Suicide

Sad to say, we have all in a some manner commited suicide. In no such way do I mean kill a limb, or self inflicting brain damage. Thus from the beginnings of the first image of a television to the mass media of our now idolizing way of living. Individuals have gained the intellect of duplication. What happened to the curiosity of finding one's self? That journey has extended. Ours mouths are silent, but our eyes flash the photographic signal capturing what is not our own. I have had the opportunity to meet this subject, and its gloom. I was stuck in total confinement; locked from myself and the key was thrown out of my reach. Following technicalities; fatal and tragic story. I bled that path; immortal. Depict my smile, does it reek the image of happiness? Questions reappear to who I am, and if I stand outside looking in on the normal, or am I in contrast. Suicide seems so easy...

Talking "White" Huh

Ok, brushing all school things aside. Life gets to you sometimes you know. You want to be that girl to not care about what others say or do, but in all honestly you use every aspect of claiming to not care but you really do. Intelligence seems to be a hidden component to one's self where I stay. If you go over and beyond, you are a know it all, or you are "too good." If you speak a certain way, well, with precise pronunciation and correct grammar, you "talk" white. You know, to my perception, white is a color on a color scheme template in art class.

We are our own stereotypes.

Since that is the case, Rosa Parks "talked" white, Martin Luther King Jr. W.E.B. Dubois, Barack Obama, Alvin Ailey, Duke Ellington, Sheila Jackson Lee, and the many other African-American "talk" white; for that I do not mind my precise pronunciation. I see nothing worthy of speaking as though my mind isn't working, because I know for sure I carry a brain. I know for sure the hundreds of thousands of African-American people living in the United States of America has a brain, so why are the "majority" not accepting intelligence? OH! Is it because it's not cool? You have to portray this image of the ghetto, and you want the cycle to continue, huh? Let the races begin, let's see how fast our mind capacity disintegrates then we would not have to worry about fitting in. We can all live roughly in the torn streets with violence, uneducated people while the other races look down upon us.

Sorry, I'm not with that though. So we need to work on some simple steps, they are rather easy:

• Think!
• Lead!
• Make a "positive" change no matter how small!

I'm not going to portray myself of not making mistakes, following, or conforming because we all as human beings have to learn from our mistakes. You see, what if "talking black," was the educated way of speaking, not the "ignorant" way we see it. In due time we can change the outlook on that. We are not ignorant people, so let's stop feeding each other this NONSENSE! My name is Bevin Biggers, I am an African-American girl from Houston,Tx, and I am proud to speak in precise pronunciation. I announce my significant intelligence! You should too =)

What's happening to us seriously?

I am currently a student at Willowridge H.S., and let me tell you the priorities are all mixed up. The focal point here are the band, football/basketball team, and the dancers. I'm sickened by the fact that some people in the school, who have been attending the school two years plus, didn't know we had photography or debate. No one goes to the school plays and no one reads the newspapers. A teacher at the school recieved information about Yale University, where the school was having a meeting & wanted minorities, and he got the information approved. No one announced it on the announcements. Don't you think that would have been beneficial for a student? Where is the college prep? It shouldn't be only available for the AVID students, but for all the students. Diversity is an issue. Everyone is conforming to their own groups, and worrying about the wrong things.

Our community in itself is in bad shape, we need to change the way we think.We need to become stronger, and change the mindset of those stereotypes who look down upon us.

So I had a plan to create a production/ documentary for the school that would grasp my fellow students attention. Here was my plan:

"The central goal of conducting this production is to reach into students with the goals of elders, thus, from a student’s perspective. Lets create learning experiences that last. This would build a vibe of my fellow peers to express themselves with enjoyment, and influence them to start the school year off with a “BOOM.” Touching on some subjects as getting to class on time, preparing for the TAKS, anti-drama related issues, and other subjects inspire to better themselves. So in simple terms, this is a production for the beginning of the school year to inspire the students to make it the best “positive” year at Willowridge High School.

To me I think that students would learn different ideas better in the areas or disciplines where their abilities lie. “The key for teachers, and for students, is to find that "sweet spot," where learning is the wonderful challenge that inspires us to do more than simply make sauce the same way we've always made it.”( Fariss Samarrai). Incorporating music, their verbal opinion, and basic skills that the administrators and teachers try to instill are good ways of bringing in the students in a positive way. Producing many segments of interviews from the students, and their feelings on High School life will help us better understand how the “students” feel. Many students, though we see their actions as behavior issues, they are simply acts of saying, “please keep me productive, give me something in my interest.” I thoroughly understand that we have programs in the school, from the football team, wings, band, DECA, etc., but I feel as though we can reach further. We as a school can emphasize more on versatility that is contrasting to the common athletic sense. Expand on the fine arts department, and produce more creative activities that could cater to a vast majority of the students. Economically, of course, I am well aware of our budgets, but if it is in favor of creating a more productive high school, I am willing to start whatever I have to to help keep this idea intact. I care for the students on a basis of how they feel, and what I could do as a fellow student to help find the product that is causing this bothersome issue. From this production, you can look into the eyes of the “Willowridge” students, not documentaries from HBO or any other broadcasting show, but directly where we spend the majority of our interaction at. I am hoping this is something you feel as though is beneficial, and also I would hope that this is an idea that would grab the students attention. We need a different kind of change, and this would be the start of a more productive future."

We need that extra boost, we deserve it!

-Bevin Biggers