The Literary & Artistic Zines of the James Baldwin School
Spring 2020
Untitled
by Gabriel Ibarra
We are growing day by day
They cannot control us
Unless we let them
We have
In the future, not so far from today
We will rise
We are rising
Rays of light, clouds shifting,
Souls waking up, minds shifting
Plant a seed and flowers should bloom,
Individual authenticity found,
And caring about oneself
Will become caring about us as a whole,
Human to human,
Soul to soul,
Light up a brain and it should enlighten the next,
A day not far from today, light will be found in dark skin
And not in the skin of the white
I believe that we can fight the fight
But to fight another
One must fight himself
Breaking boundaries of “Me”
And thinking beyond the limit
You’re limitless
Infinite energy
No start
No end
There’s riches richer than money
All within the core
When the center is found
You shall find your mind
And that is when your mind shall explode
With ideas
With dreams
You’ll gently have life at your fingertips
You will gently touch air
And see ripples of water
With the fire that’s inside of you
As your feet touch the earth
Magic is real and it is within us all
A hood educated young black man.
by Mack Paradise
PROVING MY POINT
by Faith Sheppard
Proving points is something people do
No Bull
FROM NO ONE
PEOPLE DOUBT
Knowing some will make it
I know myself
It's what you make of life
Easy or hard
Choose TO BE GREAT!
OLD DAYS
by Rachelle Gibson
Running and kicking through mulch
hoping nobody takes that swing.
Swinging so high,
kicking my feet
to get a good increase on my speed.
The air beating my face
while I pump back and forth.
Monkey bars,
my jungle gym,
I climbed,
hung,
swung from them.
These were the old days I remember.
MY VITILIGO
by Sahriah Dickerson
My vitiligo
Not only shocked but scared
Maybe happy, sad, surprised oh my
Spreading throughout my body
Everyone stares but this is who I am
I love it
The skin I'm in
Wasn't born with it but grew into it
So pretty like supermodel
I could be a model
Anything I desire
Whit blotches on my face
They call me Patches
This is my vitiligo
RIDE TO 59 STREET
by Angelica Dutan
On the D line
They sip their coffee
They wake up and come to the reality
Of working
Enjoying their music for as long as the ride can take
Rap, hiphop, Spanish music
Enlightens the subway with diversity
The man next to me talks about college
With every word his smile gets bigger
The woman next to me talks about her lover
And cries
I hear this all throughout the music
She bites her lip and shakes her feet
She's late
He sings while he taps his feet in rhythm
They sleep confidently they will reach their stop
Some are anguish and grab their bag
It's their next stop.
The train goes faster
It’s all pitch black until
110 st
Pitch black again until
96 st, 86st
I become part of the anguished and my tummy churns for the next stop
I become self aware like the rest
Until I see
59
SUBWAY SOLACE
By Reshawn Smith
Soft sounds that shake the ground
tightly wound around her.
Hands that hold her hopes of “home”
a snack or a phone-call
a chance to hear a familiar voice
Dash past without a glance, a thought.
She sits in the subway, searching for solace
perched and pondering she settles for the six.
and at six sharp, the hands return.
shimmering coins and crinkling bills cascade from her tin, and all that’s left
was never there in the first place.
UNTITLED
by Yailyn Montes de Oca
The seat is as hard as concrete
I am traveling on a rollercoaster
The patterns fade as I move away
The lights are blurred before me
Every stop at the station consists of meaningless posters
I turn to my side noticing
Phones lined up
Human connection nonexistent
Plugged to their phones consuming
Consuming
This is disconnection
Disconnection from real nature
UNTITLED
by Jasmine Foroughi
Dance is hard
It's a movement of expression
We dance to express
Not to impress
Push ourselves to the max everyday
Going home to a hot bath
Is what all dancers need
We are perfectionists
But nothing is perfect.
PLAY PLACE
by Breanni Alvarez
Pitter-Patter
of our feet
as we ran around
the plastic playset
Laughter of children
as they hid behind the
trees
The cool breeze
that hit your face as you
sat down saying time out
The taste of refreshing
water as you finally
listen to your mom after she told you
again and again drink some water
and you finally drink some .
