First Person

Malikka’s back on the scene

Malikka — Wed, 28 May 2008 18:03:52 +0000

I am back in school I’ve transferred out of community. I’m taking summer classes at Manor College in jenkintown. I’m racking up some science classes so that i’ll be academically in line for that acceptance letter im hoping for from Dixon. Life’s pretty good I’ve got no major complaints. I’d like to thank all those who contributed to the first person scholarship fund because that’s how I was able to pay for these classes ” I owe you one”. It feels good being back in school I feel like I’m back on track. I had my first exam yesterday so far so good 84% :-) keep praying for me
when i get a chance i’ll write more
love you all

My college essay for Dixon School of Nursing

Malikka — Fri, 02 May 2008 23:05:11 +0000

I think that nursing is in my blood. If you ask my mother if it wasnâ€™t for the midwife who delivered me I wouldnâ€™t be here. I believe from an early age that drive to give back was in me. Iâ€™m not unfamiliar to the hospital setting at all. Through the years Iâ€™ve had my share of days there. From my diagnosis with asthma and the many days I thought I would die from it, to my bilateral and lumbar spinal fusions that nearly left me paralyzed at age 12. These angels in rainbow scrubs that appeared through the fog of morphine tears were always with me. They were my 2 a.m. bathroom buddies, my extra hands and feet when mine werenâ€™t steady enough and my wheelchair chauffeurâ€™s.
They were there when I lost those closest to me; they were their through auntsâ€™ breast cancer uncleâ€™s chemotherapy, through my great-auntâ€™s appendicitis friendâ€™s fatherâ€™s heart attack, through my little sisters broken jaw and momâ€™s sprained ankle. They cared for my family as if they were their own. When the doctors were on rotation and visiting hours were over they weâ€™re there. What better way to give back than to be a part of something that has been such a major part of my life?
Many of the above events have affected my academics but that hasnâ€™t stopped me from wanting to be a nurse. I know that with the right environment and supports I can fulfill my dream. I just need some help. I want more than anything to have the chance to be a nurse midwife because for me thatâ€™s where my story began. Through my stay at Childrenâ€™s Hospital of Philadelphia during my rides on the elevator to and from x-ray, MRI and cat scans I had the chance to hear other peopleâ€™s stories and the most heart wrenching were those of new parents. They reaffirmed my aspirations to be a part of the medical field.
In the summer prior to tenth grade I was met with a proposition to be a part of a documentary entitled â€œFirst personâ€?. The film follows the lives of six students through high school. I jumped at the chance to have an auditory and visual history of my high school experience. During high school I had the opportunity to speak in front of middle school students, policy makers, and prospective teachers who craved my insights and opinions about high school and the college application process. Through the timeline of the film, I made my college selections and got into Drexel, however finances prevented me from attending. I was devastated. As disappointing as this was it showed first hand what so many of my peers were going through. The film depicts the emotional and financial challenges of the college process. I wound up at community college of Philadelphia. Through â€œFirst Personâ€? Iâ€™ve had the chance to tell the story of countless inner-city kids. After three difficult semesters at community college, this included the death of a close friend, my uncleâ€™s stroke. I decided to take a break. My story isnâ€™t over. I Came across The Abington Memorial Hospital Dixon School of nursing by no other way than the grace of God. Through media exposure and rave reviews of the film, a woman by the name of Stephanie Wroten read my story and reached out. Iâ€™m hoping that her hands are the oneâ€™s that will lead me to the chance I need to have the Career that Iâ€™ve always wanted.

…My life’s plan

Malikka — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 09:34:58 +0000

Life has had its ups and downs and at times that plan that i set for myself a long time ago gets a little foggy.
I decided to take this semester of to regroup and figure out what i want..
see when i was 12 I wanted go to temple to be a nurse get married to a sultan be a fashion diva and live in dubai all by the age of 18 ….now a days i wonder how much of that was a fairyland dream…

especially since none of the above came to pass ….I mean sure i’ve met my prince but the wealth and beach home were a long shot….
The many unforseen twists and turns of life have at moments had me in the fetal position praying for an end to it all but I’m grateful for my faith because at moments when i think it couldn’t get any worse it does …but for a split second in between i see the sunshine and I hear my moms old saying “With every difficulty comes ease” “God doesn’t give you more than you can bear”
so I’ll try my best to take the rough moments in stride

So i’ve turned the page of my journal and labeled it my life’s plan ….I understand now that the main reason why life is getting in the way of my future is because im letting it. so i plan on investing some time and money on some profesional therapy sessions to get some of those pent up hurt feelings out ….the temple drexel desicion is still haunting me ….according to my life plan i should be half way through school married and pregnant with my first child chilling at my summer home… maybe i need to take some time to lay out some more realistic goals …..so here it goes…

All I want more than anything is Success …Success within my spiriual financial and physical self
I want to be in a school that i love and in a school that is wiling to work with me to attain my goals of a worthwhile career….
more than anything i’d like to have the encouragement that i need …that pat on the back and the you can do its make the load a little lighter
I’d like to have a good paying low stress job that will make it easier to balance work and school
i’d love to have the independance of having my own everything independence is a blessing…that i’d love to be greatful for

Thank You All So Very Much

Malikka — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:42:15 +0000

I never thought our combined stories could ever evoke so much emotion in one room. Thankyou so much for those of you who attended the premiere and for those of you who stood outside dissappoined because the tickets were sold out. I’m still in awe after we recieved a standing ovation. In the moment you don’t realize that your not alone in your struggle. forgive me if I’m a little out of sorts. But I really do appreciate the many people who came to me after seeing the movie and told me to not give up….and for those who trusted me enough to share their own stories of life’s dissapoinments. As confusing as this juncture in my life is …I’m happy to know that I’m not the only one who has walked this difficult road filled with family and financial issue that affect the drive and direction of life’s Yellow bricks.

I appreciate you all fro your kind words and prayers and I hope to see an outpour of you and your family and friends at the 2nd and final screening of first person for the philadelphia film festival

Thank you so very much
-Malikka

Real, unique students

First Person Documentary Project — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:51:43 +0000

Thirty-two urban education students from Swarthmore College recently watched the introductory First Person DVD on their first day of class. Over the next several weeks, excerpts from their responses will be posted as part of this blog.

The portraits presented in the First Person documentary…challenged the distinction that it is made between urban education and other types of education. These portraits reminded me that, though we can call these students â€œurbanâ€?, they are nevertheless, still high school students, experiencing many similar events to any public high school across the country.

This film will impact how I view urban education simply because it focuses on real individuals instead of statistics or generalizations. I believe that the film will broaden my concept of urban education and the students that attend urban schools. Having heard many statistics about students in urban schools concerning pregnancy, drop-out rates, or gangs, I often have a singular picture of who an urban student is. This film will change my perspective by reminding me that thinking about a â€œtypicalâ€? urban student is not significant since these real schools are made up of real, unique students. Even if some of these students are connected by similar statistics, such as socioeconomic class or school drop-out rate, these students think, feel, and learn very differently from each other. Keeping these unique portraits in mind, along with the idea that there are millions of other unique students in what we lump together as â€œurbanâ€? schools, will change the way I think about urban education as a whole. In presenting issues that both challenged and affirmed my previous thoughts, the film will hopefully broaden my understanding of the reality and complexity of urban education, instead of limiting it to what can be implied by the term.