I made one of the posters for my group. I thought that it was hard to do because I wanted to find pictures that people could relate to, but also make it a little humorous. I found a picture of people pushing each other to get on the bus. It was a picture many people could relate to so I went with that one. I also wanted a good slogan to catch peoples attention. I always see the sign on the SEPTA that says please no eating, drinking or smoking. Underneath those words were it’s common courtesy and It’s the law. I copied that for my poster because everyone knows that sign. Matthew and April made a QR code for me to put on the poster, so that people can use their phones to get to our website.

After finishing my poster I printed them and posted them onto every SEPTA stop that I could . I gave some to my aunt because she works at King of Prussia. She posted the posters near the bus stop. I thought that would be a very good place for them to be because King of Prussia is very popular, and many people catch the bus to get there.

The most struggling part was getting people to view our website. I posted the posters around, but the next day it was raining. I think that many of the posters were ruined and that messed up how many views we could have gotten on our website. 

This website is the mayor addressing the people in Philadelphia about the flash mobs that have been happening in recently. He talks to parents about controlling their children, and trying to keep the city as peaceful as possible. Everyone must work together for it to work.

White, Taesha M. "How Do You Help Teens." Personal interview. 14 Feb. 2013.

I interviewed my sister Taesha. She has been in city programs since she was 14 and has been working with teenagers ever since. She gave me a very detailed interview of what it like to wrk with teenagers. 

Socolar, Paul. District On-Time Graduation Rate Surpasses 60 Percent. Philadelphia Neighborhoods: The Notebook, February 2012. 

This website shows a graph of the graduation rate of city from the years of 2002-2011. Most of the graphs shows a increase of people graduating in Philadelphia. The city has a goal to get an increase of students graduating between 4-6 years to 80% by 2014. What the city is doing to get their students to graduate on time is working.

Kefalas, Jason. Philadelphia Youth Solutions Project, Saint Joseph’s University: pysp.org 2011. 

This website gives a bunch of information about teen violence and how they help teenagers. It shows statistics and gives information on the most type of violence that happen in the city. I wanted to find a source that helped teenagers in philadelphia and explained in details how they do it. This helps support my interview that I gave by showing that there are places for teens to get help. 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Youth’s Violence: State Statistics, Atlanta Georgia: cdc.gov 13 May 2011.

http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/youthviolence/stats_at-a_glance/PA.html

This website is the other website with graph. it shows homicide rates for mean and women between the ages of 10-24. One of the graphs that shows ethnicity proves that minorities/ blacks are the main reason for all of these homicides in Philly. 

Mercedes Keese

1. ¿ Como te llamas?

Me nombre Mercedes Keese.

2. ¿Cuánto anos tienes?

Yo soy viente ocho anos.

3. ¿Qué universidad tú fuiste?

Yo fue universidad de Columbia.

4. ¿Qué anos tu graduarse?

Me gradué en el dos mil catorce.

5. ¿Cual es su asignatura de especialización?

Me especialicé en biología.

6. ¿Qué puede tú dar a la hospital?

Yo soy dedicado a mi trabajo y un a trabajador.

7. ¿De donde tu trabaja?

Yo trabajado en la universidad. Yo dijo los nuevos estudiantes  sobre la universidad. Yo también Ayudé a la universidad de Pennsylvania y Thomas Jefferson Hospital. 

8. ¿Por qué tú quiere ser un neurocirujano?

Quiero salvar vidas.

9. ¿Qué harías tú si perdido a un paciente?

Yo haría encontrar lo que hice mal y arregarlo.

10. ¿ Por qué quieres trabajar aquí?

Es un buen hospital.

11. ¿ Por qué debería contratarte a tú?

Yo soy dedicado y me gusta la oportunidad.

12. ¿ Cuál fue su trabajo anterior?

Yo fui un asistente de nodriza.

13. ¿ Por qué quiere dejar su trabajo?

No es lo que quiero.

