It's the day before Halloween and I'm here in English class waiting for it to begin. Luckily for me, I don't get to go out and party because I have an eight page paper due in this class and I also have to study for biology and chemistry. See you guys next week! Here is a pic of some of the people in my class

"Once you agree upon the price you and your family must pay for success, it enables you to ignore the minor hurts, the opponent's pressure, and the temporary failures"--Vincent Thomas Lombardi

Today I was in the cafeteria with a friend from one of my classes and she said something so profound I told her that I would have to blog about it. While most girls (and women) settle for men of a lower status than them for fear of remaining single, she told me that she was in a relationship with someone who had previously been held back in school so was therefore a 2nd year senior. She then told me that she had set an ultimatum for him: Their relationship would be over unless he either 1. earned his high school degree or 2. enrolled in a job skills program/enrolled in the Air Force as he said he would. I was surprised at hearing that because many females nowadays fear that men will be intimidated or turned off by their success and therefore they decide that any man will do no matter if he's successful or not. Growing up, I was always told to find a woman who would complement me both in knowledge and in pay scale. Think about it, in our generation both adult members of a family work to provide. I found it impressive that she was as forward to her boyfriend as she was. I feel as if more black women were that way with their significant others, there would be a bigger margin of success for relationships in our community.

(Picture from http://www.mind-power-for-success.com/images/Success-Resolution.jpg)

Columbus Day: Should it Remain a Holiday?

To most, Columbus Day is just another holiday that is cause for another anticipated long weekend and break from school, work, or other responsibilities. Many people know little behind the man behind the holiday. Some just remember the grade school rhyme "Columbus sailed the ocean blue in fourteen-hundred ninety-two". Others attribute the discovery of the New World to him. Whatever your views are, you must realize the controversy surrounding the man. While many support keeping the holiday, others are staunch opponents. Following is an article by Associated Content that might open your eyes to the other side of the highly celebrated Christopher Columbus:







Columbus Day has long been celebrated as the day that Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas. It is officially celebrated in the United States and many other countries as well including, Spain,

Costa Rica and the Bahamas. Columbus Day as a holiday or celebration has now become somewhat controversial to many people. As researchers and historians continue in their studies significant facts have been brought to light that cause questions of the heroics of Christopher Columbus.

The first part of the controversy involves whether Columbus "discovered" the Americas. Columbus is recorded as landing in The New World in 1492. It was believed that he was the first European to sail across the Atlantic and land on the continent. What is a fact is that Leif Ericson, a Norseman or Viking, has been proven to arrive on the North American continent sometime around 1000 A.D. almost 500 years before Columbus.

Another issue in this controversy is that Christopher Columbus never actually landed on the continent itself. According to records he landed on an Caribbean island. By his fourth voyage logs indicate that he had been to the Bahamas, Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Panama. He never arrived in North America.

Finally, in the "discovery" part of the controversy, the areas that Columbus explored were already well populated by indigenous people. While Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon, and we have no knowledge of human population, he did not discover it. The moon was already there. The areas that Columbus "discovered" were already long in existence and populated.

The next part of the controversy surrounding Columbus day is whether or not he can be seen as a hero. Columbus's main intention for his travels was to find wealth and riches. He did not need to prove the world was round. Educated people of the time already knew it was. Columbus, and the crews that sailed with him, treated the indigenous peoples they encountered as obstacles to their mission of conquering new worlds and finding riches to take back with them to their homeland. Thousands of peaceful inhabitants were sent to Spain and sold into slavery. Many of the inhabitants that were not sent were forced to work for Columbus and his crews or were put to death.

Also to be noted is that the arrival of Columbus and his crews introduced many new diseases to the existing populations that they had no defenses to. It is suspected, but not proven, that the crews of Columbus may have introduced what is now known as Syphilis when they returned from their journeys. While strains of the bacteria existed previously it is believed that they mutated because of his travels.

