Prayer Works

When dreams come true, and prayer works.As a student athlete sacrifice is a word I hear far to often. Giving up weekends, holidays, and extended breaks from school, it can easily be described as a full time job. Although sacrifice helped me get through school.
Growing up with a single mother, if I wanted to attend college I would have to provide for myself for the most part. Lucky I have grandparents that are able to help me along my journey. Still I had to make a path for myself, so I decided to play basketball. Receiving a scholarship paved the way for me to attend college.
Once in college I learn to fully understand what it took to be a student-athlete. It wasn’t easy, but everyone told me, it would make you a better person and employers like the fact you know what team work involves. I believe it somewhat hinders you from accomplishing your true dreams. Unless you want to be a professional athlete.
I believe collegiate athletes forget to ponder what is next after their time runs out as an athlete. College sports propose a double standard. At one moment you’re supposed to go to school maintain a certain GPA. Then again you’re supposed to spend three hours a day in the gym. How can anyone reach full potential in any area?
At one point in my life my dream was to play college basketball, after fulfilling that dream the game became not as fun. The work ethic was challenging, the responsibility and commitment became more of a hassle, and the importance decreased drastically.
How was I supposed to get ready for my future and at the same time focus on a sport that required 35+ hours a week? I believe it’s not possible. As an athlete you’re always playing from behind in the classroom.
Recently I wasn’t sure where my future was headed, getting ready to graduate this summer, I was losing sleep, every night I stayed up in the internet looking for jobs, opportunities, internships. As a communication broadcast major I watche reporters films, and compared myself to them to see if I was ready. I wasn’t, not even close. I may have had the confidence but the ability to create a story was going to be difficult for me. Basketball did teach me time management, and to understand how a reporter has to get a story in a certain period of time, but in this case I would be a loser being a reporter.
I then learned what sacrifice truly meant, not to only give up but to lose. As I look at what I lost in my life as an athlete I’m not sure if I would do it over again. Yes, I’ve learned things about myself as an athlete, and made some friends, but sacrifice for those things when I could have gain more experience for my career, better grades, more family time, and ultimately more time for myself. I am unsure if the positive weighed out the negative in this instance.
It came to a point I was fed up, didn’t understand the path God wanted me to follow. So I prayed. I prayed that he would provide the answers, I prayed that he would put it in my heart the decisions I needed to make. I hadn’t been to church consistently like I use to. So I felt like I neglected the big man, but then I remember what my pastor use to say. God will never leave you or forsake you. So I knew he would provide.
That’s when things all of sudden looked up. First a friend said I could live with her during the summer for a small cost. Then I got a call from the Justin Unell the Sports Director at NBC Action News asking me to come down for an interview, that day they hired me on the spot. I was leaving the lunch room, and a pastor began to talk to me about life, and speaking positivity into your life. I walked outside and received a call from the general manger at 54th St. Bar and Grill offering me a job as a server. I couldn't believe it, but then again I knew prayer worked.
It’s funny a movie taught me prayer is like a GPS. You type in a address, telling it where you want to go. Just like you pray and the prayer goes up to God. Then the GPS tells you the you the route to take, but it doesn’t tell you if there is going to be traffic or the person in front of you is driving, or if you might get into a wreck. That is just like a prayer God hears your prayer and he will provide it to you at the right time. He just might take you through a few things before your blessing arrives, so he knows you are ready to receive.
It’s amazing to me how these things play out. At times when nothing looks up I tell you to pray. Pray and everything will be provided for you.

 

The Black Voice @ Kansas City Star

The Black Voice @ Kansas City Star

The black voice. What does that mean? A black voice gives the opinion of one African American that speaks for the whole Black Community. This voice is given justice, because a black person gives their judgment in the situation. The black voice usually comes into play in many business complications. It's more evident in the news rooms of America.

Media has a big role in society issues, and to be ethical, or to be fair the black voice is needed.

