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[31 Aug 2008|02:51pm] |
Dear Dan,
Greetings!. I received ur email. I went to Nigeria to see my family. I just came back few days ago. I will keep in touch only that some times when I write I will not see any reply. Hope all is well. hope to keep in touch,
Lawrence
"Preserve me lord for I take refuge in you, Show me the path of life the fullness of Joy in your presence"
Chukwunonso
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(8 are scene | get in on the fun)
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[30 Jun 2008|01:09pm] |
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So im in chicago right now, just chillen and checking out the city for the day. The road trip has been insane, and we met so many cool people. Anyways, I get home Thursday, and wanna chill with as many mo-fos as possible. So hit me up bitches.
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(get in on the fun)
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| adios |
[24 Jun 2008|09:49pm] |
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So I'm saying goodbye to cali, and it kinda sucks. I'm looking forward to hanging out with everyone back home tho, its been way too long. Anyways, on Thursday, me and 3 close friend will depart los angeles, to road trip across the nation. It should be sick. We are going to Vegas, Denver, Omahama, and chicago, and then pittsburgh, philly and ny. We have a long list of things we plan on conquering including... going hunting, lighting off fireworks in a random state, winning money in vegas, crashing a house party, picking up a hitchhiker/smoking a blunt with them, hooking up with a girl whose race u never hooked up with, smoking a cigar with an OG hunter, and above all, not get arrested and many more. if all goes well with our journey and the police, i should be home july 4th.
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(3 are scene | get in on the fun)
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[09 Jun 2008|07:32pm] |
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thank you all for the birthday wishes. i really appreciate it. i cant fucking wait to come home. you guys have no idea. this whole living in the ghetto in la was fun for a while, but its starting to get old. as for next year, i have no idea what im gonna do. i got rejected from all my schools. all of them! even my safeties, and even the ones i already got accepted to in high school. its pretty bullshit. i am definitely moving back to the east coast, but i really dont wanna live at home. i am gonna have to take some classes somewhere and somehow but i really wanna get this whole college thing over with. any ideas on what to do with my life?
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(7 are scene | get in on the fun)
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[18 May 2008|12:10am] |
Dear Lebron Raymond James,
You have monster balls. No homo. It's time to prove that shit and shut Boston the fuck up. So please, fuck shit up tommorow. Thank you in advance.
Sincerely,
Daniel John Schmitt
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(7 are scene | get in on the fun)
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[19 May 2007|05:12pm] |
(I tried to summarize my experience in California, because I feel most people have no clue why I came out here or what the hell I do)
I am thoroughly enjoying one of my last weekends in Cali, but I really can't wait to get back to jersey and start my summer. I did some research and due to certain technicalities, I will have to apply as a freshman to college, but will have a few credits that will count towards my degree. That leaves me the option of transferring next spring or waiting one more year and going in the fall. I know I am taking an extremely round about way regarding my education, but I truly believe it is in my best interest to go next fall. The experience I have had this half year have been invaluable, have matured me, and have taught me more about myself than i could ever imagine.
I remember one of my very first days doing City Year (the name of the program I do) I walked into the office and got to meet the rest of the people (about 60 members) for the first time ever. I introduced myself to them and they asked me where I was from and how old I was. When they heard I was 18 they all had the same reaction. They were like "Good luck man you're in for a tough year." Or "wow when i was 18 I could have never done what we're doing right now." Most of the corps were ivy-league graduates, future lawyers or politicians, or others really involved in the community and making a difference. I was just an 18 year old schmuck who wanted to transfer colleges, but was missing credits.
Later that week, I got to meet my program manager and find out my assignment. His name was Mark and he told me that I would be working at an elementary school, and I was definitely pumped about that. He explained to me that this school was deep in the east side of the city. An area that I should not wander around in, and should go straight from school to the bus stop. He explained to me that this was an extremely prevalent gang area, and not to speak to, look at, or come in any contact with people who wore red bandannas, hats or had any signs of gang involvement. Apprehensively, I joined my team of 6 other corps members in the long commute on the bus, to the east side of San Jose. There I met with the principal of the school who seemed like a great guy. He explained to me and the two other mid-years that because we came into the organization mid-year, he didn't have sufficient time to train us and we would just have to hop right in. He warned me that many of the children had bad childhoods and a good amount were victims of child abuse. A lot of them were raised by single moms who held multiple jobs just to support their family. These kids were pretty much raised by older brothers and sisters who were in gangs or who neglected them completely. He assigned me to a rowdy 4th grade classroom for the after school program, and I was to tutor 1st graders in reading comprehension during the day. I was honestly scared shitless with the amount of responsibility I had just been given.
That first day was one of the worst days of my life. I walked into that 4th grade classroom, and the 4th graders recognized my uncertainty and walked all over me. I thought the whole year was going to be miserable and that it would be a complete failure. As a few weeks passed, I slowly learned how to control the class better and discipline kids. I earned the respect of the students and gained their trust. After that things just got easier and easier, and I could see, firsthand the effect I was having on the kids. I was finally able to manage working with the 4th graders and it became fun.