PLEADING WITH MYSELF
by Mariel Martinez
Am I just a slave to myself or prison in my own mind
Should I double think the things I do wrong or just
Stop and triple think the things I should do right
I might seem like a jerk or seem like I am selfish
But the the real truth is that I really care
Art by Michell Angamarca
AGE 5*
by Matilda Suli
I arrived
through the clouds
swiftly, reluctantly
into my gilded cage
to the city filled with pearls and smoke
I don’t know you.
Moments ago, I stood surrounded by grapes of hope
But parasites and weeds have destroyed my vineyard
Now
I cower in confusion
with tears in my eyes and foreign words in my ears.
*Awarded 3rd Place in City College City-wide Poetry Contest 2018
THE BLOCK
by Brad Pion
You won’t find it here.
Success is across the bridge where the grass is greener
Where education is a figment of our imagination
Money doesn’t grow on trees because trees
Don’t exist on this bleak barren concrete block
Anything you’d want is not on this block
Unless your only goal is to sell pot and rock
Yeah... That’s the Bronx
You can’t even find your way here.
People - that’s what they’re called, right?
Hanging out... hanging out... hanging out
Is what I see outside my window every day.
However, this is not my
Window of opportunity.
These are simply my win-don’ts of life’s impurities.
Leeza and Abraham read to youngster at PJ Program
DANCING IN THE SHADOWS
by Alexander Cisneros
In the heat of it all, I choked on the mouth that wasn't mine
I grabbed the frame that lead me to the undivine
We threw the costumes that covered us on the outside
Time passes a glimpse of the Vulnerability
that makes up their corporeal self
As I drive them to the edge of their world
It brings me to a zone in the seam of heaven and hell
My limitations are pushed
I can't contain myself no longer
Escalating to levels never touched before
Discovering myself in oneness
Clarity that this intimacy has grown to become greedful on both parts
The avidity on their image exhibits gratification from my actions
One thing lead to the next
The fire burned too bright
With everything in life it must end
Reaching the peak of the mountain
Face filled with a cascade of emotions
Thoughts roaming of the fruition that has came to be
Loyalty to the earthly presence
Intensity in what seems days in reality was only hours
The impression of how innocence leaves suddenly from such a fragile state,
Yet so breathtaking.
PLEADING WITH MYSELF
by Mariel Martinez
Am I just a slave to myself or prison in my own mind
Should I double think the things I do wrong or just
Stop and triple think the things I should do right
I might seem like a jerk or seem like I am selfish
But the the real truth is that I really care
A smile like no other
Wise words spilling from your mouth
Missed like no other
NO MATTER
by Isaiah Alford
Two souls
One of childish ambitions & confusion
And the other
Of free will
SIGNAL
by Emily Ojeda
GEORGE TRUMAN
by Amira Gundel
Anticipating your
SOS signal
Never arrived
Captain
of prosperity
“Climb aboard”
But you opted for the anchor
Witnessed my treasure
Slowly drift out
Into a sea of indecisiveness
Enjoy the mareo?
I wanted you
You needed me
I wasn’t your life preserver
By the docks
Anticipating your
SOS signal.
You are competing with my solitude
by Myriam Alegria
Photo by Alexander Cisneros
MOSTLY MISUNDERSTOOD
by Bianca Dachoute
Mostly misunderstood
Often called names
Nothing but invisible pain
They may think they know
But they have no clue
They don’t know
What I’ve been through
EXPECTATIONS
by Emily Ojeda
In hopes of a white tulip
The petals screamed orange
Displeasure and disappointment was engraved
on her at a young age
She tried painting herself as the monotone shade
Everyone desired her to be
Hatred for the vibrant color grew
perspective of perfection
corrupted
Intelligence, determination, passion
It wasn't visible to the naked eye
Lost in the field of white
Waiting for someone to pick her.
Darvin and Brandon reads to a young student as part of the Pajama Program (SP 2018)
WHO I AM
by Darvin Perez
Born and bred in the Bronx seventeen years in the jungle,
I remember every summer we had a block party,
water balloon fights and dance contests,
Moving to a new block
where I knew no one
They thought I was soft
because I was quiet
Now I’m known as in-between
hanging around with the popular but
at the same time hanging around with the outcast
My future is as bright as the diamond in my ears
Artwork by Luiggi Ramos
FUTURE KING/QUEEN*
by Justin Cervantes
Can I take out my heart that is
made out of stone and keep on
constructing to make it into a tiny
throne?