In recent years many public figures have been demoted or jobs terminated for speaking about African Americas. To speak about Black America you have to sensitive to what you say, because one could take offense. But if you have a black voice along with you agreeing then it's okay, why? It is believed if there is black voice in a sensitive comment or issue, then they fell protected.

Reporter Jenee Osterheldt from the Kansas City Star doesn't want to be the black voice. Growing up with no set future goals, she was granted an internship for three newspaper company in Kansas City, Minnesota and California. After all three cities she was offered a job at the Kansas City Star. She accepted.  Her true talent is her connections from her personal things to life issues, and her ability to get readers attention, using words in her columns such as "I'm Rick James B****." Creative would be a understatement for Jenee's work. With creative comes criticism. She believes she has developed over time a thick skin, but every once in a while she fires back at critics.

She explained that at the Kansas City Star other reporters without realization send Black Community Events her way to cover. She kindly handles these situations individually but said she believes everyone in the newsroom should be diverse and covers all events equally.

The black voice has many positive and negatives. But the black voice is believed to be needed in the world by the majority. The voice allows African Americans feel protected.

Who Represents You.

I recently went to an informal gathering featuring Republican Senator Rob Schaaf representing the 34th District of Missouri. I attended the meeting to represent students receiving the Missouri Access Grant.

As I walked into the room, a small group sat in a circle, chatting.  Schaaf began the conversation about a proposed bill regarding the police force. He told a story of an officer in St. Louis speaking to him about a vendor on the street, stating he didn’t need a license to sell, because he pays the alderman.

It is illegal to pay a government official to avoid obtaining a vending license.

Senator Schaaf



The cop wrote a report and notified his superior. Schaaf was upset with the alleged comments from the vendor, and felt the need for the media to cover the story.  The media didn’t.

He asked if anyone disagreed.  After hesitation, I raised my hand, and said, “Senator, I also believe the media should cover this story, but at this point in time I believe we need to focus our energy in directions. As a native of St. Louis and concerned with the FBI statistics naming St. Louis number one crime city in America, I don’t think it makes sense to focus so much on the nickel-and-dime operations, but put forth more effort to saving peoples’ lives.”

The reaction was positive from the senator, he agreed with me, but still he stated he will strive to get a story out of the alleged comments of the vendor.

The discussion with Schaff was an opportunity to hear about his priorities and to tell him what we think he should focus on. And it also made me wonder how many people know who represent them.

Some believe America is a society of go with the flow people; nothing matters until you are personally affected. In other countries people would give anything to live in a free society such as America.

Who represents you. Do you know? Do you care?

Links below to help find who represents you:

http://www.usa.gov/

http://www.mo.gov/

Voting Links


http://registertovote.org/


http://projectvote.org

A Heartless Stepfather

Could you ever imagine being shot at by your stepfather? Not to a freshman at Park University. Growing up on Corrington Ave. suburbs of Kansas City, Mo, Jermaine knew that day his life would change forever.

On a summer evening approximately 11 p.m. Jermaine walked through his house to check if there was anyone awake. The door of his parents’ room was closed. He figured his stepfather was sleep, and his mother works nights. He left to pick up a girl, about five minutes away.  Arriving back at the house, he made the girl wait on the balcony.  He went to use the bathroom and saw his parents’ door was open with the lights off. When using the bathroom, he heard his stepfather talking to the girl. He said. “He thinks he can sneak girls over here?” After his stepfather came to the bathroom and said, “Do you think you can sneak girls in this house!” With no response from Jermaine his stepfather struck him in the face with his fist. Then in defense Jermaine pushed him back, and asked. “Why you so mad for me sneaking a girl in the house, it’s not that deep.” His stepfather was still upset continuing to yelling at him, “What do you think you’re doing!”  Followed by another hit to Jermaine’s’ face, next he put his hands around his neck, and tried to choke him.