At first, the first graders were another story. I had 4 groups of 4 1st graders and it was pretty difficult. They spoke broken English, communicated with each other in Spanish, and for the most part didn't trust adults at all. Their parents/parent at home would curse at them, neglect them, and just see them as an overall nuisance which they didn't want to deal with. For one girl, it was so bad that it took about a week for her to overcome her shyness and fear, and recognize that I meant well and wasn't a threat to her. Only then would she read out loud and answer when I called on her. A few weeks later I heard great things from the teachers, about how I bumped students' reading levels up from a kindergarten level to a high first grade or even second grade level. This gave me confidence that I really could help students and make a difference.
After looking back on these experiences, I can definitely say I had a successful half year. If I could do it all over, without a doubt I would have done City Year a whole year this year, and a next year as well before I even started college.
Anyway, in City Year there are two different positions there is one called a senior corps position and a corps member position. As a corps member, you work on a team with 4-8 other 17-24 year olds and work at a school or help plan in the office (and do a whole lot of other shit that I really don't feel like explaining right now). As a senior corps member you lead two teams (so about 16 people) and you are pretty much their boss for every one of them. A senior corps member position is highly coveted, and almost everyone applies for one. Out of all the positions, the school-based positions are extremely to get. If you are a mid-year, it is considered impossible to get a senior corps member position, as you've had only 1/2 the experience that the other corps members have had. Anyways I decided to apply as a senior corps member to a brand new site in the great city of Los Angeles (a move which my program manager told me was a huge long shot, and that I had very little chance of getting). When I got to Cali, I figured I could either work my ass off and try to get this position, or go back home, live with my parents for a year, and work a lame ass 9-5. Not a very tough decision.
As I got further and further into the application process, I learned that about 40 other people all across the country were applying for the one position that I applied for. Everyone wanted to live in LA. Among these included ivy league college graduates, and people a lot smarter and motivated than I. One of my coworkers whom I highly respected had applied for LA as well. He got a call back saying they didn't have any spots for him, and he didn't even get an interview. I really thought I was hopeless and was dreading being out of college with nothing to do next year. A few weeks later I got a call from LA, saying that they wanted to interview me. I was shocked and couldn't believe it for a second. Last Tuesday, I got an email welcoming me to join City Year Los Angeles as a Senior Corps Member. I couldn't fucking believe it and I was so proud that all the hard work I did this year was rewarded.
I was also asked by my program manager to do a City Year program next year called CareForce, in which you travel to twenty different cities in the US in one year with a team of about 15 other senior corps members, road tripping the nation and serving in poor communities.
Basically I have two extraordinary opportunities that will never ever come again in my lifetime that I have to choose between. Obviously I am not considering staying at home and doing a boring job for a year. Both are amazing programs and it is the first time they are ever happening. CareForce would have me based outside of Boston, seeing cities all over the country, and would be a sweet experience. Los Angeles is in its first year as well, and it would be extremely difficult. The program would have lots of flaws, and working with a school that never had City Year, leading two teams of about 16 17-24 year olds would also be difficult. Also it would be a pretty rough area ex. Watts, South Central, Eastside, Englewood, and (maybe but I highly doubt it and certainly hope not) Compton.
So i got a pretty big decision and I'm open for advice or any suggestions.
ps
My roomate and I decided to get pizza today. Even though I live in a decently nice area, I have to walk through a much poorer area to get to the pizzeria. On my way home about 4 people saw my pizza and asked me for either a slice or begged me for money. As this happens all the time I was really getting sick of it and just wanted to make it home without one more person bothering me. With my apartment in sight I thought I was finally safe, and not gonna get bothered again. A few seconds later, I heard a voice of a child trailing behind me screaming "hey! hey! hey!" I looked behind me to see a little (about 7 year old) girl chasing me from the steps of her tiny cheap apartment. She finally caught up to me looked at me with wide eyes and a huge smile across her face. She asked "what's the pizza?" I didn't know how to respond I just said"I don't know it's just pizza." She stared at the pizza for a few seconds and then looked at me with an even bigger smile and happy innocent eyes and screamed "that's so cool!" I stood there a few more seconds just thinking about situation not knowing whether or not it would be appropriate to give her a slice when her mom came running towards us. She grabbed the little girl screaming and cursing at her and practically dragged her back into the apartment where god knows what happened. it was just one of those moments where u had to be there to understand what happened.
its moments like this that want me to do one more year and convince me that i can make a huge difference working with kids.
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(13 are scene | get in on the fun)
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[19 May 2007|05:11pm] |
__________( )
(Lebron. _)
(____ _____)
\)
.----. SPLOOGE! .-----------.
/ \ | | nets |
( ______) | .----. | |
(c\(-) (-)) . ( \ | |
\ .__) ) (______ ) |___________|
\___x__/.-"""-,((x) (o)/c) ||
( __.o' ( (__\ / ||
\___/_)_ .____\__U___/_ ||
(_ // _) (_\__ )__ ||
/___/oo____\ \_______/___/(_)
. ( )
|_ /____|\____\
BALLZ
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(1 are scene | get in on the fun)
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[11 May 2007|02:17pm] |
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last night i got arrested by a rent-a-cop on a six speed bicycle just because i was being a nigger.
