presentation (phenomenal woman)

PHENOMENAL WOMAN

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. 
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
 But when I start to tell them,
 They think I'm telling lies. 
I say,
  It's in the reach of my arms 
The span of my hips,
 The stride of my step, 
The curl of my lips.
 I'm a woman
 Phenomenally.
 Phenomenal woman,
 That's me.

I walk into a room 
Just as cool as you please,
 And to a man,
 The fellows stand or 
Fall down on their knees.
 Then they swarm around me, A hive of honey bees.
 I say,
 It's the fire in my eyes, 
And the flash of my teeth,
 The swing in my waist,
 And the joy in my feet.
 I'm a woman
 Phenomenally. 
Phenomenal woman,
 That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
 What they see in me.
 They try so much
 But they can't touch 
My inner mystery.
 When I try to show them 
They say they still can't see.
 I say,
 It's the arch of my back,
 The sun of my smile,
 The ride of my breasts, 
The grace of my style. 
I'm a woman
 Phenomenally. 
Phenomenal woman,
 That's me.

Now you understand
 Just why my head's not bowed.
 I don't shout or jump about
 Or have to talk real loud. 
When you see me passing 
It ought to make you proud.
 I say, 
It's in the click of my heels, 
The bend of my hair,
 the palm of my hand,
 The need of my care.
 'Cause I'm a woman
 Phenomenally.
 Phenomenal woman,
 That's me.
-
Maya Angelou

* I chose this poem because I truly believe that I am a phenomenal woman. I believe this poem describes me very well because I am a confident young lady. I believe that if I don’t encourage myself then no one else. In order for me to make it somewhere in life I have to be confident and know that I am the best and wont settle for second best.


-La'Shawn Moore

homeless awareness

Luther Place Night Shelter

N Street, Washington DC 20005

La’Shawn Moore

2455 4^th Street N.W. Washington DC 20059

Dear Luther Place Night Shelter,

Hello my name is La’Shawn Moore and I am writing this letter to you to express my views on homelessness. I believe that every one deserves a roof over their head, food in their stomach, and clothes on their back. Every time I see a homeless person I just break down knowing that they have nowhere to go and no food to eat. There are times when I feel like a homeless person got what they deserve because there is always a way out of no way but I also had to think about how some people just had no other choice but to settle with being homeless.

I am also writing this letter to you because I believe that as a shelter place who feeds over hundreds of homeless people can do just a little more. I believe that instead of having them come find your shelter that you should go out and welcome them into your safe warm environment. I also believe that as a homeless shelter you should supply counseling for the people so that they can get help and rehabilitate themselves.

Thank you for taking the time out to read this letter. I truly appreciate you giving me the chance to express how I feel about homelessness, because I feel real strong about getting help for the homeless.

Sincerely,

La’Shawn Moore

Non-Violence

Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama is something that most of America will always remember when pondering the days of the civil rights movement. After seeing African Americans being hurt like they were in Selma, Alabama, a lot of people raised the question was Dr King’s nonviolence approach really working or worth it? Most can see why a person would raise such a question, considering that as the blacks continue to be nonviolent they were not granted any freedom and were harmed physically even more. When looking into this most people would account this effort as a lost if you look at the cost benefit of analysis being if the cost outweighs the reward than its not worth it because the means to get to equality outweighed the equality its self. If this were true than this would definitely taint Dr. King’s. Non-violence philosophy and would not be useful in today’s society. To figure this out we need to know how the people viewed nonviolence, did it work in a timely fashion and could this logic be used in today’s society.

-La'Shawn Moore

Hip-Hop Has Changed

Is hip-hop dead? It sure sounds like it if you turn on the radio. What used to be exciting, groundbreaking music seems to have been reduced to a one-note din. The only topics discussed are Bling - Bing materialism, how many guns you have, and "Hoe's. Back in hip-hop's days of the '80s and early '90s, some of the most popular groups were also some of the most vibrant - the militant Public Enemy, the uplifting Arrested Development, the stylistically abstract A Tribe Called Quest, and the teacher KRS-One. Despite different approaches, they seemed to be working together to speak about the black experience and create the melting pot that made hip-hop so refreshing and vital. In the late 80's there was such a diversity in hip- hop. But times has surely changed. It's certainly harder to find. And offering it may take courage. When everyone else is talking about violence and riches, it's tough to talk about more cerebral issues without being laughed at by your peers and being called soft. The lyrics of artist now does not inspire me now, they go in one ear and out the other. so i believe that over the years hip- hop has changed not for the better but for the worst.

-La'Shawn Moore

environmental justice

On wednesday October 20, 2010 I had a great opportunity to hear several speakers lecture on environmental justice. many of the speakers spoke on how we need to be more cautious about the different things we pollute our environment with. they also spoke on how if we don't do anything to make a difference in the environment then no one can. I am very happy that i got a chance to hear the different speakers because they all opened my eyes to see that I need to take care of my environment and stand up for environmental justice.

-La'Shawn Moore

self assessment

This semester I have learned so much from verbs to writing a clear outline into forming a well-written essay. I believe my strength this year in English was the grammar portion in class. It was something that I always did well in. As for my weakness I believe would be me being more out spoken in class and letting the teacher know that I was attentive. I also believe my weakness was not going to see my teacher during her office hours to better understand what was going on in class. This year I believe that I have learned enough to get me through the first semester of college freshman English. I learned how to really dig deeper into the surface of a book than jus reading straight through it. I also learned how to work technology better than before and found it to be easier to do work on rather than turning work in; it’s also eco-friendly. After writing both essays I find myself of thinking of other communities of color when I am discussing different readings.

In my blog I posted four different posts. Each of my posts was related to my blog name that is Unity and Peace. Each blogged encouraged me in some type of way, whether it was encouraging to always do my best and never settle for less, anything is possible, or just opening my mind up to see what is going on in the U.S. As I go back and look at my different blogs I notice that not only are they a little similar to each other but they are also different. The one thing that I love the most about doing the weekly blogging , is that I am able to express myself and speak freely on topics that I am interested in. 

-La'Shawn Moore

convocation

 On Friday September 24, 2010 I had the great pleasure to hear Dr. Benjamin Carson speak at Howard University convocation.  Dr. Carson presentation was very powerful and encouraging. He spoke on how his child hood wasn’t the best. Dr. Carson experienced difficulty in school and failed to the bottom of his class, which led him to become violent. Although he had his problems in school he had a guide in his life who encouraged him to do his best and work hard, which was his mother. She pushed him to be the best and work hard before he played hard. Dr. Carson mother encouraged him to take school serious and that is what he did he worked hard everyday and soon rose to be the top student in his class. Dr. Carson graduated high school with honors and later attended Yale University and received his degree in Psychology. He then later attended medical school of the University of Michigan where he changed his mind to become a neurosurgery. Dr. Carson spoke on his trip to Africa where he performed surgery on twins who heads were stuck together. He spoke on how he was very scared to perform this surgery because it was 13 attempts before he tried and none of them worked. But he prayed and went for it and split those two twins up.  Dr. Carson’s presentation encouraged me because he showed me that any and everything is possible. He gave advice on how to speak up to what you believe in, to never blame any one else for your problems and to be grateful for your brain for it is your ticket to success. He also encouraged me to never give up and to always remember that I am in control of my own destiny.