch” and everyone else just hopped on the bandwagon. Soon, girls all over the country started acting hard and tough because they’re supposedly “bad bitches,” but when a guy uses the word as an insult, they start getting upset and defensive. Why? What makes it right to call yourself a bitch instead of others? It’s the same word with the same meaning, but girls act like the word “bitch” is separated into two completely different categories. Well, it’s not!! I do not refer to myself as a bitch. It doesn’t even belong in my dictionary. If someone used that word one on me, I am not going to leave without letting that person know how I feel. No woman should ever refer to herself as a bitch; whether it’s a compliment or not.

The Road/Poetry Section

Well, we are almost to the end of The Road and I have to say that I’m enjoying the book a little bit more. I don’t exactly love it, but at least I don’t hate it. The assignment that we just did today in class was very helpful for me to understand Cormac McCarthy’s writing style. Honestly, McCarthy’s writing style was my least favorite part about this book. Almost everything he did in the book was wrong in my eyes because I was taught differently, along with all my other classmates. It just didn’t seem right when he typed it on paper. It was very annoying.

I’m really glad that we’re almost done with the book. Even though I didn’t hate, I don’t see myself reading it again in the future. It’s not a typical book that I read. It’s like an emotional rollercoaster, but it has way more depressing moments. In fact, almost the entire novel is depressing. If anyone knows me, they know that I’m not too fond of things that seem depressing to me.

This has nothing to do with the book, but I am extremely excited about the poetry section. I’ve had a small interest in poetry since sophomore year. It’s best part about English to me. J

Inquiry Project

For my inquiry project, my topic will be about racial inequality because I love learning about African American history. It’s a part of what makes me... ME!! If it wasn’t for those historical events, I wouldn’t have the opportunities that I have now. Life would still be segregated.

This first book I’m reading right now is Anyone Can Dream: From Mud Hut In Kenya to Ranch House on San Francisco Bay. I was unsure whether or not this book was answering my inquiry questions because I didn’t know if it took place during segregation. Once I started reading it, I realized that it did fit with my topic. It just took place in a different location. The story starts off in Kenya but I’m pretty sure that it ends up in the United States.

The book is about a young African boy who is trying to make his parents proud by reaching his professional goals. The problem is that he has to face the racism of his home to accomplish them. I am really interested in this book. Almost every page I read makes me realize how good my life is right now. It may not be perfect, but it’s definitely better than nothing.