Self Assessment

This is the end my friends, and of course a self assessment is due. I feel this course has really changed my view of African heritage.  I have learned a vast amount in the last couple of months, and I am very grateful for all the speakers we've had.  This has been a great start to my journey here at Howard University. If all the classes are as good as this seminar, then I believe I have made the right decision on attending here at Howard. I also met a lot of smart and interesting people in this class that greatly improved my own learning abilities. This information I’ve learned will travel with me for the rest of my life.  It has been a real pleasure to discuss the various aspects that makes us as a people who we really are.  I would like to thank you again, Freshman Seminar.

The Group Shabam

Our group presentation responded the question, "How have artists in the hip-hop community influenced and promoted education in under-privileged communities in order to combat poverty?" The presentation gives examples of several well-known artists in the hip-hop community who have used their careers to influence and inspire education. A range from rap artist Tupac to R&B star John Legend provides for a broad spectrum of the hip-hop community's influence. The group includes research in the introduction, which provides for an explanation to connect the significance of education to deterring the cycle of poverty.

My First HU Homecoming

One word to describe my first Howard Homecoming: Monumental

The Howard Homecoming festivities were monumental. Every event was huge. Coming into Howard University, I had no idea what to expect. I had always heard statements such as "The #1 Homecoming in the Nation", and " A celebration like no other". However, I am not surprised. I could tell that I was in for a treat once I experienced how LIVE the Midnight Madness Event was. Seeing practically our entire school together in Burr Gymnasium was great! I loved seeing all of the different organizations, especially mine which were the Gentlemen of Drew Social Club and the Freshman Leadership Academy. Luckily, they were in the same section together.

The highlight of Homecoming for me was winning the football game. I am a huge football, so seeing our team win was great to me. I think that the new coach and new players have done a great job this year in defeating big competitors in the MEAC. I know that our team only won one game last season, so just knowing that our class has turned Howard around for the better is the greatest feeling ever. I am not only speaking in regard to football. I am speaking about the positive impact of our class as a whole. I wish our class the best in regard to having a high retention rate moving into our next semester and year.

Howard University Homecoming Blog Post

This past week was homecoming week, and yet I was unable to attend 90% of it. Mostly this week I have been focused on tons of tests and essays.  So besides the daily dinner break, there has been no homecoming for me.  Essentially I guess there are no complaints since I am in fact a student first, and a playboy second.  I have heard that there were many entertainers here on campus such as Young Jeezy, and Wale.  There has been many people from all over the world flooding the campus lately, and its pretty cool knowing that so many people love Howard this much.

All in all there were many festivities such as the talent show, step show, and poetry cipher among other events.  Next year hopefully I will be able to set enough time to actually enjoy these events as opposed to only hearing about them from my colleagues.

Our Time To Shine

Well it's been 2 months and 4 days since I've seen the Beautiful West Coast in my home of California. In this small amount of time, I have accomplished so much and love the atmosphere of Washington, DC. It's crazy to think that I almost went to Morehouse. I can honestly call this place my second Home.

Alas, the time has finally come. My first Howard University Homecoming Week. I have heard so much about this being the best homecoming in the Nation! I hope that is Truly the case. I can't wait to experience this. I hope the Class of 2015 has an amazing time. This is our time to shine. I am also proud to serve the COAS Freshman Students as Vice President of the Class Board. Thank you to all who voted!

Week Eight: Transitions

10:19pm

“I feel like my life is cleansing its colon
and it feels good
but odd
cuz its not used to not being so clogged
so it almost feels lacking
but now my brain is trying to catch up
and understand that it’s not empty or lacking
but just ready to be refilled with something better”

This was the best way that I could describe to my best friend, who seemed to be letting me go as we both have been making this drastic move from home to college, how I felt about losing her: through a Facebook message at 3am, since she had been failing to answer my calls. Not a day goes by in an all-female dorm that you can’t hear someone complaining about a boyfriend who “forgets” to call, or a friend from home who has chosen to “act new” now that they have all left their high school’s hometown. A common theme, however, exists among all of these stories of frustration, aggravation, and hurt feelings: transitions.

They say that experience brings maturity and that mistakes must be made along the way in order to gain it, but how, I ask, is it that so many of us “young people” at such a pivotal time as this seem to be lacking the basic tools to deal with this grave shift towards adulthood. Is it so simply dismissed as being that “we all go through it,” and “it will pass,” or is there more? I’m keen onto the generation that has raised me and my peers. They knew far better than the rest of us just how much of a sink or swim potential this “away-from-home” college experience held for us as first time freshman.

I have seen some of my peers so homesick to the point that they literally packed their bags and went home, withdrawing from this school altogether, and others who claim this time to be the greatest that they’ve ever had; yet, not near one whom I’ve spoken to can hold a thirty minute conversation without mentioning a friend from home, or that small taco place on Belvidere back by their house, or their hometown’s sports team. We were expected to so suddenly drop anywhere from 17 to 20 years’ worth of our lives and with full-faith move on to something new. But how? Should we drag our childhoods on our backs, never forgetting every burden and goodtime they held? Or should we leave it all behind, running full-speed as fast as we can? I suppose learning the balance between the two is what it’s all about. Learning to manage this transition that I keep being reminded of, one which I would rather avoid and that seems to do nothing but overcomplicate my life before it finally decides to give, purging the unnecessary troubles, must be what college is all about, for the classroom is not even the half of it.

Freewrite Blog

Well the midterms are over and the first quarter of freshman year is finished. This week we are given a free-write blog, and I am honestly stumped on what to write about. So in the spirit of midterms, I will write about my first quarter of freshman year. Howard has really exceeded my expectations of an HBCU. The bond and closeness that resonates on this campus is astounding. At first I thought this was just a "party" school and that work rarely was fairly given. Yet I was wrong. Although Howard has many parties, it has just as many intellecctual scholars. I will say that I have met some of the smartest people in my life so far here on this campus. It really does let me know that I made a great decision when choosing this amazing school. I cannot wait for the rest of the upcoming months.

Thank You Howard, and your residents :D