(VIDEO (click link) of an incident with a father and son. Dad let go with no charges)


Jermaine grabbed his stepfather’s arm to release his grip. He left the bathroom in the direction to his bedroom for his shoes. His stepfather tried to stop him. He still headed towards his room for his shoes. En route to get his shoes, his stepfather struck him again. Upset and frustrated Jermaine took a swing back at his stepfather and connected.


The memories of a kid rerun in his head. “I felt so good after I hit him back that night, because he has been abusing me all my life. I remember when I was a kid I was always scared to fight back, I received a time-out sheet in school. As my stepdad watched the television show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” every commercial he whooped me the entire show.”

Contestent On Who Wants to be A Millionaire

The momentum from the punch made his body go in the other direction; next John Doe pushed him into the wall, and continued to hit him in the back of his head. His little sister walked into the bedroom where the fight resumed from the hallway, and said calmly. “Stop fighting.” John Doe still on top of his stepfather not swinging anymore, tried to convince him the fight was over if he let him go. He then let him up, and went to go get his shoes; his stepfather got up slowly and let him get his stuff.

Jermaine saw his stepfather run up the stairs; he then remembers he forgot his phone and charger in his room. “I knew I would need my charger and phone because I wasn’t going to be able to come home for a while,” Jermaine said. He turned and went back to his room, even though he knew his stepfather was going to get his gun. He power walked back to his room to get his belongings. Then as he walked back, and passed the stair his stepfather was walking down the stairs. “I didn’t even look up at him I knew he had something.” He quickly walked through the kitchen door. “In the corner of my eye I seen something black and shiny, and knew it was a gun.” Halfway down the stairs he heard a loud sound and whistle go by his head. “As I ran down the stairs, I felt the wind of the bullets pass my head, all I could think is to get to the corner, so I can get out of the way of the bullets.”


Jermaine felt the last bullet go pass his head.  Missed and struck a pipe, the girl was standing on the passenger side of the car. The neighbor came outside and said, “I heard gun shots, what’s going on?” Jermaine explained, and the neighbor let both of them stay the night at his house.


Jermaine called his mother, and explained what happened. She told him, “Stay out of sight, and do not go around him because you know how he is.” You may wonder why he didn’t call the police. His response was, “Who do I look like calling the police?” In this area there is a rule where you do not snitch, meaning you don’t tell on people. It is believed in many African-American communities because people do not trust the police.

Jermaine didn’t go back to his home the whole summer. His mother put him up in a motel. He explained, “I didn’t feel betrayed that my mother didn’t take my side, I know she couldn’t afford her house by herself and she needed my stepfather, I understood. There is much more that has happen between them, so I understood.”

After the summer he returned home, and things settled down. Today his stepfather and he barely speak to each other. If he ever returns to the home, it’s for short periods of time. “I know deep down inside he wants revenge, he’s waiting for a chance to get mad at me again. I know he is. I’ve been through so many things in life. But I’m glad to become the person I am, today. I know I have an angel following me.”


If you ever feel you are in an unsafe environment, get help. Tell a school official, parents, friends, someone. Or call the Help Hotline at 1-800-427-3606 or visit their website at

Egypt in Crisis

Next Story

 

Egyptian Twitter Crisis Egypt's protest to evict President Hosni Mubarak from office were successful.
On January 25 2011, over 1.5 million people of Egypt said "No!" No to poverty, no to unemployment, no to government corruption, and no autocratic governance.

