Blog post #4

Rejection

Responsibility is shown and defined in daily ways at my age. Perhaps one way most teens can relate to this would be bullying or regular high school drama. Let's set up a similar scenario to what occurs in a typical 2013 high school. A girl, Becky, says some harsh things about one of her classmates, Susie, on a social media website. One of their other classmates, Jackie, sees it and tells the girl. Susie goes to confront Becky and decides to use harsh words and violence. Both Becky and Susie get expelled. Does Jackie have any responsibility in this? All she did was make Susie aware of what was being said, right? Wrong. I feel that Jackie would be just as responsible because if she would have not told, it would have not escalated. But also, Becky is responsible because of what she said. The responsibility of ones self has to come from the fear of convictions. If someone does something they know is not right, they should take responsibility for it and not let other people get blamed.

Projects..

When I become presented with an important project, personal or academic, I always find a way to complete the project to the best of my ability. Last summer I was a "Rising Star"/ intern at Mercy Regional. It was a responsibility and a project for me to be able to wake up every day at 6 a.m. during my summer break, sit through meetings, get along with my co-workers, take notes, and watch surgeries. Since I was so young and oblivious to all of this, it took me a little while to get a fully comprehend certain things that happen within the hospital. One specific project within this internship was to broadcast Mercy's breast cancer survivors in a “dance-off”, hospital vs. hospital. They assigned it to us and we did it to the best of our ability. The Rising Stars had to go to Crushers stadium and get the whole audience to do a routine dance. Some of the most difficult aspects of this event would have to be; getting money to make all of this happen, passing out information, and getting everybody enthused about it. The result of this project was making our cancer survivors realize that they are not alone, and the hospital they got treated at is and will always be behind them 100%. I believe it helped a lot of women to realize that Mercy is not just a business, but a family. It helped the community spotlight and recognize people who have been through so much. Overall, to me anything that helps liberate others is worth all of my time and dedication.

People have explored what they believe is the unknown since the beginning of time. People have not only discovered the unknown from visiting places, but from experimenting certain things relating to technology. From Christopher Columbus to Bill Gates you can see how many years of incoming discoveries there have been and are left. I personally would not devote my whole life to something that I am not %90 sure about and have faith in. I would have to make sure whatever I was spending my life on is valuable and not a waste of my time. Individual’s become devoted to this type of work because they find a topic/concept that interest them, come up with an approach to it, and then embark on it with all the faith they have. Quite exceptional things have came out of these explorations and I suppose horrid things have became of them as well.

In the course of being exposed to the experiences of high school I have faced many struggles and accomplishments that have led me to set goals and aspirations for myself.  Even though it seemed like I was going to be stuck in a rough place for the rest of my life, I somehow managed to pull myself out, redirect my focus, and push through. As I began noticing that MY future is in MY hands, it has led me to set goals and aspirations that will be achieved with a little effort and of course struggle.

A wise person once said, “A struggle is pointless if you do not learn/grow from it.” A few of my struggles are personal, some are general, and some are only things Moriah Ballard could understand! One of my first ever struggles were going to Amherst schools from 2^nd grade-8^th. This was hard because I was obviously the minority and no one had any interest in accepting me. I will never forget two main things that changed everything about me. One of the incidents happened in 5^th grade at Nord Elementary School. One of my peers decided I should not speak my mind for whatever reason and took it upon his self to spit in my hair. That did not take as much of an emotional toll on me as the fact that I told my principal and there was no action taken. Even though I was mind blown, I realized it was only an opportunity to build my character.

Accomplishments throughout my high-school careers are scares because I am still an underclassman, but still there. One in particular was and is maintaining an appropriate GPA in order to stay in Early College High School. This requires me to turn in assignments on time, come to school, and participate even when I do not want to. It was definitely an accomplishment to not be cut and still be included in such a great program. This was also a struggle to continue, but I am.

All my life I have had aspirations. My first one was probably to be married, like every young girls is. But now since I am older, my aspirations have been thought over and better planned. So today, my aspiration is to graduate high school and attend Spelman College, graduate from there with my Bachelors degree and then go to University of Kentucky and get my doctrine. I have such a desire and passion to be successful. I will go to college and get straight A’s and come out in the top 10% of my class.

