Research Assignment #2: Racism

Racism is defined as the prejudice that members of one race are superior to members of another race by wordnetweb.princeton.edu. In this world today, this idea of racism has spread tremendously to people everywhere of all ages and races. Racism is now a global issue. At http://www.globalissues.org/article/165/racism, they say that racism is starting to rise up and is becoming a quick weapon for fear through hatred. One may bully, whether it be cyber, physical, or verbal others into thinking the same beliefs about the idea of racism.

The only group of people I see as hardly affected by racism are younger kids. They're too young to understand the real and harmful world.

Look at me,
Now look at you.
What's the difference between us two?

Surely not our eyes,
Shining with scarce cries,
Not our hands,
Covering all this land.
The glow of my skin is different from your shine.
But could that really matter?
Is this really true?

Its not me,
And its not you.
So why do people see us differently,
Us two?

I just wrote this poem in response to racism. I wrote this in the point of view of two little kids who have yet to be introduced to the concept of racism. They are young and perhaps more open to ideas than adults. They look at the world with completely different eyes. They don't look at the differences, but at what makes each and every person shine. Its the beauty of innocence.

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005184

Research Assignment #1: Teen Pregnancy

          So for my first research topic, I decided on teen pregnancy. I found this article in the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/us/27teen.html) about how the teen pregnancy rate is rising. This includes of births, abortions, and miscarriages. While reading this, it really made me upset because not only are the young girls ruining their lives, they're ruining the life of their baby on deck. Let's face it, no little girl is ready for the responsibility of being a parent. I don't care what your argument is, YOU ARE TOO YOUNG! You will be missing out on all the great things life has to offer as a young person and all of a sudden you're trapped in parenthood. Now it's good bye friends, freetime, and life as you knew it and hello hell (please excuse my language). Now you have this big responsibility that is a full time job. You have to be on top of your game 24/7 and trust me, the stress is not exactly a pro either.
          This following poem is a poem about a girl who has witnessed her sisters third miscarriage. Even if you yourself are not pregnant, it can also affect you by just being around the environment. You can see the pain caused by this situation reflected in the poem:


Why Another Miscarriage
By: Roxane Faulkner

All you can do is just sit there and cry,
Why did you just let it die?
To you it's just another miscarriage,
just like the other times at your younger ages.

Did you ever think maybe,
that you could have really loved this baby?
You should have stopped all the bad stuff,
and shown the baby all your love.

I know that it really hurt you,
but it also hurt other people too.
We all know the pain you go through,
but we feel it too because we love you.

I know it's not the first,
and you feel like your heart might burst.
I know it all happens so fast,
But can you please make this one the last?

In your heart I find a big tear,
but I know how much you really care.
I really wish that I could be there,
so I can help you when life's not being fair.

So how does it feel,
does it seem fake, or all too real?
It could be possibly, maybe,
you're just not ready for another baby.

Well it's all real alright,
so love your daughter you have now, and hold her tight.
You never know when her life will end,
Too many times, its already happened.

          Some people want to rush life. Starting a family is not the most important thing. Being a mom is very tough and you have to make sure you're ready for it. You can't just jump into it because you could be putting the life of the baby at risk. If you aren't ready, how is the baby going to carry on with its life if the person who should be taking care of the baby isn't even ready for the responsibility? You should wait until you are fully matured, responsible and ready. Don't rush anything EVER! Don't try to grow up too fast before you need to. Don't miss out on all the fun experiences you can only have when you're younger. Live your life now because we're only on this earth once. Don't waste your time and appreciate what you have in your life now.

Poem Source: Please Make This One The Last, Teen Pregnancy Poems http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/teen/poetry.asp?poem=23259#ixzz163n1F1VT

Social Awareness: Response to Song/Poem on Social Issues

Silent Scream

By: Walter Muma

Is that him coming?
The creak of a stair
quiet click of the door
soft shuffle on the carpet

Is that him coming?
She stiffens…
the scream torn from her throat by fear
soundless terror ripping through her soul

Is that him coming?
She buries herself within herself
fleeing to escape
running, running, running

Is that him coming?

When I first read this, I cried. It's just that powerful. I would talk about my connection, but that's too personal. 

Anyway, some people may not see this as a social issue, but I will definitely argue that it is. Child abuse. Those two simple words may cost the life of a child. You shouldn't participate in it, and you shouldn't stand for it. I can't stress enough how despicable and wrong child abuse is. Hurting a young child, who can't know any better nor can they even stand up for themselves and put up a fight, is wrong on so many levels. And for what cost? the abusers pleasure? Does it make you happy to know that YOU are the reason that poor child suffers at night? 

"Just because they come off strong, doesn't mean they don't fall asleep crying & even if they act like nothing is wrong, maybe they're just really good at lying." A child cannot know that this isn't right. They don't know any better. All they know is that it hurts and it's wrong, but eventually they'll begin to think its normal and that's not right either. They may even begin to think that they deserve it. That it's their fault and that's not true. It's nobody's fault except for the abuser.