Dismantle the floor I walk on every day and
build a fortress for where their head is comfy
while laid?
Roll over the white with sky blue or hot pink
they’re the star of the show, so take the
spotlight off me
Out of the projects and into the suburbs
A life like mine shouldn’t rewind or be discussed of
Roof, food, and water will always be given
I blanket over you while the wind’s being driven
comfort while you sleep. dream on my little
Master
Life is very fast. I hope it never goes faster
while you grow in my hands, just know you’re
uplifted. If Mom’s not around just know your
daddy existed
Even when you’re old and crazy you’re my
young man, my young lady
In my hazel eyes, you’re still my little baby
*Won Honorable Mention in 2016 City College of New York Citywide Poetry Contest
I COME FROM*
by Lanasia White
I come from city lights, city tribes
Where multiple minds strive
And multiple minds die
I come from Broken stoves, and broken shelves
Broken homes Like stories they tell
Ghosts roam
Knocking on a door
Does sound pass through?
Staring in your eyes
Can they see the truth?
I come from Standing on a land
that slips away, and
Silent words that went to waste.
*Honorable mention in 2017 CIty College Citywide Poetry Contest
UNTITLED
by Brauly Plier
Stuck in the same room, in the same mood
Everybody tried to tell me what I can't do
Everybody tried to tell me that I changed too
And I changed lanes from you lame dudes
It's been a minute since I spilled my pain
Had to take a step back and look at life in a different way
If you want the change, you gotta be the change
Now we're all the same
Nobody wanna take the reins
Nobody wanna push their brain
Nobody will admit that they're fake for the facts they claim
You see we're all imperfect in a perfect way
And while we work all day, we all work, no play
We are slaved to the loans and the bills we pay
You consume a double cheese when the radio play
Mainstream, Mickey D's and my shit gourmet
I've been up for seven days straight
Tryin' to figure out my fate
Tryin' to figure out any way to put food on my plate
But I sold a few tee's, so I'm eating today
Okay, doing okay
Could probably do better, came home to a letter
Eviction, I know I don't fit your description of rapper
But me I'm a clearer, they threw all the chatter
I know everything that glitter ain't gold
Life is the clay, you too busy to mold
Time here is taking its toll
We spend all our time without passion and then we get old
Was told I should go quit
But none of you see all the letters I get from these kids
Who hurt from within and don't wanna live
And tell me my music is all that can give them hope
Yeah, all we need is some hope
And they tell me their family's broken and broke
They usin' my music to cope
I've been on that boat, held down by a rope
Held down by a string, y'all looking for things
I'm looking to change the perception of people
And all of the beautiful things that it brings, yeah
Record in my closet, don't make enough profit
Y'all used to have morals and somehow you lost it
Don't care about the money I spend on my coffin
I care ‘bout the people attendin'
And often we're lost, lost in this world
We're selfish to think, "I could find happiness in a girl"
We're selfish to think we're elite, we destroy and deplete
Our whole planet no smarter than squirrels
So who wants to talk about that?
Who wants to talk about facts
Maybe I'd be in your mag
If I added "Tai Chi" or "bap bap"
Or I talked about weed when I rap
But fuck all of that, the voice of the youth
The voice of the people, the real and the truth
The voice of the one who had nothin' to lose
I speak for a heart that's been broken and beaten and bruised
I'm tired of holes in my shoes
Tired of having to move
Tired of coming unglued
Tired of cleanin' your table and servin' you food
We are what we choose
If only you knew the shit that I've seen
I can't tell if I'm lucid or livin' the dream
I don't do it for me, do it all for the team
I remember back livin' when I was a teen
And my grandma, she said I was worthless
And my teachers said I had no purpose
And my mama she said I was perfect
I'm sittin' on Twitter while I should be workin' on verses
You're worth it, and when you feel weak
The deeper the trench, the higher the peak
See y'all are a piece of my legacy 'cause you believe
We can be anything and I wanna be…me
I AM
by Rokeha Hossain
I am emotional and reflective.
