PTA Membership Form Inside
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Holla At Ya Boy I made a choice to start working with young adults and children. I have established my own business One Step To Life. My main objective is to motivate others to speak up and be accounted for. One Step To Life 59 E Avondale Youngstown, OH 44507 NEW Phone #: 330-233-1481 Fax #: 330-788-3454 NEW Hotline #: 330-233-1481 E-mail: onesteptolife@sbcglobal.net
I am a motivational speaker for positive non-violent events and I have been involved in many activities to encourage and strengthen the minds of our youth in the city of Youngstown. My dream today is to reach out and give back through all my experiences through life. I want to be involved in the vision for the City of Youngstown. The 20th Century has brought about difficult times in which our children need direction and need to learn the importance of education and life choices. The School Levy is important to me because the children of this day and age matter. Itâ€&#x;s a need for our children to be educated and well conversed under the laws of education and how could that be done without the financial funds to govern our children. Throughout my life and in my community I have touched the lives of young children by inspiring them to stay in school, say no to drugs, become leaders, and prepare for life after graduation. Today, I stand on humble ground doing what I love, helping others. I am sincere and confident in what I do. As I walk this path, I focus only on a positive safe haven for our children. We are in drastic times and we need to take drastic measures. I am that drastic measure.
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Poetry By R. Shanelle Why am I always looking for my phone!!!!! I‟d lose my head if it weren‟t attached to my body If it‟s not my phone, it‟s my shoes but mostly it‟s my keys! Four missed calls two of them are private…hmmm…. I wonder who it could be because my friends know I won‟t answer Pushed to the back of my mind I grab my Word and on my way to church I don‟t believe in superstition but my eyes start twitching is he thinking about me? Does he believe me? I stepped out on faith, softly I hear your voice my Precious Prince “trust me, just trust me!” Any who I be rhyming and I be spitting leaving stains on the microphone like a greasy monkey I organize and tenderize the face of ministry like I was Al Capone from how many, money, many mics have I seen the melodies of heaven Protocols, keyboards, studio fees, synth machine, microphone, cable cords, computer galore oh my! That private caller calling me, calling me again I hop into my ride Pontiac Grand Am, that is, and head home, music high, music loud, music and music all around What can I say when I wake up I‟m on the grind: Jesus, music, food and Jesus, words and music, Jesus‟ music Not all the time I have words that rhyme I see words as a painter sees a canvas, as a photographer sees a portrait I come into the house and speak to everyone yes I have spoken I head to my computer too many words sitting, blocking my thoughts up the stairs I run WWWAAAIIITTTT!!!! Hmmm…. what‟s that ring the private caller again, to me, it doesn‟t make any sense instead of picking up I sit and wonder who it could be? Then I make poems like this instead answering and asking the private caller to unveil his/her identity, leave a message instead leaving me with confusion and mystery The phone stops ringing……private caller, oh private caller I wish I may I wish I might know who you are before I loose my mind (too late) Call me? 4
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If You stand for Nothin…
By Jessica Hippo Your love was amazing and it was hard not to love you back. Day and night I thought how I wanted it to all stop, but you were too hard to resist. Why is this love so hard? I try to stay away from you, but still, everywhere I turn, you‟re right there. If I fall, you always catch me. Let me fall…Let me be free…Let me live my life…Stop following me!! This love is too hard. What do I do? There are so many questions. Do I know what I am giving up? Do I know what I‟m doing to myself? And then, I thought to myself…I know what I am doing. I‟m finally setting myself free…Free from you…Free from this pain…Free from this hard love
By Jennifer Tejeda I try so hard to lose weight, But I guess it‟s my fate. God wanted me big and beautiful and he gave me a good soul, A good soul only good people can see, Not the kind of people who want to judge me. It used to hurt me on the in, what‟s on the out, And now I see there‟s nothing to hurt about. So big or small, Thick or thin, My man‟s going to love me in the skin I‟m in.
I Love my Mom & the rest of the family But my Mom comes first if you ask me She was there from the start & will be there at the end She is not only my Mom, but my best friend My Mom supports us by working all day long She raised 3 boys and 1 girl all on her own I’m happy to wake up & see her face No female in the world can take her place My Mom is my doctor when I’m feeling blue I can’t say nothing else but I LOVE YOU By Curt Warren 6
..You will fall for anything
By Nate Bowles So many tears shed and so much pain. Why the only thing in my body is stress and pain, So I‟m going to stick my chest out and take the pain. There‟s nothing like growing up, no place to sleep – that‟s pain. Not having a place to call home – that‟s pain. Not knowin‟ where it‟s your time to go – that‟s pain. Strugglin‟ and hustlin‟ on the streets – that‟s pain. I have been through so much trouble and pain. Sixteen with a kid and no job. I‟m lost with pain. I wish I could go back to the day I had no pain. It would never happen „cause I was born in pain. Not knowin‟ where to go, what to do – that‟s pain. You would go crazy if you felt my pain. That‟s why I hide it with some more pain. If only I could take away all the pain. Having friends turn on you – that‟s pain. Having street smarts instead of book smarts – that‟s pain. The only think I feel in this cold world is struggle and pain.
