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Student’s Writings

FAILURE-SUCCESS…The students were challenged to consider the interaction of these two fundamental realities of life. JASON…makes the case for resilience and determination, with a bit of help from hip-hop’s Kendrick Lamar and history’s Kunta Kinte. You Fail What is success without failure? It’s like saying you can’t feel pleasure without pain. Most of your improvement is done through failure. When you fail, you might think you’ll never succeed. But If you give up then, you won’t ever succeed… not because you're not trying but because you gave up. The worst thing you can do is give up.  How does success feel? How much failure have you endured to come to success? Hold on to those feelings next time you feel like giving up and use your resources to help you. It doesn’t have to be a person but you should have someone to confide in. Don’t blame your failures on others or put your procrastination on something else.  Six hundred thousand people commit suicide every year, that is what giving up is. In some ways, committing suicide might seem better than doing nothing and having no purpose in life. That's not a life at all. That is not a life worth living. There are probably billions of failure * success stories out there, get inspired and try to do something with your life. Turn your meaninglessness to meaningfulness. You might not know what to do and you don’t have to, just do something, move forward, never give up. Do something until you find your meaning. Find some time, find some time...

FAILURE-SUCCESS…The students were challenged to consider the interaction of these two fundamental realities of life. KARLA…grabs our attention with her opening line, before acknowledging mistakes she regrets but refuses to be taken down by. Failure  I’m one failure away from ruining my life. I mean, I’m about to start doing crack and live on the lonely, dirty streets of Baltimore. I’ll be honest, I don’t know where to start. I thought about it yesterday for a very, very long time and I still don’t really know how to articulate how I feel. I feel like I’m being held hostage by this invisible force that has deprived me from oxygen and is causing me to roll around as if I’m a roach on its back trying to get back on its feet.  I’m kind of still trying to figure out how to say something, without saying anything at all. It’s actually the most difficult thing to do. I’ve been trying to not make my past mistakes happen again. I’m trying really hard to be able to live with them, but there is nothing more difficult than forgiving yourself for past mistakes. It’s even harder to do that if you didn’t hurt just one person, but many.  Now I feel like I’m actively hurting the people around me. It’s a crazy, almost unreal experience to be scared of yourself and your actions. I’m trying really hard to be careful with my words telling you this. I don’t want people to read or hear this story and have pity, I just want people...

FAILURE-SUCCESS…The students were challenged to consider the interaction of these two fundamental realities of life. KHORI…uses her very mixed feelings over the loss of a special family member to remind us all that in order to help others you must first be able to help yourself. Failure*Success  The definition of failure is the lack of success. Throughout my life I’ve experienced many different forms of failure. I’ve always been the type of person who believed that everyone can change, even when they fail. I thought I was a prime example. If I can fail and keep trying, then surely everyone can, right?  No, I was wrong.  Last year I was a freshman, and I’m sure everyone knows that, when you’re a freshman, you have to show an enormous amount of perseverance.  I expected everyone around me to show the same amount of perseverance ,and this unfortunately led to my demise.  I had a family member that passed away from drug use last year,and I felt the failure she inflicted on herself ,and the rest of the family.  As a kid, I would often see her in a lot of pain. Pain from losing her closest family members from old age ,and  pain from her own failure to stop using drugs. I remember always being in her room, and asking her questions of what she used to be like, how she used to act, and all of her regrets. It’s still hard for me to acknowledge the fact that she’s actually gone.   During her funeral, I was so angry that she...

BLINDSPOT…The students were tasked to imagine themselves sitting on a park bench, waiting for a friend, when a blind person suddenly appears and asks the student, “What do you see?” JUDAH…deploys “a Karen” to remind us just how blind humanity can be. Blindspot One summer day this lady, (will call her Karen to paint a picture in your head). Anyway, Karen went out to go meet one of her friends at a park. When she got there, her friend was a bit late. They were supposed to meet at 2:30 but her friend wasn’t there and it was 0.5 seconds after 2:30. As Karen's name suggests, this behavior was unacceptable, so she went to sit on a bench and she sent her friend a long email complaining about how late they were.  I can’t read the email out loud just because it has extremely colorful language not suitable for a school setting. Anyway, 0.02 milliseconds after this long email she was still sitting on a bench when she noticed this blind black dude who looked to be in his late 20s who had dark black sunglasses. The man was holding an ice cream and walking in her direction and she felt unsafe. Karen felt so scared that she gripped her purse so hard that her fake tan lotion started to melt under her sweaty hand. All of a sudden she noticed that one of the white couples in the park got into a fight and the husband started to get physical. Karen thought this was hilarious. What could the...

The students were tasked to imagine themselves sitting on a park bench, waiting for a friend, when a blind person suddenly appears and asks the student, “What do you see?” JORDAN…starts to answer the question with her eyes, but soon finds herself tapping into the deeper well of her mind and heart. Blindspot Today I decided to go to a park with a friend. It doesn’t matter what park I go to, nor which friend I go with. I just feel like using the swingset the whole time instead of letting a little kid get on. They can cry to their parents all they want, I refuse to move. Anyway, I sat on a random bench in the park closest to my house. I kicked several rocks that were in front of me while I waited for my friend. Suddenly, I hear movement beside me. Turns out somebody sat down on the other side of the bench. I felt a little upset that somebody sat on my bench, until I looked up. The person sitting next to me was blind. They had a white cane with a red stripe, and dark glasses. It was quiet between the two of us for a moment. Then, they asked me a question out of nowhere. “What do you see?” I was confused as to why they asked me that question. I didn’t have anything else to do, so I answered. I told them about the trees swaying in the wind, the chirping of birds, and the countless kids running around. I thought I...