It really hurts to know that people actually do this and it hurts me deep inside. Especially when I hear stories of people in the news of people who witness this, but don't speak up. If you know a child being abused, or suspect that a child is, the least you can do is to try to help by protecting them. So report it at this hotline: (1800) FYI-CALL and help save the life of a child who has yet to develop their own voice. 

Social Awareness: Observations of My Surroundings

1. People stay with their own "kind". At lunch today, I watched as the different cliques walked by and saw that this was mostly true. You hardly ever see a clique of mixed kinds. The cliques include of just rich kids, Hispanic kids, black kids, the "ghetto" kids. They all stay with their own kind and hardly ever intertwine.


2. So I noticed that this world has started to become very materialistic. Maybe it has always been that way, but I'm just starting to see it. There has become a stereotype of what you SHOULD look like even if that doesn't necessarily portray who you are as a person. It's become a matter of showing off what you have or what you're going to get. And people may try to hard to "fit in", whatever that means. School, and life in general, shouldn't be about who has the better watch or shoes, but about who they are on the inside.


3. Then there's the matter of peer pressure. While the school curriculum pretty much stays on the same road, life just outside the M. S. 51 building are changing in my eyes. Why do adults try to sell drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes to kids my age? It is so depressing and it's that kind of stuff that makes me weep for humanity.

Stranded.

I cannot do this on my own,
So I just want to know,
Will you just leave me stranded here?
Will I have no place to go?


I know your life is difficult,
And trust me I would know,
But don't just leave me stranded here,
With no place to go.


You are the light that shines within me,
The reason I stay strong,
But please don't ever abandon me,
I cannot do this on my own.


So let's build life back together again,
One by one,
I will never leave you here,
Stranded here on your own.

*Dedicated to Daisy Flores R. I. P*

Spreading Social Awareness Reflection

People believe that crime arises from poverty. People who don’t exactly have all the neccesities of a well upbringing are more likely to commit crimes or be involved in them. In the Bronx, a young teenager was killed, and no one knows who commited the murder. The area is a very poor one, but her neighbors stated that she was never the kind of girl to go looking for problems and was a good student. 


The fact that she was a teenage girl in high school upsets me because she was killed so young. But what does this say about us New Yorkers? While I live in a great part of the city, others don’t, and instead they are dealing with the possibility of being involved in crimes on a daily basis. I think that the elected officials of that community should try and look for a solution for the crimes committed. If they had been pro-active Luzbenet Ramirez might have still been alive. This opened my eyes to see that a person’s environment could definitely be a huge variable in one’s life, her neighborhood has few security watches and she was living with a couple who wasn’t her family. People have to become more aware of issues like these to prevent future slayings of not only the youth but everyone as well.

Healthcare is another topic that everyone has knowledge about because ever since Obama’s Healthcare reform bill passed, health related topics have been glorified by the media. In the news they state how NY elected officials seek to improve the database for the health records system by making it statewide. Their plan is to have all the records go into an electronic system and thus making it much easier on the patient who might be switching insurance companies.  The NY eHealth Collaborative declares that this system will help cut costs and in general be a useful way to keep records.

I think it’s a great idea because new technology is constantly being developed and by having the health records on the computer its saving a lot of time, money and even paper. Our state only has 40% of health records on computers, we should ask our representatives to vote for this proposal because it will be very beneficial to the people. 

Mother To Son

Life. What a simple word, yet it is probably the most difficult thing known. People have many problems they go through and not necessarily ones they share. Never mistake a smile for happiness. Mother to Son by Langston Hughes is one of the most appreciated poems around for a reason. What can be implied by the title, is that it is a poem about a mother speaking to her son. But as you read further, is that really the case? It can be interpreted in many ways and no single one is solely correct. And that just adds to the poems beauty. 


Life for me ain't been no crystal stair. 
The crystal stair, for what it may or may not be representing, is a perfect life. When I think of crystal, I think of beauty, perfection. Flawlessness. Of course, no one is perfect, thus no life will ever be perfect. But this particular woman's life must have been one of the hardest of all. Her stairs can be described as having: 
Tacks in it, 
And splinters, 
And boards torn up, 
And places with no carpet on the floor- 
Bare. 
She's been through a lot of pain. There have been obstacles which have made her life harder to get on with, making the journey harder. She's had no luxuries to make the climb smoother and less hurtful as carpet can provide. It isn't necessary, but it is a luxury some people are lucky enough to have. Unfortunately, she was not as lucky and she was unable to have these luxuries. She had to deal with life- or her climb up the stairs- for what it really was. And that would include all the pain and misfortune being felt.


I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So, boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps.
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now—
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair. 
The strongest person, will not be the person who works out at the gym 24/7, but the person who keeps going in life. Their motivation, whatever it may be, will keep them going. No matter what life throws at them, they're still going, aiming for that goal. It makes them stronger knowing that they're still going and they aren't giving up and that truly is my inspiration from this poem.


So don't give up. "For I'se still climbin', And life for me ain't been no crystal stair."