Runway

Runway to America

By Tashneal Africa

I love the smell of the fresh air of the ocean. The smell of the salt from the ocean you are so close. I can feel the waves of the ocean rushing on my skin. I see my friend's little brother making a sandcastle with the white sand. When I come to the beach it the only place that I can get away from my crazy family. Ring Ring  I snapped out of my thoughts and answered  my phone

"Hey honey," My mother said on the phone.

"Hey mom what ups"

"Honey I need up to come back to the house,"

"Why?" I asked

"Because I said so"

"But mom I said the I was gong to the beach for few hours."

"I don't  care! COME HOME NOW!" she said yelling through the phone

" Fine. Whatever" I said with a blank tone, hanging up the phone before she got a chase to reply.

I ran back in the water and played for 20 minutes, the I decide it was time for me to go home. I took my time walking home . I looked at the beautiful flower on the sid3e road I could smell the honey and vanilla for the plant. I turned around realizing that I was on hill I could see the everything, I looked at my watch and it was 1:30 pm with that I started run fast as my legs would take me. I saw my house and ran up the stairs

"I am home, I am going to take a shower" I said

"Okay make it quick your dad is coming over"

"why? is daddy okay? is he moving back in? I asked quickly

" Moving back- no he not moving back in and yes he fine" she said

 " then why is daddy coming?"

"because we need to talk as a family." she stated blankly

Gangs in Central Massachusetts

Gangs in Central Massachusetts

By:Tashneal Africa

Chelsea Ma is a small city in Suffolk County MA directly across the Mystic River from the city of Boston. Chelsea is about 2.5 sq. miles. 23.5% of the residents in Chelsea are below the poverty line. There are many issues that Chelsea are facing at the moment like, economics, a large number of residents not having jobs, housing issues. The main thing that is impacting the city the most is Gangs. Gangs scare the youth from attending school, contribute greatly to the economic issues that Chelsea is facing.

Gang's have been a long standing issue in Chelsea. We need to understand how the gang member communicate with each other, why young youth join gangs so we can stop them and finally how they recruit new members and where recruitment take place. Gangs member like to recruit member at “schools, malls,  Internet(facebook, YouTube,etc) correctional facilities.” Youth join gangs because they feel that Gang give them a sense of protection, they also join because economic hardship. When gangs tag the Police learn“ the existence of a gang in a new or specific area, turf boundaries, membership and hierarchy and gangs conflicts.”  

Gangs in Chelsea have a lot to with the kids in school feeling unsafe where they should feel safe. This was survey happen on 1989 “15% of students feared an attack on their way to or from school and 22% are feared attack while school.” This is violence related behavior and gangs.“24.3% of students (12% in 2011 and 18.4% in 2010) report having been in physical fight one or more times in past year. 18.1% of students(20.3 in 2011) report that they have ever been approached to join a gang. 12.5% of students(14.2% in 2011 and 11.7 in 2009) report having carried a weapon, such as a gun, knife or club in the past 30 days.”

Chelsea is a small city and "the annual crimes rate (per 10,000) is overall 9,069.33, while the national annual crime rate (per 100,000) is overall 4,506.21. The national murder rate is 5.70 while Chelsea murder rate is 6.17." These rate have to with gangs fighting over territory, and drugs.

According to the article "The Impact of Gangs on the Community" it talks about the effect that gangs have the community. "A study in Orange Country, California, in which was random sample of residents were interviewed, illustrates the case (Land and Meeker 2000). Fear of crime and gangs who live in low income communities where gangs were more prevalent and dangerous." This connect to Chelsea because many people are below the poverty line.

Writing 1

The thing I enjoy least is revise and editing. . I don't like revise and editing because my grammar is don't very good, when it comes to comma, period ect i suck. The thing I enjoy most about writing is prewriting and drafting because I can express my thoughts and ideas.

OUR DEEPEST FEAR

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

 ----from A Return to Love, by Marianne Williamson.This quote is one of my favortie because it just make sense to me I don't 

really know why? maybe I like the way inadequate sounds and what it means- lacking the quality or quantity required; insufficient for a purpose. Then the second line just make me feel great and powerful. it mean overall that we shouldn't let our fear control us that we are strong that the fear itself.

why does it mean to you???

What is America to you???

America to me means
Hope, Sadness,Death
Does it mean that to you too?
Always Death and more Death
How corrupt the government
is
How the IMMIRAGATION policy is
FUCKED
But there is also HOPE
Hope is what keep the nation going
The first black president
Barack Obama
Heart
One nation
Peace
Everyone is loved
America means a lot of thing to me
how about you.

what people can't see

One that the people can't see when they look at me is that I am not that serious. Just because I talk that much and cause I keep a serious face and focus on thing doesn't mean that i don't have sense of humor. It just i don't have time to be funny. with my mom pushing me to be my best at everything I do and having to to watch my little brother. Once you get the to know me it a whole different story.