Gracias

Peer Editing

Markietra Keese

January 4,2012

Language Autobiography

I am What I Am Because….

“Hey. How was ya day?”

“It was fine mom.”

“What you do?”

“Nothin’.”

“Nothin? How come you never do nothin? Make sure you clean up after that dog, I been watchin ‘em all day.”

“I don’t know I jus don’t. And okay.”

The conversations with my parents are very chill. I do not use slang around them but it is still like having a normal conversation. I was raised to respect my elders, and to keep whatever I learned in the streets out in the streets, which is the reason why I don’t use slang around them. That is what I have always done. I separated my family, friends, and business.

My family is from the south so we use y’all a lot. My parents’ language was never the best either, so I don’t have to try to be proper. I think that it is actually easier to talk with my parents more than friends and siblings anyway. I don’t have to worry about the slang or the cursing, so sometimes it is easier to get my point across.

With my brothers and sisters it’s also pretty chill talking to them to, but it gets really hard trying not to curse in front of them, since most of the time they do stuff to make me want to curse. But I’m not stupid enough to do it because I know that they would snitch on me in a second. Around them I learned to keep my comments to myself, and just say my smart remarks out loud. It pisses them off sometimes but they can’t say that there not funny.

Talking to my friends is completely different. “ Hey girl!”

“Hey boo! What you doin?”

“Oh my God, let me tell you with this n***a said to me.”

“What he say?” “Look at this text message.”

“Oop no the f**k he didn’t, n***a bout to get murked. And what chu say?” “Here girl read it.”

“ Yes! You let him know because….”

         When my friends and I are together they bring out my crazy, funny side. Our conversations are hilarious, but we use a lot of profanity and slang. I personally do not use as much slang, but I still have to know what it means, or I will start to feel out of place. Even if it is my first time hearing it if I don’t know what it means I always ask some that won’t laugh at me.

The way my friends and me talk might be confusing for someone that has not been around us that long, just because we don’t always talk. You have to know our signals. Our facial expressions will say it all. We can have a whole conversation without even talking and just by making sounds and giving facials expressions.

I still know how to keep that side of me away from the side that I only show parents. I don’t think my parents would like to see how I act when they’re not around. I do not change myself I just show different sides of myself.

My business/ serious personality is also a main part of my language. Around teachers I have to be respectful because that is what I have always been taught. I keep that same side showing for my boss even though she has known me for years and knows how I act; I still have to keep it professional. I would never use slang, and will always pronounce things correctly and annunciate my words.

Your language is your identity. How you talk makes you who you are. My language is in categories from how I talk to my parents and siblings to how I talk to my friends and bosses. You always need different sides of yourself, because that is what makes you. In the book Borderlands/ La Montera by Giona Anzaldúa says a quote about language being your own identity. “What recourse is there but to create their own language? A language which they can connect their own identity…” p.77.

For centuries people have created their own language to communicate. That is what makes an identity. Slang is like a language created by people to communicate with each other. It’s something that people can choose to use if they want and something that is picked up on. My language is my own identity. It is how I talk to certain people and makes me who I am. 

We did our usual routine. I wake her up, she fusses, and eventually gets dressed, while I make breakfast…. well, cereal. As I walked down the hallway I made sure I locked the apartment, we don’t have much but the last thing I need is to have whatever we got left taken from us. We made our way down the dark hallway, with that one flickering light that can go out at any moment, and on our way to the elevator. Once we got down to the first floor, I wave to Mrs. Brown our landlord, and walked Amya to her bus stop. But this time the bus wasn’t there. I looked at my watch my dad got me the day before he got arrested. It said 7 am so where is this bus, because I really gotta get to school. If I’m late one more day that’s my ass. I can’t afford to repeat a grade, at least not tenth grade. I mean my teachers have been trying to help since they know my situation, but there’s only so much they can do.  I looked down the street. There was nothing but street lights and broke down houses. No one was out which is the usual around here. People only come out at night to sell drugs and stuff. I'm safe in my neighborhood though. I kind of have street cred around here since my dad was a drug dealer. Everyone that sells drugs around here works for my dad… well use to. Her bus finally came giving me just enough time to get to school.