The students were presented with the challenge of coming upon a person perched on the ledge of a tall building in beautiful Los Angeles. MOHAMED…learns to appreciate a home filled with arguments and stress as opposed to one filled with silence. Man on the Ledge On the roof of the building I saw how endless Los Angeles looked. The city was full of light and noise, but on the roof it was quiet. I wanted some fresh air away from the weight of everything, from the arguments I had with my mom that kept getting me irritated and stressed. That’s when I saw him. A man sat on the edge of the building, his feet hanging over like he might slip. At first I thought he was just up there to think, but the way he stared out into nothing told me something was wrong. I hesitated before speaking, then asked, “Hey… are you okay?” He turned slowly, and I could see the sadness and exhaustion in his face, like he hadn’t slept in days. “ My family is gone” he said, with his voice low but steady. “ ICE came while I was at work. Took my parents and my sisters. Left me with nothing but a note on the table. They’re being sent back, but I was born here. I’m the only one who gets to stay.” The words hit me harder than I expected. I didn’t know, but in the moment it felt like the whole weight of his life was pushing on my chest. I stepped closer, careful...

The students were presented with the challenge of coming upon a person perched on the ledge of a tall building in beautiful Los Angeles. KENNEDY…channels the plight of a world-weary night watchman to deal with the crisis. Man on the Ledge I’m so glad I’m almost finished with my nightshift, being an overnight security guard is NOT for the weak. This month alone has made me reconsider my job. I've had things thrown at me, people screaming in my face, someone making direct eye contact with me while using the sidewalk as their urinal, the usual. I do one final sweep in front of the building before I head back to the break room. Just as I’m about to head back inside, a woman frantically runs up to me. (Madisyn): Sir- sir! PLEASE! I’m NOT in the mood for this, I try to side step her but she rushes to the door. Kennedy: Ma’am I’m gonna need you to back up from the door, mkay? Before I have to (Madisyn): Please! I saw a man on the roof- I think he’s gonna jump off! Kennedy: Mkay so, ma’am- no one has entered this building- alrighty? No one gets past me, NO ONE.  (Madisyn): Can you please just check, I saw him dangling off! In my mind I have ‘probable’ cause to tase this woman, but I’ve already gotten a few warnings this month for using ‘unethical’ force on civilians- whatever that means. And something tells me if there really is a man on the roof, and he just so happens to be embodying a bird,...

The students were presented with the challenge of coming upon a person perched on the ledge of a tall building in beautiful Los Angeles. MADISYN…is drawn into the ethereal presence of a man she once knew. Man on The Ledge I walk up on the terrace to see a man on the ledge. I didn’t expect anyone to be out there around this time of the night, especially not on the ledge. The air was cold and windy. The breeze was strong. I wondered if the stranger could feel it too. I walked over, keeping my distance. The man turned slightly, noticing my presence, but said nothing.  I sit along the ledge with the man. I looked down and I felt an adrenaline rush, not from the fear of falling but what might happen if I did. I looked over at the man again and his face was obscured. I couldn't tell if it was the angle but the man didn’t seem to have a face, not one that was visible to the naked eye.   Something about his presence was so familiar and nostalgic. He said, “ you know me.” His voice sounded mangled or somewhat muzzled but I felt what he said was true. I did know him. He spoke again. “You shouldn't be up here.” Then silence. I felt the eyes of the stranger on me for the first time. It was like he could see into my soul and possibly what my true intentions were. It made me feel uneasy.   I was reluctant to look back at the...

The students were tasked to craft a story about a famous threesome, be they historical, whimsical, or from the kitchen cabinet. RYLEE…thoughtfully applies the functional properties of the knife, fork and spoon to her own development as an individual   Poking, cutting, and scooping, are all things that a fork, a knife, and a spoon are capable of. All of these are things I try to carry with me. There are appropriate times to use these utensils. Then there will be a great meal and you will have all of these utensils to use together. Poking the surface. For me to get to where I want to get in life, I have to at least poke the surface.I have to at least make some effort, I have to make a breakthrough. Of course, if I just stare at my food, it will never get to my mouth. If I don’t  make the effort.Then I’ll always be hungry for success. So I stick my fork in my food, and I poke the surface. Cutting the surface. My fork has made holes in my food, so therefore I've broken the surface apart. Now I just need to go deeper. I need to make more efforts to get the food to my mouth. I need to make a bigger hole so I can scoop my food. A doorway to success. Scooping in and taking a chunk out. I have a doorway to success. All I have to do is reach in and use the potential that the spoon holds. Entering myself in the doorway...

The students were tasked to craft a story about a famous threesome, be they historical, whimsical, or from the kitchen cabinet. DANNY…delivers a master class on the most brilliant generals of all time There are a lot of threesomes, trifectas, trios that are interesting. Boy oh boy, where do I even begin? The big three FromSoftware (videogame company) games, Elden Ring, Bloodborne, and Sekiro, are notable. The big three Greco-Roman gods, Zeus/Jupiter, Poseidon/Neptune, and Hades/Pluto. There are the big three chess players: Kasparov, Carlsen, and Fischer. There are the big three masterminds of psychological anime: Light Yagami, Johan Liebert, and Lelouch vi Britannia. There are the big three classical philosophers–Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. There are the big three physicists– Newton, Einstein, and Maxwell. There’s the big three of Mathematics– Pythagoras, Euler, and Gauss. I could go on for at least 30 minutes about all of the greats, but there’s a specific big three that are most flashy and historically significant. I’ll speak on the most powerful and tactically brilliant generals of all time, which are pretty much undisputed, except for a few other guys. Some people would throw Hannibal Barca or Scipio Africanus on the list, some would argue for Frederick the Great, and some would say Khalid Ibn al-Walid...