President Mubarak

Millions took the streets, a day entitled "The Day of Anger" people from, different social and economical status, and religions backgrounds, demanded President Hosni Mubarak to the left.
This chain reaction of protest started in Tunisian, when the Tunisians overthrew their long-time president.
The Egyptian people wanted "Change." President Mubarak was in control for 13 years. Protesters grieved over legal and political issues, police brutality, lack of free elections, and freedom of speech.
President Mubarak  responded after the capital city Cairo was named “a war zone.” Then implement a curfew, but police or army officials didn’t enforce it. At last President Mubarak appointed Omar Suleiman former head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate Omar as Vice President. Omar announced on February 11 2011, President Mubarak will no longer be president and will give power to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Soon the constitution was suspended by both houses of parliament.
If you are not on the forefront of a protest, it’s not possible to dissolve the realness of the situation. We can read the media stories, watch videos, but how we do know if information has been distorted?
Park University student, Yazeed Alothman a 21 year old, sophomore pursuing a political science degree was raised in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Currently his brother works in the Saudi Arabia Embassy in Egypt. His father retired from the Embassy in Egypt, but was present during the protest. Also his sister attends Alexandria University located in Egypt.
Yazeed studied at Kansas University for a year then transferred to Park University, he felt Kansas took advantage of international students. Now at Park University he enjoys the diverse campus, and city life of Kansas City. He still has a strong accent, but is able to communicate in English.
He began to tell me the story of Egypt from his prospective, “The people of Egypt say President Hosni Mubarak is not fair!” He then typed on the computer using an Arabic keyboard, using a converter to translate Arabic to English “Friday Anger” showed on the screen. He began typing again on the keyboard “Friday Departure” appeared. He explained on the first protest, people let the government know, we had enough. It is not right that people are in poverty in this country, jobs are scares, police are treating people wrongfully, and you have not made any changes in years. Yazeed laughing said, “After the first protest President Mubarak said he would give the people what they wanted to stop protesting, but it was to late, they wanted him out.”
Yazeed started playing the video of the protesters on Kasr al-Nil Bridge in route to Liberation Square. As I watched the video, it reminded me of the Civil Rights Movement. People where being sprayed by water cannons, tear gas halted the crowd from moving forward, At one point in the video many protesters retreated. The riot police seemed to have the situation under control. At the very movement I hought it was no possible way, the protester would get across to Liberation Square. At that very same moment there was a break in the tear gas, and the crowd began to push forward. The person recording the video started cheering, as the crowd forced the army to retreat. The success of gaining control of the bridge fueled the rest of the Egyptian people. (pic of bridge and people)

Bridge Kasr al-Nil Bridge

Video Click Link. Protest Footage

The second protest Yazeed called “Friday Departure” “On this day the president (Mubarak) had to leave, the protesters wanted President Mubarak out immediately, Yazeed put in plain words, “My father said he was scared because the people where stealing(looting), and robbing.” I asked if he was in Egypt today would you have been in the streets protesting? He looked confused and said, “Maybe I have friends in Egypt that I went to school with when I was younger, but I was worried about my family, not really the people. My father and brother where working to get Saudi Arabia people out of Egypt.” He knew that if his family was leaving, then he more than likely would have left. He briefly spoke about his friends in Egypt, and after speaking with them, they all were ok.
I asked how he felt about the coverage of media here in the United States. He believes that America does not know the realness of what goes on in other countries. He said, “America just gets involved when money is there.” I asked him to explain more. “The US is wrong they just want money.” He stated.
Yazeed said, that he likes the system of America, and that rules are effective, but was confused by the race barrier. In detail he told a story, about going to a bar, and people stared at him and his friends, also bumping into them. 
I then wonder if Yazeed plans to move back to Egypt or Saudi Arabia once graduating. He said, “Home sweet home, after graduating I will go home to Saudi Arabia, then maybe come back and get my masters degree.” What was interesting was to know the government of Saudi Arabia pays for students to

come to American and study, if your scores are high enough on test.  Yazeed believes it would only be in his ethics to return to his country and use the knowledge he learned here and implement it for the enhancement of his country, although, one day he would enjoy following the footsteps of his father, and brother, and work in a Saudi Arabia Embassy, in Washington, D.C.

Tarrah's Story

"I remember the first day my mother walked me into the dance studio at 3 years old." Tarrah Bossert a 20 year old Park University sophomore from Parkville, Mo said. She was later convinced that she wanted to dance by herself. As she rode in the car with her mother she proclaimed,"I want to dance myself!" A curious mother asked, “Why?" She finished, "Because they don't know what they are doing." At the age of 5 years old, she began to compete at regional and national competitions.