I wonder if attraction for myself exists.
I hear the diva dance.
I see a soul rested.
I want to be loved always and forever.
I am emotional and reflective.
I pretend to breathe when things are tough.
I feel the weight of my past.
I touch the fire on the candles during the candlelight dinner.
I worry that people may misunderstand me and leave forever.
I cry thinking about the love I found.
I am emotional and reflective.
I understand that not all relationships start and end well.
I say, “When time is right, it will come...”
I dream reaching the stars with my hands and blowing out the moonlight.
I try to start strong and happy.
I hope that I will find myself soon.
I am emotional and reflective.
Heaven Dennis with big sister-goddess Lisa (SP 2018)
UNTITLED
by Diovianne White
Happy, brave
I’m not a slave
All is lost
That was given
Closing old chapters
To new beginnings
Seeing People with my skin
Win
Leaders
Lean on me
I’ll help you carry on
Should be our motto
Not something to follow
If you don’t know
You’re sleep
Wake up
And live in peace
Photo by Essence Fort
ORIGIN OF HATE
by Stephanie Blanch-Byer
The diatribe in the deep of his eyes managed to soothe hard hearts before the lynch
Blood washes over me
I embrace its drowning influence
Black; dark
synonymous with hate and all things bad
Why?
I was taught that black is beautiful
Not the case in the black sheep though
obviously
Shunned
hated for all its years
And the years preceding and after
As I was trying to think in reverse
I became consumed in my thoughts
Dying in captivity
I try to let this world tell me something
Other than to hate you for something you had nothing yet have everything to do with
Photo by Essence Fort
GUITAR
by Enmanuel de La Nuez
From the depths of Obscurity
I have a permanent stone in my mind
crushing
all the moments,
adding a weight to the already fragile.
The rise of a melody
I ride the fall back to Obscurity
Every pull of the string, time gone,
a missed opportunity to say
that it hurts,
a flash of your face and what you do
you don’t know
It’s not real.
Photo by Essence Fort
SIX-WORD MEMOIR
by Emmanuel Batista
Eat the food, cherish the food
i'm confounded by the lack of common courtesy
afforded children of color
by public servants of color dressed in blue
and charged to be
courteous
professional
and respectful
it's as though they
have taken pages from
willie lynch's manifesto or
the overseer's handbook
on the most effective way
to break the spirit of a child
"the power inherent in my badge"
gives me the right to
belittle
bully
and boast about putting
"the little n_ggers" in their
place
however it's a grey veil of shame
that covers you
from head to toe
because you have
failed
to do for them
what you would want
to be done
for
you or
your child
CPR???
by d. alan ward
UNTITLED
by Heaven Dennis
I am butterfly with direction in my eyes
Color on my wings and soul in my heart
THE NEW WASTE LAND
By Tamra Plotnick
Young millions wander through a desert of food
Where chips and empty calories abound
And yet we wonder at their wasted attitude
If justice won, McDonalds would be sued
For lives surrendered by the quarter pound
Young millions wander through a desert of food
For all the junk and garbage that they chewed
Digested demons in their souls be crowned
And yet we wonder at such wasted attitude
What if each ripe fruit and vegetable was nude
Then toxins by the ton would not be downed
Young millions could escape the desert of food
But markets in the hood sell stuff so crude
With artificial poisons inside ground
And still we marvel at their wasted attitude
So if a child approaches you so rude
Please wonder if her meals are square or round
Young millions wander through a desert of food
And yet we wonder at their wasted attitude
Photo by Mecca Mshaka-Morris
You can run me over like roadkill,
you can shoot my heart.
I am a helpless bird
Sweep me under the rug
Attach me to strings
I am at your command, puppetmaster.
You can throw me away like leftovers
I'm always at the end of your fridge
forgotten.
However,
in the garden of your heart,
dried, unnurtured, and damaged,
even the driest dandelions
I will pick out of you
And I will still consider you the most beautiful person I've met.
