Communities_Shady Grove Community Reunion

The Members of the community began with the Sowell family. Every two years this Family would gather at the main family house for one weekend. Their interaction with each other could turn out in multiple ways. For example, angry because food didn’t turn out right, excited because family t-shirts turned out the way they were suppose to or exhausted from riding hay rides all day in the hot humid weather. I can say from personal experience that you are born into this community because the family has grown so large, the function would go from being at the house to the local community center. Other reasons can be because this is part of our history and culture as a people. We feel that coming every year, we are representing and acknowledging our family and its history. I believe we are members automatically because our great grandparents wanted to celebrate and for us to come together as a family.

The Shady grove Community reunion has many different characteristics that some have to grow to love and some fall naturally into it. Most of the relatives that visit this reunion are coming from different states, including myself. The reunion takes place in Shady Grove, Louisiana, about 30 minutes from town and 15 minutes from the main road. The relatives that I know most come from California, specifically San Francisco and Los Angeles. Since California has spoiled us with beautiful weather and a faster paced life, it is completely different going down south because of humidity in the weather, slow and poor living, and rural location to grown up. In my opinion the ghettos in a city don’t compare to the ghetto’s my cousins live in, to me that is a place where everyone knows each other but little opportunity for a child. At the family house we have many different ponds where we can go fishing, but you have to be careful that there are no alligators that could possibly pop up at you. In the back of the house you can also go shooting for practice or just to try a new gun, but be careful to not hit a cow or bull. I believe its successes is the fact that this community has little money to run this community function every two years but finds a way to make the best of it with great food, great music, hay rides for the kids, horseback riding, tracker riding, and four wheeler riding. I would say its disadvantages is that the poor are getting poorer in Shady Grove and very little is being done about it. Another disadvantage is when you become of age to go out to the local club called The Whole in the Wall, a shack in the middle of a black top; it’s not always the best experience. The Whole in the Wall has no security, no liquor license but if you want a drink ask the bartender and he’ll pass you one under the counter from a whole, and if you get into a scuffle people down there in the country shoot first and walk away.

For me what I enjoy about this community is having the chance to experience it. I was four when I first went down there, and even though I’ve missed a couple, I do enjoy visiting and getting out of the city life for awhile. I used to have to spend three months down there with my great grandmother and would miss home so much; I would call my mom almost every day and cry that I wanted to come home.  As I got older I wanted to be able to share my experiences with friends who are so used to the city life and have never experience the country life and how much less you have to worry about. Even though it is a lot more forest and far away from anything, I wouldn’t change much. I believe it’s pretty amazing the way it is, the food, the culture, the tradition. As time goes on though the tradition is fading, young adults my age aren’t finding the importance of going back and what they have. I can say when I was younger a lot more people were willing to get this experience and many things are holding them back, including money to even get out there. It’s tough but I know I will never, forget where my family has come from and the importance of what this community has shared with me.

Free write for Oct. 25, 2011

Things that I have learned about myself as a professional in Module I, are those situations can get frustrating by putting yourself outside of your comfort zone, but I wouldn’t give up. I had to readjust myself in different situations so that I could succeed in them. I did surprise myself when I came to school every day with only 3 to 4 hours of sleep every night from working after school to having to do homework until 1:30 in the morning. I am proud of myself because I know that if I didn’t have the support from colleagues and instructors in a regular setting in college, I would be my only motivation. I know now that outside help can be a big influence. I am disappointed in myself for not taking the responsibility to study or research more on my own outside of class. I did rely all on my instructors to give me everything to pass this class and that back fired when the final came and I knew I hardly remembered anything.

Plus

• Making sure I came to school on time
• Getting up early
• Participating in class and feeling good that I knew the answer
• No late or unfinished work
• Staying positive when things didn't turn out the way I planned
• Assignments proud of are my blogs
• Made myself available to help others even when I didn’t want to do the homework

Delta

• Making sure my notes are beneficial in the future
• Reading and understanding the text in the textbooks
• Taking advantage of studying
• Better timing on when I did homework
• Being able to proofread and see what others see
• having better skills at communicating on paper and staying on topic

Blogger 6_ Do I define me, or the neighborhood?

A neighborhood can shape a woman, like it has shaped my mother, by testing her common sense and whether she can turn down pressures that come head on. She would have to live paycheck to paycheck and try her best to give a child something better then what she had. Certain quarters can define a man because he has to prove his manhood, by his definition could be many different things; it’s nothing usually good and sometimes too late. By personal experience my father ran the streets, boosting, robbing, grew his own “garden” and helped raise me. He has told me that because of his choices he carried around his protection until I was three. I understood though that it was not about what he carried around but the respect he had for others and how everyone knew who “Ju” was and the mutual respect they had for him.  

The neighborhood I spent most of my life growing up was Redwood Shores in the Heron Court Cooperatives Homes. It’s a kind of affordable housing, but to me it’s a mini ghetto in a predominantly Caucasian and Asian community.  I was told that the city didn’t want us there and instead of saying that, they would try to make little changes but always make it hard to continue to keep the community. My communities consist of noises, crack heads, robbers, and ghetto loud ones and because of them I understood what it meant and to have a dream and to never lose sight of it. I am despite of my neighborhood because I never returned. My childhood friends and I would talk about how that little community has a hold on people who grew up there, when they move away and always find their way back. It’s a blessing because you can afford to live in a nice area even if you may not be able to afford the full advantage. Heron Court is a curse because you never get to your goal; you have gotten too comfortable at where you are at, working paycheck to paycheck.

"The Poverty Business"_ The only business should be to exstract poverty

I believe Jacob S. Hacker explained it well, “People are being encouraged to live beyond their means by companies that are preying on low-income consumers.” Companies are trying to disguise taking money to look like giving the less fortunate an opportunity. A quote from the article “The Poverty Business” states that “ambitious corporations like Byrider see profits in those thin wallets.” In America it should be illegal for someone to target a group of a certain stature and make it clear that their reason for targeting them is to take what they have to profit themselves. The only problem is, is that the government is doing the same to us, except we are not blind to the situation.

This way of living has been going on for years and is a continuous circle; survival of the fittest will prevail. They are increasing the divide because companies are singling out those who are desperate and not too familiar with the technicalities of the process. They know that people who come to them may not even care as long as they get what they came for. I believe these companies don’t go to citizens who can afford to pay the money because of better education, better common sense, and involvement with lawyers that would evolve into a longer process. When it comes to whom to point the finger at, the blame is at an equal stand point.

The government I feel at times puts on a show to make it seem like they care about a situation only so that they can get the public to be on their side. Unfortunately, I don’t feel sorry for those who get into these situations because we have the power to make the decisions for our future. Roxanne T, from the article, describes her situation and lets us know there was low opportunity; I feel whatever opportunity that is given, take it and make it better. It’s up to you to change and stop the cycle, learn the trade of the opportunity and use it to benefit you for the best.