"At the age of 5, I cared so much about dance. I did other things such as soccer, basketball, swimming, softball. But with dance I wanted to be perfect."

One evening in 2001 while leaving the dance studio, Tarrah told her mother about a constant pain in her right quad. After seeing her family doctor she was told it was a pulled hamstring. Surprising the pain didn't stop there. It began in her left leg, then the back, even her neck, and soon it was her whole body. Tarrah explained, "I broke my ankle before, but this pain was worst." Soon she was bed stricken, unable to move without excruciating pain.

Tarrah kept dancing, but doctors believed dancing caused her pain. She took 6 months off, to see if the pain would stop.

At the age of 12 she felt confused, as her teachers told her to keep dancing. "I remember my teachers use to tell me, just because your leg hurts doesn’t mean you can’t do your arm movements. I thought to myself, I am! Until one day my mother filmed me in practice, when I watched the video, I couldn’t believe what I saw. I was devastated, I thought I was doing everything, but it looked like I wasn't even trying." Tarrah explained.

At this point Tarrah's mother took her to a pediatrician,  knowing there was something wrong other than a pull hamstring. The pediatrician sent her for blood work, and to see an orthopedic,http://orthopedics.about.com/  who believed the back pain was from crutches.  The blood test results tested positive for ANA.
The pediatrician believed this was a type of rheumatic disease.( http://www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/an-overview-of-rheumatic-diseases) He sent Tarrah to Children's Mercy

Rheumatology

November 2002 the Rheumatology Department diagnosed this as dermatomyositis disease. ( http://www.dermnetnz.org/immune/dermatomyositis.html )To jump start the treatment two things were to be done, one being a weekly infusion of steroids which would take approximately five hours. The other orally, take two steroid pills Prednisone, and Methotrexate. This made her hair fall out, and weight gain. She explained, “I was freaked out when my hair would come out as I brushed it, but I took the medicine because I just wanted to be better."

In 2003 the constant pain continued in her whole body again leaving her bed ridden. This pain was described by the doctors as a flare-up. Her mother called her doctor and explained the pain she was going through. The doctor responded, “That makes no sense to me, that’s just weakness.” This left Tarrah with many of emotions.

Tarrah’s seventh grade year of school during spring break, herself and mother went to New York to the Hospital of Special Surgeries. To see Dr. Lehman who wrote the book “It’s not just Growing Pains.” Dr. Lehman did more tests, and had no answers for Tarrah. He stuck with the original diagnoses. Dermatomyositis.

In the past year the doctors have diagnosed Tarrah with Pompe http://www.pompe.com/en/patients/about.aspx .She is still searching for answers, and to understand this disease in more detail. There currently is a movie called Extraordinary Measures a staring Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford, about a dad and a daughters diease, that best realates to what Tarrah is going through.

At this point more emotions, and un-answered question where on the mind of the Bossert Family. “I can remember the day I was diagnosed, I had one question to the doctor, am I going to die?” The doctor look at Tarrah in her eyes and said, “ No, we're going to put you on treatment. A third of people become crippled, a third are fine, and a third die.”

In 2008 Tarrah flat lined during a flare up. http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/crohnsdisease/CD_dealing.html

Due to this disease, Tarrah has lost overcome many obstacles, losing friends, missing school, and flexibility restraints. Through this Tarrah believes complaining is not the cure of her disease. “I dance.” She says.  “I don’t let this hold me back, I love to dance. We all have challenges we face, but it doesn’t have to set you back.”

           Extradonary Measures Trailer

Next: A follow up interview will be conducted along with doctor interviews. Tarrah has seen more than 32 doctors since she had her first flare-up. Still she and her family believe she is diagnosed wrong.

Tarrah Bossert

                       My first future Story.. Tarrah Bossert a Daughter, Sister, Friend, A Dancer.  
                                          "All I want to do is Dance" Tarrah Bossert