KINDNESS
by Anonymous
If only you had heard my voice scream your name
If only you had not taken hold of my hand
Maybe you would've lived a better life in this world
You and I are both mortals blinded by the idea to touch the skies and swim freely In the sea
This is what happens to everyone who follows my rise
You hoped to be closer to the light, but instead it blinded you to die
Just like me
Everyone else will be missguided towards the sun
And you will fall to know the empty void that awaits below the sea.
ICARUS TO US
by Oscar Matias
by Yarimar Torres
The Shame of Racism
By Shaniyah Pedrero
The first time I learned about racism was in the second grade. I was attending Paul Robinson Elementary School at the time. I didn't really understand it until I got older and saw it happen to others.
I witnessed my first racial act on the train with my best friend when I was fifteen years old. She sat next to a Caucasian man, and he immediately stood up and looked at her nervously. “Do I make you feel uncomfortable?” she asked.
“Yes, because you're black,” he replied. I have to admit, I was hurt. It didn't feel good at all, and it made my best friend feel like she wasn't good enough, but I knew that that wasn’t the case. I stepped in to explain to him that it isn't okay to treat people that way, that everyone rides the train, and it’s not a place just for him. I told him that if he was uncomfortable, then he needed to get a train car of his own.
I arrived home still feeling upset, even though my best friend was over it. I don’t understand why, but I felt the need to talk to my mom about the incident. After telling her, she also seemed angry and hurt that I had to experience a situation like this. She told me that I would experience racism again, but that I should never let it break me down and that I should continue to be a loving person.
It is heartbreaking that people have to experience this. It’s not right. What if blacks treated white people this way? If the roles were reversed, we would have been removed from the train. Black people are always the ones to get punished while white people always seem to get a pass. There really isn't any reason for people to act this way. I wish racism would end, between whites and blacks and in general. I think racist people are ignorant. Racism has led people to commit suicide and homicide-- and even driven them to depression.
Artwork by Egypt Lopez
INFERNO
By David Ortega
I'm chained, held down by the chains of judecca, bounded and bare.
Dreams drifting...
In a room so small and tight, with the door unlocked. I see strangers who walked amongst me. I see. I see their faces, as old as mine. Here they are.
Hello stranger, it feels so good to see you again, how long has it been?
They say nothing. I say nothing. I stare, standing idly by. I can't speak because of my speech impediment, my repetitive words. I’m too scared to speak in fear of being lost and forgotten like a distant memory, thrown down into the inferno.
Darling baby, oh darling baby...
I'm a skeleton with the face of a murderer, the voice of a criminal, and the heart of a sinner, who will do anything to love and be loved.
It seems like a mighty long time.
I'm covered in tattoos. I’m soon to cover my whole body. They will protect me from the plaguing thoughts of strangers that left me in this desolate room I call home.
Look at me. I am grown. Shivering like a child in the cold, wet rain. What's in a man? How can I leave like he did? Like she did? Like they all do?
Darling baby, oh darling baby…
TRANSFORMATION:THE CHANGING OF AN OBJECT, PLACE, OR PERSON INTO A NEW FORM
by Joel Camilo
This definition, both limiting and expansive, I think captures the essence of how the concept transformation shapes the physical world as well as the social. One of the greatest contradictions science has discovered of the universe are the laws that govern it; these laws which determine how every single quantum, up to the largest black hole, will interact with others, irreversibly changing their neighbors and themselves being irreversibly changed—the contradiction lies in how the laws themselves are immutable: unchanging rules to determine how everything changes. And these laws that never themselves transform transform us. Every day. Not just in the way that every single one of your body's atoms is replaced in a little over a year, or how the same is done of your cells every seven. No, what I mean is how we transform as people. Just as atoms lose energy when they bump into another atom of lower energy, our spirits dampen when we see someone despondent. And just as that same atom may heat up when bumping into a particularly energetic particle, we are invigorated by the presence of a merry friend. And these are only the minor transformations that affect us in a day. Every friend you've made, every sibling or parent you've loved or loathed, every lover you've adored or admirer you've scorned, each and every one has had a share in making you who you are, and you have done the same for them. Perhaps your father is the reason you're skilled in a craft, or your mother the reason you have such a calming presence. Perhaps a childhood friend from your hometown is the reason you wish to travel, or perhaps an ex is the reason you have trust issues. Each one has shaped you, for better or worse. And you will continue to change, for better and sometimes for worse. Perhaps you'll solve those trust issues, but then a death in the family makes you fear the same will come of you. However you rise and fall, understand it never lasts. So appreciate the highs while you can, and remember the lows aren't forever.