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Stereotypes They Act Black/White I was at a dance audition Sunday on the 7th of September. I was waiting in line talking to 3 girls. Two of them were White and the other Black. So I was in line tryna figure out what to do 4 my solo cuz I don‟t dance. So I said jokingly, I‟m just gone jam. And 1 of the white girls started singin‟ FloRida‟s Get Low, and the other said “I love it when I call you Big Poppa” I just went along with it thinking they singing black songs tryna impress us.
Now You Know I was sitting down at this dance audition listening to instructions, and this big black girl walked in. The first thing I thought is “why is she here?” Now she already knows she not gone make it, but then I thought, let me not judge this girl because she could be the best dancer here, and I knew she had rhythm because she was a sista (sterotype). So we started warming up and she was doing good. We started with a jazz dance that confused me more than anyone. Then I sat and thought about it like, well they live in Youngstown jus like me, they could be die hard fans and love FloRida and Biggie. Or they just tryna impress me. Not knowing that I hardly listen to rap, even though I knew the songs. They ended up being really nice and funny and their solos were funny. They did say they would jam with me because we didn‟t dance professionally, so we were just going to groove down the gym. So I stopped and pulled back from judging them because… She was working it…….She 4got sum moves so she made up her own…….. And she actually did very good. Better than me……..But I judged her by how she looked.
You Should Give People A Chance B4 You Judge Them I know it‟s hard but we gotta start somewhere. She made the dance team along with me and she‟s going to choreograph a dance or two that I‟m going to audition for. I‟m sorry I judged her and I hope we can be good friends. By James Burns
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A New Way of Teaching Check this out, this is a new year for these kids, I mean, let me know what‟s important. The color of their shoes OR the education that they are lacking in??? We as the parents, the teachers, and the overseers of these children need to find out the importance of their education. Yes, I understand that there is a dress code but how are you gonna take 95 students and kick them out because they have a little red or white in their shoe? C‟mon now, we don‟t have time to be messin‟ around on something that is not as important as our kids education. We need to look further ahead, we need to start educating our teachers and taking them through a curriculum to help them deal with inner city kids and understand what they go through on a day by day basis. Yeah, I‟m saying this to some of you teachers out there that don‟t know how to communicate with our kids and you don‟t even live in the inner city. You don‟t have the slightest idea that a kid 15, 16 yrs of age these days are taking care of their self and coming come with no food, mother drunk on the couch, father out getting high. And last but not least, there are kids out here takin‟ care of their own kids. Then have to come to school to deal with a teacher that has no idea what they have been through that whole night and really don‟t care.
Hold up now, when you first start teaching, you say you wanna give back
and help out. Tell me something for real, for real, what is more important, the money or the life of that child? Okay, we can try to sit here and actually analyze and decipher the problems that goes on with our kids. But I tell you, if you haven‟t somewhat walked in their shoes to understand what they are going through, you really can‟t help them. How do we solve the problem that so many of our children are having.
Check this out, I will
tell you the answer……..
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First, thing we need to do is self-analyze and come down from that mountain and realize that our kids are human beings.
Aww, man yall, did you forget?
remember that you were a child before too.
Second,
Understanding the kids of today is
understanding who you were yesterday. We must allow the truth to come through the life experience of today. We need not to hide in back of the bush, we need to allow truth to manifest the will of today. Basic English – Keep It Real!! If you have not experienced the hardship of life, find someone who has so they can identify with the child. We spend so much time thinking that the kids have a learning disability, when the only problem the child has is an individual not understanding what he or she may be going through at that moment. Teachers, if your life is to teach, understand that it is time to be taught by the same people that you are teaching. I say this because you have to understand the concept of what is holding our kids back. Bottom Line Listen and identify with the pain and if you can be part of the solution, help him or her. But if you‟re going to be a part of the problem and do not address the issue, as years go on, the problem compounds itself and now you are dealing with not just the behavior problem, your dealing with the mental and physical aspect of the problem.
(i.e. Alcohol, Drugs,
Sex)
Kids and Young Adults, if you have feelings about this Topic please speak your mind, email us at onesteptolife@sbcglobal.net
…Now Hold Up… I know that this can be a lot but in order to help these kids we have to identify and be part of the solution. And I believe that it is time to get taught. The old way of teaching has to go. And the new way of teaching must come alive. Find yourself. 13
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From Glen & Kyiel Williams and family
One Step To Life 59 E Avondale Youngstown, OH 44507 NEW Phone #: 330-233-1481 Fax #: 330-788-3454 NEW Hotline #: 330-233-1481 E-mail: onesteptolife@sbcglobal.net
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