It's vexing when you're bothered
Sometimes you succumb to the level or you're unperturbed exacerbate your life, people's comments shouldn't affect you The idea of immigration right now is being negatively impacted, But this country is built off of immigrants. No person is higher than another. Don't be ignorant by people's green cards, it shows success on how they made it out of one place to another. Immigrants are the best, Immigrants show you who you are. We are the people, and let's stick together. Transition from Europe to America wasn't denied, So why is my family's transition to the same place denied? We come to this country hoping for a better life, but all you guys are doing is depriving us. By: Camille Delos (Bard Early College at Harlem Children's Zone Promise Academy)
0 Comments
It's never ok to judge based on who you are
It's never ok to give judgment to the innocent It's never ok to be afraid of your brightness It's ok to want a new life It's ok to flee persecution It's ok to seek advantages As long as it builds you up Continue to do you, New experiences build you up Teaching new lessons, New countries, new environments It shows you things you never see Immigrating, migrating All provides the same teachings New Journeys, Old journeys New World, Old World New You, Old You New me, old me We're all changed for the better By: Camille Delos (Bard Early College at Harlem Children's Zone Promise Academy) When i came i heard it was the land of opportunity
But it seemed to be the land of the ignorant Ignorant to my background Ignorant to my qualities Ignorant to my skill The ground which i was born was actual ground like when your cement is torn I am a activist, a progressive, a helper and a volunteer although i have no choice I do whatever i can to pay the bills, the jobs you say i steal, are you going to be my taxi driver behind the wheel Are you gonna pick the oranges your maid peels But then i heard about other activist and progressives Trying to help people in need Seeding the earth with new ideas I thought well these people may be spared but then i realized, we are the majority And i was the ignorant By: Nazira Cisse (Bard Early College at Harlem Children's Zone Promise Academy) My parents wanted opportunities in America
My parents saw hope in America My parents saw Hamilton in America My parents wanted freedom in America My parents wanted love in America My parents wanted me in America My parents crossed borders and fought discrimination in America My parents found happiness in America But all their feelings are none to compare to the big orange man in the chair in America By: Megan Owusu (Bard Early College at Harlem Children's Zone Promise Academy) My parents ran away from their problems From Montego Bay to NYC Far all the way just to solve them They come this far and still not be free What is so great about NYC You can’t seem to be free The Lady, no the Lady of Statue of Liberty Liberty with no family Dear Parents of mini me I know you didn’t suffer to have me But why NYC The one place not to be You could have increased the population in the suburbs And colonized somewhere else Nevermind, pack your stuff I’m calling an Uber It’s a great place called Willis NYC-Not Your City Let’s move out or you can move in with me Get a house near the sea It is a great view to see My parents are immigrants Who want to live in NYC To escape problems and be free Near the Statue of Liberty By: Shannon Russel (Bard Early College at Harlem Children's Zone Promise Academy)
I miss you, Do you miss me? I know you were forcefully taken from me. But, I want to let you know I love you! I see your face everywhere! Remember when I used to carry you around everywhere, Because whenever I put you down you would begin to cry so, I made sure to put you asleep on my shoulder. And your father gave you a pet pegasus to keep you company. We both miss you and we hope that one day we can see you again!! Your grandmother died because of the amount of depression she had from Missing you so much, she couldn’t take it anymore and she took her own life. We all tried to stop her but she said that she wanted to die for the life of her grandson! HERCULES WE MISS YOU!!