THE EYE OF THE HURRICANE
by Adriana Malaysia Del Valle
My beauty doesn’t only come from my body or my light soft skin. My beauty comes from my mind. My mind is insane yet joyful, messy yet clean. My mind has these thoughts that I just can’t shake even if I tried, but sometimes I don’t want to shake these thoughts. My mind is a hurricane and this is the eye of the hurricane.
My head is a hurricane, yet feels like a wonderland. My head has joy, laughter, excitement, etc. But my mind has its dark corners of pain. My mind has been scarred by the lightning bolt that struck at nine o'clock. The lightning that took away everything from the mind and left that mind stranded. For the first time my mind was empty and alone. My mind became my prison, but felt like I was at Six Flags. I’ve been a prisoner of my mind for so long I’m starting to think I’ve imprisoned myself. But I’m not the only prisoner of my mind. Sometimes I can hear their voices crying out to me; begging and pleading to me asking me. Some of those prisoners are wondering why they’re there. Some wonder why they left. My mind won’t let me forget only forgive. My mind takes control and tells my heart to fall so I can fly. I never understood until that day. THAT DAMN DAY…
Goodbye. Don’t ask why-- just be ready to say it you can’t stop it or slow it down-- all you can do is be prepared to say it. Even though you don’t want to you have to and you will soon heal. At least that’s what they say, but it doesn’t feel to be true.
But my mind has that one day when I feel that little ray of sunshine. I can feel their love and hear it. It’s like they never left. Those memories start to flash before my eyes. These memories would make me wanna cry out a waterfall. They were the only ones who could see the beauty of my mind. They could hear the melody that would play from my mind even when I couldn’t. They saw it when I didn’t. They felt it without touching me. But soon after this all fades away. All the words I type or say will so all fade away. When they do all my prisoners will soon regret what they’ve done and stop asking questions as to why they left or why they were there. Soon light will show in darkness. Soon everyone will see my beauty. But until then I am still a prisoner of my mind. My mind talks to my heart and tells it to be empty because we can’t trust no one. My mind can show you the collateral damage of my pain but I will show you the collateral beauty of my pain.
My heart was left empty and alone just like my mind so now we are just dust in the wind. My mind and my heart is a tornado that won’t take me out of Kansas. But shh...did you hear that?...It’s the eye of my hurricane.
Artwork by Egypt Lopez
Photo by Stephanie Blanch-Byer
VOICE
by Rachel Peralta
I think every voice needs to be heard. But for my voice, I think it’s important because every person has a different opinion. I mean a lot because I could express myself and give my opinion about a topic and I think that people would like to hear my opinion to see what others are thinking. I mean it’s ok but at the same time it’s important because sometimes you need to speak so that other people can see what are your thoughts. Well, I don’t do it like that much, but when I do it is in crew only. It’s difficult and frustrating because sometimes you cannot express it how you want to say it. But it’s good to listen to ideas in other languages; it is important to see what other people say in other languages.
Jassly Zapata
LABELS ARE LABELS ARE LABELS
by Michael Brito
Sexuality is more than gay and straight. Those are just labels and labels are labels and not meant to be placed on people but on boxes and usually those labels have a meaningless purpose, “all of the things that you are not taking with you goes into that box and the things that you are taking with you goes into this box.” Anyways we are not boxes or at least I'm not a box, I'm not a pretty preferably big package, I'm like the wind NO! I'm like a strawberry NO! I'm like a bike, yep like a NO! I'm just that boy or that person, but wait I could be like the wind or like a strawberry or a bike, I'm whatever, but whatever can't be whatever when it's not whatever. It's more than that. Wait do you hear that ….. The silence speaks louder than words just listen. Just listen. In a world taken over by sound just listen to nothing because nothing might be something If you believe it's more than nothing listen you might hear something.
