Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.





*If you are a strong woman, this should be the Ink On Your Paper*

Project GRAD.............

           Have you ever done something so great that you knew you couldn't let the moment to brag about it pass you by? That experience for me is the 2012 Project GRAD UTK Summer Institute. It involves UTK faculty as well as students, and Project GRAD members. We did numerous things, such as going to classes and learning at a college level. But we also got to go and do fun activities such as skating, and swimming at the universities Aquatic Center. The dates were from June 10-15, with a closing ceremony known as Graduation. UTK was so nice in allowing Fulton and Austin East High School students stay in dorms, eat in the cafeteria, and use their classrooms. It was an opportunity to not only earn a $4000 scholarship with Project GRAD, but also earn a $150 stipend at the end of the experience. It was planned, and coordinated by student mentors currently enrolled in or currently graduated from a college or university. 

             The experience is one that I personally will never forget, and I am grateful for the opportunity. Sure, it was difficult to get up at 6 each morning, and have to be escorted everywhere by a mentor, but it was a lot of fun. If I had the chance to do it all over again, I would. I am hoping to come back next year as a student mentor. I will be attending UTK, and would love to get to give back to something that gave me so much. :)

All About Me

The name is Shanika, but people call me "SHAI".

I recently graduated from Fulton High School, and I work at Aeropostale in East Town Mall. My hobbies include talking, writing poetry and journalistic pieces, and harassing people. I'm just kidding about that last one! :) The three words I could say define my character are concerned (though I never look it), easily angered, and I am not at all tolerant of stupidity. Everybody who knows me knows those things. In the Fall of this year, 2012, I will be a freshman at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville where I will  major in journalism and Spanish. Why those two majors? I chose those two because journalism is something that I love, and Spanish is something that can greatly help me in that career. 

Now let me tell you a story.......

Once upon a time a little girl asked her daddy what the future was. He told her that it was time years from now. She said "What does it look like?" He said "Whatever you want it to look like" She said "What's in it?" He told her that he could not tell her what it had in it because he did not know. That  her future was different from his. He then told her that the future is made up of dreams. Dreams that did or did not come true. The last thing he said to her about the future was to make it worth looking forward to.

The things that define me are what will make my future bright. 

What will make yours?