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(6 are scene | get in on the fun)
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| is big L's flow slow?? HELL NO. bitches get fucked on the roof when i ain't got no hotel tho. |
[24 Feb 2007|10:18pm] |
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mad caddies |
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So i moved out to the west coast last month to take a little break from school and figure out my academic future, and also do some good things for poor people in the meantime. California is fucking awesome. It's a great state, and the west coast culture is definitely different from back home. Everything seems more laid back and people aren't as rushed and busy as back home. That is probably because marijuana is border line legal here, and we have the best shit in the nation. I've really gotten into some west coast rap, punk, and ska, and I saw a rapper perform in San Francisco a few weekends ago. My apartment is really nice, and I'm gonna put some pictures up soon. It's great to just chill on the balcony in 70 degree weather and look out and see palm trees and signs for the 101. It's kind of weird living with 3 girls in an apartment, and definitely not what I expected. They can bring drama and PMS all the time, and can be bitches in general. I still get along with them well and they're cool, and my roommate Teddy is pretty cool too.
The organization is called City Year and it is amazing. It's a lot of work, long hours, and can be stressful at times. It's volunteer so I don't exactly get paid, but I get a stipend of about $180 to cover rent ($410 a month) groceries and food, and all other living expenses. I actually qualify for food stamps, but I never went through with getting them. Anyways, I really like living on a tight budget, because it is such a new experience and I think it will serve me extremely well when I graduate college and have to live on my own. In a normal work week, I work at an elementary school on the east side of San Jose (the really ghetto side) four days a week, and on fridays we usually do a service day in which everyone in the whole program works together at a certain site.
Working at an elementary school is the coolest thing ever. I get to teach kids how to read and improve their comprehension, and for some, try to teach them English. I get my own classroom after school and get to supervise about 15 fourth graders and help them on their homework. I get to yell at kids if they are bad and make them write me letters saying how they were bad or disrespected me. I get access to the teachers lounge and have the ability to steal the middle school teachers' lunches if they have something sweet that day. (We share the campus with a middle school, and their is this really bitchy teacher and I only stole her hot pockets once.) Most importantly, I get to supervise the kids who play basketball at recess and dunk on their asses.
I really love what I'm doing and I think it is definitely helping guide me on my path in the future. Hopefully when I go back to school I will know a major (possibly education) and have more of an idea of what I wanna do. The timezone difference makes it harder to stay in touch with people on the east coast, but I am definitely going to try to make a bigger effort to stay in touch with all of you more. Until then, I will be working 50+ hours a week making approximately 3 dollars an hour.
see y'all niggers in june
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(6 are scene | get in on the fun)
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[15 Feb 2007|09:55pm] |
Hey Dan,
It has been a long time. This is Lawrence. I just want to break the silence. I hope that you are doing alright. How is Matt, Christopher and Olivian. I hope they are doing pretty good. Big Rig. Take care and remain bless.
Lawrence
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(10 are scene | get in on the fun)
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| OKTOBERFEST |
[29 Sep 2006|05:43pm] |
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oktoberfest begins 2:00 saturday to 6:00 sunday. Whoever wants a drunk dial should call me, because I will surely forget.
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(get in on the fun)
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[26 Sep 2006|03:18pm] |
so college is sweet. Classes are not sweet at all. Work sucks a lot and so does listening to people give lectures. Writing papers sucks a lot too. Partying 3-4 days a week though is fuckin sweet. So pretty much college is the best thing ever except for work and classes.
BTW, is anyone gonna be around Columbus Day Weekened?
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(get in on the fun)
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| Today shall be a sexual experience. |
[09 Sep 2006|11:27am] |
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Ok. In half an hour I'm going to a golf party. Dress up in golf attire. 18 Houses (holes) and 36 kegs. Starts at noon and ends at 3 in the morning. Mud wrestling, midget tossing, bikini contest, ice luges, 3 story funnel, and over 4 thousand dollars worth of liquor. If I don't drunk dial you call me any time after 3, and I shall be quite inebriated.
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(4 are scene | get in on the fun)
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| college? |
[28 Jun 2006|03:01pm] |
Providence College #4. Ok, so we don't have a football team, and our basketball team is mediocre.....we're a small school and title IX screws us over time and time again.....but sports are irrelevant when it comes to boozin hard....because we got no ties...we support your schools...and celebrate their wins by gettin shitfaced.....take spring break for example....you see meatheads havin a casual drink and flirtin..thats partying? how bout PC havin kids shitfaced and passin out in the pool? PC will challenege any school to a drink off and just have you guys pay for the trophy...we'll take it home guaranteed.
i just got back from orientation. it was sweet. my school's the #4 party school in the country. We had a beer pong tournament the first night. It was sick.
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(3 are scene | get in on the fun)
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