Columbus Day will continue to be celebrated in the U.S. and other countries. What is in question is Columbus's "discovery" and whether or not he can be regarded heroically. More answers may be found as researchers continue in their investigations but most likely the view of Columbus is left to the viewer and how Columbus's journeys are taught in schools.





http://www.mnc.net/norway/LeifErikson.htm

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/indexe.shtml

http://www.livescience.com/history/080114-syphilis-columbus.html

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2004/11/11/1235290.htm

http://www.history.com/content/columbusday/about-columbushttp://www.history.com/content/columbusday/controversy



(The picture of Columbus is from http://www.inkart.com/images/lineart/Columbus.jpg)

Columbus Day Weekend

Quote of the day:

"War among grasshoppers delights the crow." -African Proverb

(from the Facebook group "I Love Being Black")

This weekend was a great weekend for me. I got the chance to leave the Washington D.C. area and travel to my roommates hometown of East Orange, New Jersey. Before we got there, we spent the night in Jamaica, Queens at St. John's University with some of my high school friends. It was great to get away from the mellowness of the Howard University campus and delve into the hustle and bustle of New York and New Jersey. Although we slept at my roommates house, my roommate, his brother, our friend, and I spent most of our days in New York. It was tough trying to navigate the NY transit system and I'm not going to lie; we got lost A LOT. But it was cool being in the heart of one of the world's most diverse cities. Every step we took, we witnessed new and different cultural happenings. The choices of food were innumerable although we stuck to what we were used to: fast food. =) At the end of the weekend, although I wished we had more time to explore the city, I was relieved to be back on campus at the good ole HU! (Shout outs to my roommate and his family, my friend Dudley, and all my friends at St. John's..you guys made this weekend a great one!)

Quote of the Day

"For Africa to me is more than a glamorous fact. It is a historical truth. No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place." -Maya Angelou

(from the Facebook group "I Love Being Black")

I was on Facebook and read the quote of the day from "I Love Being Black" and thought of Googling the query "African+beauty". These are some of the pictures that jumped out at me. Enjoy the quote and the pictures! :D






(pictures from: imanafricaninny.wordpress.com/.../,http://www.olgacolors.com/images/African-Beauty.gif,www.jigsawgallery.com/details.php?refnum=R15352,
http://www.oilpaintingsframes.com/images/003.jpg, http://farm1.static.flickr.com/54/113592412_1b2bac3282.jpg)

Quotes of the Day

(Chinese calligraphy for "wisdom")
Today I was on Facebook and I came upon several quotes which definitely made me think. Therefore, I am just passing them on to you for your edification:

"When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said "Let us pray." We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land." -Desmond Tutu

"I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying." -Michael Jordan

Jason’s Life Lessons: #1

After creating my new blog, I asked several people for suggestions on content, etc., etc. My Aunt was the first to respond with the idea of posting tips for college students. After thinking (and procrastinating) about it for a while, I decided that I'm going to incorporate my advice for new college students (being a new college student myself) and my lessons on life into one assemblage of thoughts/rants. So that having been said, here is my first bit of advice. (Thanks to my Aunt Aida for the great idea!!)

KNOW WHEN TO SWALLOW YOUR PRIDE:

Yesterday I got into an argument with a person whom I have grown to care for a lot. We both stopped talking to each other and would not communicate or even look at each other. Now I'll admit that I am a really stubborn person. If I stop talking to someone, 9 times out of 10 if we start talking again it is because he/she stepped up and acknowledged their mistake, leaving me with the option of either accepting their apology or continuing the dispute. Although this person did admit that what they had done did in fact start the altercation, I couldn't help but recognizing that I could have just been the bigger person and let my pride take a hit by agreeing that I was to be held at least partially accountable for the fallout. However, due to my thick skull I just let the problem persist for longer than it needed to. Therefore, my advice for you readers out there is to stop once in a while and take a look in the mirror and realize your faults. Yes, it is hard to accept that we have shortcomings or that there are attributes that we as human beings should work on. But if everyone would try to work out their negative traits, I'm sure we could stop silly squabbles from interrupting more important things from happening, such as building friendships or relationships. After talking out my dispute with the other party, we both came to the conclusion that our quarrel was childish and that we both had areas that we should work on. Hopefully I can work on this negative quality of myself so that in the future, I can prevent little grievances from turning into all out battles.