PLEASE COME BACK TO US!! PLEASEEEEEE EEEEEE EEEEE!!! By: Olivia Odigie (Bard Early College at Harlem Children's Zone Promise Academy) My soul was flying high above my body. The smell of freedom and ocean in my nostrils. As a new life drew closer and closer. As my old life began to vanish far behind me. As I was now a new person. I was no longer bound and held down by my past. I no longer had to slave in the sun day in and day out. My new home was in New York. I would live loud and proud in New York. No more living in the shadows in New York. I would move fast and flag cabs. I would no longer wear rags. Rags to Riches. That’s my name. Living in all my fame. Here I am passing the big green lady I began to climb out of the sun, No longer shady Eventhough Agent Orange may be shouting build a wall. I am in charge of my own destiny And I will not fall. By: Jordan Hall (Bard Early College at Harlem Children's Zone Promise Academy) Immigrants Saving their coins Enough coins to travel to America “America” The home of the brave and the land of the free The land where immigrants come in search of something Something they call the “American Dream” A dream I as an American have yet to find They come searching for a better life filled with opportunities Some are forced out of their country Walking an involuntary trail of tears thousands of miles away from their land They are stripped from their nation and forced to adapt to another Immigrants Divided by nation “America” Divided by immigrants “America” A land once vacant Nationalism Divided by nation The fact that “Americans” believe that are better than “immigrants” is far from Beyond my understanding America is a multicultural nation We’re all proud to be “American” Let’s not forget those immigrants too are proud to be from their country Us who define ourselves as “Americans” are not really “Americans” We too come from a different nation We too are “immigrants” We do not originate from “America” The same people you work with or go to school with are immigrants Your friend Willam he’s from Sweden Your friend Amina she’s from Morocco Your boss Wang is from Asia And your great great grandmother? She’s from Brazil Our ancestors sure aren’t from America Even our founding fathers aren’t from America America is not one nation America contains a mixture of people from all 195 countries There are about 7.6 billion people in the world About 323.1 million of those people live in America 43.3 million are legal immigrants plus the 10.9 million illegal immigrants Making that a total of 54.2 million counted immigrants in America So tell me are you sure you’re purely American? By: Mariama Barry(Bard Early College at Harlem Children's Zone Promise Academy) With this tale, as old as time
It begins with a family on a journey With origins as deep as roots of an oak tree It begins with a family on a journey America their destination for success They settled in a cargo ship, cramped, taking action for their dream Fourteen hours of a pattern of rocking, then stopping was a barrier for success A face turned to the sea, and watched the intense moonlight hit the gentle sea Finally they arrived and like a deer, were awe stricken Waiting on a line that took a day to reach the front, was all worth while, when all was said and had been done They assimilated to their neighborhood, where the same deer was stuck They settled in their house, when the sun was down and done Now the face that was looking at the sea is my best friend It seems more friends will follow this trend By: Darius Dorsett (Bard Early College at Harlem Children's Zone Promise Academy) My name means “princess,” at least that’s what my dad always tells me. I never believed him, since Google, along with every word processor out there, thinks that my name is some misspelled version of another word. I always thought of a princess having everything that she could possibly want or having the means to get those things, something that I never thought of having myself. A girl of color who wears the hijab being privileged? It’s unheard of. I couldn’t be a princess when my ‘castle’ was a one bedroom apartment that was missing half my family. There was no princess with divorced parents or an estranged sister. I couldn’t be a princess when I was nothing like one. I never knew what it was like to have anything handed to me, and neither did my immigrant parents. Growing up watching them get through everything, despite all the obstacles in their path, taught me that I could too. My mom had to switch between jobs constantly and paying for bills and housing was really difficult for us. I had to take on more responsibility at a younger age because of all that my parents did already. I was left to form my ambitions on my own because I had no one to help me through that. The closest thing I had were my older siblings, but my sister left when I was 10 and just starting to figure out my passions and my brother was more closed off. I was the one who had to stay home and deal with the ruins that were left behind by what used to be my family. Having to take on such a heavy load caused me to grow up and mature quicker than any child wants to. I never knew what it was like to feel completely treated as an equal. It was hard not being taken as seriously by teachers just because I was a girl. I’ve had multiple incidents where male teachers would encourage male students to take a harder class or take advantage of a certain opportunity, whereas I didn’t have that same type of support even though my performance was as high, if not higher. Those incidents unfortunately hindered me from pushing myself to take harder classes in the past because I simply didn’t think I could. I let things like that hold me back because I didn’t have the confidence in my abilities that I have now. While I needed it before, now I don’t need the approval of someone else and I can push myself on my own. I was also forced to grow accustomed to being treated as lesser than others. I learned to put up with the casual racism, bigotry, and Islamophobia that I encountered in everyday life. It wasn’t uncommon for me to face ridicule from strangers in the streets or to deal with criticism from my own friends. Even as a child, I just was never able to wrap my head around why I wasn’t treated like others. I could never understand why it should matter if my skin was darker than others or if I covered my hair. Those negative experiences shaped me into not only someone who is unapologetically herself, but also someone who knows to be tolerant and accepting of others. In a way, the person who I am today, along with all that I hope to accomplish in the future, stemmed from what I didn’t have growing up and all the challenges that I faced along the way. I became mature because I had to take on more responsibility at a younger age. I became resilient because I had to do things by myself which took more effort than having things handed to you. I want to pursue a STEM-field career, not only because it interests me, but because I have yet to see someone like myself in that field. I want to be a catalyst for change because I grew up feeling so insignificant because I couldn’t do anything to help others. I want to fight for equality because as a female Muslim person of color, I have never experienced it and no one should have to be treated as anything less than human. While I may not have grown up like a princess, I’ve turned what has burdened me the most into my drive to do better. By: Anonymous '18 (BHSEC Queens)
|
Updates Every Sunday
ARCHIVES
May 2022
Categories
All
|