social injustice Monday, Dec 22 2008

My skin is brown
Brown and true
You look at me as if I’m less
Less than you.

She has blond hair
Cheerleader you know
Rich girl with braces
Crooked teeth? No more

People love her.
Or just want to become like
They think I care.
I do? Sike!

You are white
But not better
I am brown
but not lesser

I will go somewhere
Not saying that you won’t
But I know you try to put me down
Please…don’t

You laugh at me
Cause I am brown
I laugh at you
Cause inside you frown

The difference between us?
I’ll tell you
Yes you’re white, I’m black
‘tis true.

But really?
It’s deeper than that.
You see it’s past the color
Have a sat

They tell you what to do
How to dress
When to talk
When to stress

They won’t get control
Because I am true to me
Who are you true to?
Look in the mirror and see

Yes I am brown
They say my skin is dirty
But I have love
A true personality

My skin is brown
Brown and true
You look at me as if I’m less
Less than you.

I am confident
Unlike you
Yes I’m brown
Brown and true

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favorite Mardi Gras experience Monday, Dec 22 2008

I’ve never experienced Mardi Gras. The first one I wa shere for, I went back home and the second one I was in bootcamp for it, so there was no celebration. I’ve heard stories and seen pictures, but never had first-hand experince. Although we do have something very similiar back home. We celebrate Carnival which is something like Mardi Gras. the meanings are different and there are many differences in the wat it is celbrated. But they’re both street celebrations for the whole family. People get wet and muddy in Carnival opposed to throwing beads in Mardi Gras. They are, however, both celebrated at the same time of the year, in Feburary.
Since I plan to stay here for the remaining of my Xavier experience, I will definitely check out this Mardi Gras.

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Would Katherine Drexel be proud? Monday, Dec 22 2008

I think Katherine Drexel would be extremely proud of the accomplishments done to her school since her time. She opened the school with the intentions of it being used as an opportunity for underprivileged African American youth in her neighborhood. Today, though not necessarily under-privileged, it is still a school for African-Americans. It was originally so we could have the same opportunities as the whites. Today, we are offered top-notch educational opportunity just as we were meant to. Our campus is very open to change and no student ever feels un-welcomed or left-out unless it’s their choice. As a nun, she believed in equal opportunity and peace for all people. I believe Xavier portrays this because people of all race, nationality, and religion attend. There are no longer people of lesser value. At Xavier we have well-educated professors and out classes are well-structured. I believe this also was part of Katherine’s original plan, for us to have a good education.

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favorite class at Xavier Monday, Dec 22 2008

My favorite class at Xavier is English 1010. I have always liked English because I love to write short stories and essays. I believe anything can be written from life experiences and made more interesting than it actually is. Writing was always a way for me to escape sometimes difficult reality. It led me to an imaginary world full of no-named creatures where everyone loved each other and were friends. When things couldn’t be said they could always be written. When I came to Xavier my English teacher told us from day one that we would be discussing events in class and that everyone’s opinion should be shared. I am loud. And I ALWAYS have an opinion. I LOVE my opinion to be heard. I was in the right place. In this class you were always right. Even when you were wrong, it’s okay because the next person could be more wrong than you. Everyone had their rights in this class. I t was just plain open discussion and when it was time for Papers to be written, it was pretty much the same thing. We wrote about things we cared about and felt a deep passion towards. This way it wasn’t just some random topic we knew nothing about and cared less about. The topics were very interesting to us and therefore made the paper interesting. I can’t remember the last time I got to write from the heart for a grade but it was a nice change. English class was a whole different world for me. It’s as though you walked into the doors of your imagination and walked out into reality.

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How has poverty benefited and hurt New Orleans? Friday, Oct 24 2008

The only way I can see poverty benefiting New Orleans is helping the people preserve their culture, even if they don’t necessarily want it. New Orleans cannot afford to renovate their whole city so they are forced to stay with the old buildings and antique structures. Although some citizens of New Orleans want change, tourists think all this is a part of the rich culture. What we may see as old and rusted, they see as beautiful architecture. Another big part of this is the food industry. New Orleans cannot afford to have a McDonalds or Wendy’s on every street. They are therefore forced to make home-cooked food in family-owned businesses. Again, this is one of those things that look good from the outside.

Poverty has hurt the people of New Orleans. It has forced them to live in some unbearable conditions, without water some days for example. It has forced them to often times beg or put themselves on the street to make ends meet. Poverty has led to an increase in crime. Being the world’s largest murder capital, people are being forced to defend for themselves. The people cannot afford insurance, health care, and sometimes medicine. These people are forced to suffer and die.

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“Why I chose to come to Xavier” Monday, Sep 29 2008

As a child I had big dreams. All the people around me said it was impossible, but I knew I wanted to be a doctor. Where I come from people all work in the bank or on the wharf, but I never wanted to be a bank teller of fisher[woman]. I always saw myself helping people. In elementary school I would play doctor with the kids who fell and scraped their knees or those who had their teeth pulled out. As I grew older and became more aware of my surroundings, I didn’t see college in my future. There were times when my family couldn’t afford food. Things like toothpaste were a rare commodity. So I banished college from my dreams altogether. When I was adopted and moved to America, my world opened back up. I again saw my opportunities to be all that I wanted. A visit to a New York hospital where my cousin worked confirmed exactly what I wanted to be, an obstetrician. I was always a “rather intelligent” young lady who made rather unintelligent decisions. I got caught up in some things at 16 and was sent to boot camp. A 16-yr-old high school drop-out did not seem like college material to me, so once again the doors were shut in my face, or so I thought. But fortunately I got my GED and graduated boot camp. Everytime coming into New Orleans from Slidell [my current home] I would see these green roofs. There was a girl in my church who was a senior here and she was very smart. I knew this school must’ve had high standards by the way she talked about it. After my counselor and I did some research on Xavier, I decided I wanted to go here. I know there are many negative connotations that go along with a person who gets their GED instead of finishing high school, so I couldn’t see myself getting accepted. I never told my aunt, for fear of disappointment, but she put in an application for me. The day I got my acceptance letter was the proudest day of my life [except graduation]. A 16-yr-old alien with a GED…who would’ve thought?

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What are your professional plans and how does Xavier’s mission affect that” Monday, Sep 29 2008

“My ultimate goal in life is to become an obstetrician. To deliver healthy babies into this world is all I can ask for. After Xavier, I would like to attend medical school [preferably in new York]. Then I want to practice my profession in my country of birth, Trinidad and Tobago. Not that I don’t like o appreciate this magnificent country I reside in, but I believe my people need more help than Americans. People all over the world are suffering from all types of diseases. They are physically and mentally sick and dying. The study of medicine can eventually lead to a cure for some of these diseases. Medicine enables us to take care of our fellow humans with the love and respect they deserve. It enables us to ensure a longer healthier life for our fellow kind. With a heart, we cannot stand around and watch our own kind suffer, so some of us feel a tug on our hearts to help and serve. Medicine encourages us to explore, create, and improve. Explore the magnificent world around us. Create new ideas and things. Things that are beneficial to our people and our society.. And improve our lifestyle one advancement at a time. One cure at a time. When we study medicine we open our hearts to things and people. As doctors, we will meet people of different ages, sex, race, religion. All have one thing in common. They are dying. As doctors, it is the sympathy in our hearts that lead us to help these sick and suffering people. That lead us to promote a more just and humane society. Just enough to help all, despite differences. Humane enough to not only feel the pain of a fellow human being but do something about it

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