The moon is like a mother to me
She sees me and shines on me
On my darkest days she's there, shining like no tomorrow
Oh moon am I your child?
Even in such darkness you shine brighter than anything else
The stars around you show a sign of life
The planets i've yet to know about
The universe so dark yet you make light
Every night I feel so lonely when i'm with me, but you are always there.
Oh moon can I be as big as you?
Cause when I cry and fear your mere presence is enough
When I walk, you walk with me
Every step I take is another second I live and you are there when I take a breath
I was born to be in the dark to light and make ways for others
Just like you my moon who has been there since i was born
Maybe after all I am a moonchild.
MOON
by Oscar Matias
Fear
By Diselys Liranzo
A fear so enormous it
makes you feel so weak
up to the point where your can’t feel your feet
Fear Fear Fear
I can feel you near
In my mind you can win
but in my heart
I can overcome the power
to be courageous
I overcame fear
and became brave
Artwork by Egypt Lopez
I am a bright
Star in the night
A sun in the clouds
And the bright full
Moon in an owl
I present myself
As a unique person
With defects An
Emotional person
When I feel
Lonely I imagine
Things in my life
That I want to
Happen, but I’m
Not really lonely
Because there
Is always
That one person
Who can turn
Darkness into a bright shining
Star This
Is who I am
UNTITLED
by Daneiry Polanco
SCIENCE PBAT CONFERS VITALITY
by Liz Cabrera
My class “Climate Change and What New York City Can Do About it,” was my first and favorite PBAT. My favorite teacher Caity was grading my PBAT. My love for science and my admiration for Caity’s optimism and happy going attitude made me love the class even more. Science is the best, anything implying the wellbeing of the Earth just turns me on. Anything involving space, the environment, animal behavior, the brain, genetics, archeology to extrasolar planets, stem cell, bird flu, autism, and evolution draws my attention.
In my PBAT I discussed how the temperature of the Earth is rising. The rise of the Earth’s global average temperature is called global warming. Due to CO2 exposure in the atmosphere and people cutting down trees, the risk of this happening is increasing. MY PBAT question, “How does land cover affect temperature?” explains how lighter or darker land covers can increase the chances of local areas to become hotter or cooler. MY hypothesis involved observing the temperatures of lighter and darker land covers in urban areas with a flir one camera and see if different land cover temperatures has an impact on local areas to be hotter or cooler.
The overall PBAT was very enjoyable in completing. My only struggle was when it was time for presentation. Explaining the PBAT on my own in front of someone else wasn't something very endearing. Also to be honest I don't appreciate being watched; it made me feel self conscious. The last time I recall someone studying me was when I was thirteen years old and I hadn't realized I had a huge red zit the size of two raisins stuck together across my forehead. That day I was in such a rush to get to school on time that I hadn't glanced myself in the mirror. The moment of realization was too late. A batch of middle school teachers had gathered together a good five5 feet away from me across the lunchroom table I was sitting at. They were whispering loudly, “My Lord” and “Poor thing” among one and other as they were gaping at me with such intense concentration and with the look of yearning on their faces. It almost felt like they were figuring out a way to pop my zit just from across the table. So that’s why I wasn't 100% confident about presenting to someone. I also feared of not making sense or being clear due to my tendency of talking low. Just the idea of explaining something to someone else made me nauseous.
During the moment of the presentation my hands were shaking my mind was filled with I can’ts and I won’ts. Just the day before the presentation I even spoke to Caity to express my doubts. Nevertheless, I knew the presentation was vital for my grade and my doubts were unreasonable. I knew I had to get this done one way or another. Plus, the fact that it was something I enjoyed and worked hard on and it would be nice to share my passion for science with someone else gave me the confidence to push forward. I needed to break out of my comfort zone for a little while. I had to adapt myself into doing something I was not used to. Just like a lizard when they adapt to new living environments. I didn't like the idea of change at all, but who does?. It made me feel uncomfortable and self conscious. It's just one of those things that you have no control over it had to be done and it can't be helped. At the end of the presentation, I felt great pride and accomplishment. I had done something I thought I couldn't do and it felt great.