I got to school just in time to get to my locker and get my books for history. Just as I shut my locker I felt someone tap me on my shoulder. I turned around and I saw her. Naomi the most beautiful girl in this school, but why was she talking to me. “ Hey Daemon.” I looked at her surprised she even knew my name. I mean I wasn’t a loser, I knew people, I had friends and was surprisingly popular considering the fact that I never had new clothes so I guess it was my personality. “ Umm... Hey Naomi. Wassup?” I finally said, I started wondering how I sounded. “ So I just wanted to know….” She said in a very sexy voice but my phone started ringing. My phone never rings unless it has something to do with Amya. I answered it. “ Hello Daemon?” some lady said. “Yeah this is me” I said I was getting annoyed. “Okay I was calling to tell you about your sister, Amya.” The lady said. She had a calm voice  so I didn’t think it was anything serious. “Yeah what’s wrong with her?” I said confused. “Well she has a very high fever and she’s very nauseous, is there anyway that someone can pick her up?” At that moment all I could do was look at Naomi. The one chance that she will ever talk to me slipped out of my hands, but it was my sister. This was something I knew I had to give up to give my sister that perfect brother. The big brother that will always be there for her and never leave her.

September 14,2011

Essay

“I do not have a band- aid for that size of a cut.”

That is what my second grade teacher told me. I was a curious seven year old, especially that day. We were reading a book, but I do not remember the name, and I kept rubbing my pinkie finger on one page of the book. I knew I was going to get a paper cut, but I for some reason I wanted to see it happen. My prediction was right and I ended up with a paper cut. I slowly turned my head, looked at my teacher, got up from my chair and slowly walked to her desk. I remember the wooden floors squeaking since the building was at least  one hundred years old.

“Can I have a band-aid?”

“Why?”

“ I have a paper cut.”

“ I do not have a band-aid for that size of a cut.”

That was our conversation. Since I was only seven, I did not really know what to do but believe it so I did. It was not until I saw her favoritism that she had for one of her students. It took me a while to figure out that she really did like one of her students more than she liked the rest of us. Her name was Megan, I think. She barely hurt herself, and did not have a scare or a bruise or anything at all to show for it. It was the same day I got my paper cut. Even though she was barely hurt it did not stop my teacher from giving her a band-aid, a band-aid that was supposed to be mine. Since then, eight years ago, I learned that the world was unfair. It is not about how hard you work but the established relationship you have made with that person.

I experienced that a lot in my life so far, and I know that I am going to experience a lot more. Most of it happened in my schools. The only time I did not mind it was when I was in the fifth grade, and that was because I was the favorite student. Now I am not going to lie, it felt kind of good. I am lying it felt very good. I am not sure when I became her favorite but it felt like I could do whatever I wanted, well almost whatever I wanted. I do not know how I became her favorite and I never questioned it until now. I was not a teacher’s pet, I was more on the quiet side, minded my own business, and did not start any trouble with anyone unless they started with me first. That is probably why she liked me. Whatever the reason was, I got good grades, but that was only because I deserved them.

I also realized the favoritism outside of school, and in personal lives like friendship and relationship wise. Everyone has a best friend, and if you are a little more social than others you may have a handful. Even if you have a handful of friends that you can call your best friend, you will always have that gets a little bit more favoritism. Even if you only give them a little bit more detail about something that happened to you or you hang out with them more, they are still your favorite best friend. This same thing applies to relationships. Long lasting relationships last long for a reason, and everyone has one relationship that was better than the others.

Favoritism can be both good and bad. Of course if it benefits you than it can be a good thing but also is unfair, and when it does not, than that is a whole different story. Sometimes it is not that big of a deal and there is no point in talking about it, and other times, it can affect your whole life.