All of my struggles have turned me into this creation that I am now. They have brought phenomenal characterizations out of me that I had no idea were inside. Some people do not see how far I have come in this process called life. But I tell whoever thinks that to take a walk in my shoes, and you may get a glimpse of what I deal with.

 

Many people do not realize that they are participating in new thing called "cyber bullying". Most teenagers just get into an argument with an enemy/foe and then insult the person. This is NOT cyber bullying. Cyber bullying in my eye means that the bully preys on one person, and continually does it until they force a reaction. 

But, for the teenagers who actually do cyber-bully, I believe they do this because face to face confrontation is always harder and not as humiliating. Also there is an element of anonymity on the internet which results in a delusion that there is no way that they will be found out. If I witness an innocent person getting bullied, I probably would not physically get involved (It is the 21st century, people are crazy!). But, I would definitely try to talk some common sense into the person.

Picture

It is NEVER okay to take other peoples belongings! At all. Not only is it unethical to take "STEAL" someone’s property, it is depriving ones humane, hard-earned assets. Especially in such poverty struck area such as Africa. The things people have ownership over mean so much more when you work most of your life for it! Most women in Africa have to be the head of the family. Things such a working, cleaning, providing and raising youth is a 24/7 job! In my eyes, they never catch a break! The image this picture put in my head made me judge this family's whole life. They look like they are just coming home from school or work to see their home about to be demolished! They look as if they do not have pantries running over, or a full stocked Kenmore fridge! It looks like they have always been struggling to make ends meet; now they have to start from scratch. All because someone wants to be a bully! It is intolerable.

In my generation, people don't often find anyone, friend or stranger, who will lay their life down for them. If anyone ever comes in contact with someone of that much generosity it would be a surprise to the whole entire world! In most tragedies a humans body tends to go into a fight or flight reaction meaning a human will either stay until everything is okay, or the will leave as quickly as possible. Humans who usually go into that form of a reaction will save themselves first, based on their gut-feeling. Other people who tend to strategically plan things out will put their lives in harm’s way for others, because it is the right thing to do. Someone who may risk their life may realize that they should, in a sense, "pay it forward". Me, personally? I'd save the lives of others. I feel like if God out me in a situation to help his children, I would do it to the best of my abilities.

Carrie Walls

Carrie Walls is more than an idol to me. She is someone who I would want to have similar traits to. Carrie Walls was one of the first graduates of a new HBCU, Spelman College, which is my dream college. Like many students, Carrie Walls came to Spelman from Columbus, Georgia. Carrie graduated with the highest honors in her class from the high school-level program at Spelman in 1888.  She had seven children. Two of their sons attended Morehouse in Atlanta. Carrie herself maintained strong ties with Spelman, making regular donations. She especially enjoyed receiving the annual presidential letter that provided an update to alumnae. In the 1934, she wrote to then-president Florence Read: "Please keep sending me the letters [about events there] as long as I live." Carrie died in Cleveland in December of 1935. If I were to meet Ms. Walls, I would probably invite her to come on Spelmans campus. I would walk with her, take her on a tour and hope that she would share some of her knowledge and secrets with me. Being in her presence and having an in-depth conversation with her would be pure gold to me.

Christmas

One event that I did over Christmas break was visit my Godparents in Winter Garden, Florida. During my five day vacation, we did everything anyone could possibly think of to make a teenager excited! The weather everyday was always above 60 degrees, no humidity, and clear skies. Even the air smells differently than Ohio's! It is such a great spiritual feeling to be there, it is almost magic! This break, I got the pleasure of helping my Godmother prepare for her annual Christmas Party! She invited all her friends and family to enjoy the night with her! There were games, food, and music that everyone loved! The day after that, she took me to Universal Studios. Even though it was a little cold, we rode every ride in the whole park. We also enjoyed a parade and some expensive food. My Godparents are like my best friends ever! They are always the highlight of my winter break and I never want to leave!