| Deliberative, Devoted, Dependable is one of the many ways to describe me, Lyrik Green-Brown. Yes, I am the young woman with a two-colored last name. Over the years, my last name grew with more colors. Teachers will add purple, yellow, pink or any other combination of color to it. So my name became Lyrik Green-Brown-Purple-Yellow-Pink and so on. I go by Lyrik Green because it faster to write and it comes with no explanation. Many have questions about where my last name came from or which color came from which parent. Because I do not want to deal with that every time I say my name, Lyrik Green just makes life so much simpler. I was born and raised in Pasadena, California. I am the youngest of five children. I am a family-oriented, observant, tenacious, protective person. Growing up, I was always trying to defend someone and be that sense of protection for them. I felt it was my duty, my obligation to protect those I loved or cared for. Backed up in the corner, where there is nowhere to run, I refuse to give up, I refuse to surrender. Failure is not an option. With all odds against me, I still pressed forward. I am no saint and have many flaws. Made many mistakes and still am, however; I will not make the same mistake twice. Every day I grow and am trying to advance. To better improve myself, I will be a lawyer who can bring about changes. With a good head on my shoulders and a focus mind, I can achieve anything and everything. I am independent and self-reliant. Throughout my life, I was told that I possess the qualities to be a leader and with that I am destined to do something magnificent. That I had a presence and an attitude that could speak volumes. For it was something about me that made people want to hear what I had to say. From those words, I set out to become that leader. I made it a point to stand above the crowd. I made it a point to have my own identity. Overcoming adversity, I make it a point to never have regrets. I live everyday as if it were my last because time is short and I want to look back without second guessing the decisions I made. I am sure of who I am and absolutely no doubts. I am searching and looking for new routes. I am a self-motivator, but my true motivation is my mom. She is the reason I push forward and make a way. Granted that she is my provider, she is also my hero and in return she owes me zero. As a child responsibilities were forced upon. For she was forced to grow-up and take on that "motherly" role. Raising her siblings was a thick weight to carry. She is a reflection of a strong black woman. I give my greatest appreciation to my mother. Taking on the responsibility of her sibling’s children, my mom expands her kindness. Having only five kids, she raised eight. Not having much, she will give above and beyond. I salute you mom. Not feeding into the stereotype of a broken home, my mom is the reason I move to an upward direction. I will not let living in a single- parent home be the excuse of why I cannot flourish and prosper. Enrolling in college means I can achieve my mother’s last goal, which is to succeed and be successful. Being a minority will not be the cause of my downfall. Living in a neighborhood where many have no college experience and is looking for their next hustle will not be beneficial, rather be the push I need to strive to be better. Educational wise, I attended Blair IB Magnet High School where I was part of an academy, Health Careers Academy (HCA) for four years. In the academy, I was taught necessary skills that would have prepared me for the medical field if I was pursuing a career in that field, but my field is law. My aspirations is to be a prosecutor. Here you may ask "Why were you in Health Careers Academy learning medical information and your field is law?" The answer to that question is: I was following in my sister's footstep and when I was younger it seemed like a fun thing to be a part of. She was traveling to different places and I wanted to be able to do that. My last years of high school I was president of Health Careers Academy for two years and in those two years I have learned how to conduct myself in a business setting and enhanced my professionalism. As well as being president of HCA, I was president of Black Student Union (BSU) where I was in charge of conducting and attending executive board meetings, organizing events, and overseeing everything else that happened. In addition to going to school for the regular school year, for eight consecutive summers I was involved in a Skills Enrichment Program. The Skills Enrichment Programs (SEP) is a partnership between the Pasadena Unified School District and four independent schools (Polytechnic School, Mayfield Junior School, Chandler School, and Westridge School.) Each summer, SEP provides a free summer program to more than 300 public-school students. Students must be nominated by faculty or administrator from their elementary school in order to gain access to the program. I was nominated by my elementary school Principal and fourth grade teacher to represent my elementary school and have attended SEP every summer since fourth grade. The short-term goal of SEP is to provide an intensive, five-week summer enrichment opportunity that fosters students' intellectual potential. I took classes in the humanities, science, and mathematics and enjoyed the small class sizes because I was able to received individualized academic attention. All of the SEP classes are taught by the best teachers from Pasadena Unified as well as faculty from the four independent schools. SEP's long-term mission is to improve students' confidence and skill development so that we have both motivation and capacity to be successful in college. I believe SEP has helped me acquire both. In school, I was involved in many different activities and organizations; some of which were right after another. I would volunteer at the hospital, then leave to go to basketball or track practice. Some days I took time to be mentor young girls on how to become young women and teach them everyday survival tools. I participated in Trio Talent Search, Early Academic Outreach Program (EAOP) UCLA, and College Access Plan (CAP), all in which held workshops on campus throughout the year. All in all, still being president of both Health Careers Academy and Black Student Union. Being an executive assistant at both Day One and City Hall for a short period of time, I have obtained some work experience. The daily task occasionally included: filing and answering phones, scheduling appointments, coordinating events, inputting data, using Microsoft Office and excel and researching on the internet. I was constantly busy. Working for a domestic violence and rape crisis center brought even more things into perspective for me. I receive firsthand experience on what survivors’ go through and how each day is a testimony. I am thankful for what I learned. Not having much, I will continue to strive. I am bold, brilliant, brave and beautiful. Most Interesting…Because I am a tree with long branches that reaches the sky. The daring one that does not even ask why. I am of twist and turn in which no one can hold me. I am simply a bird that spreads their wings and fly free. I am secured in myself and have absolutely no doubts. Finding my own destination and looking for a way out. I have a carefree attitude and live life to the fullest. Do everything on my own makes me the coolest. I am the youngest of five and barely alive. I fought a huge bear, my sister. Floating like a butterfly, stinging like a bee. I am the next Muhammad Ali. I am a daughter, a sister, a friend, a mouth, and an ear. I am always there to hear when no one is near… I am of long legs that stretch out to the moon. My time to shine will be soon. I am of an extinct population. Where it is up to me to have some relation. I am of many stuff animals burying me on my bed. Loving life makes never wish I were dead. I am junk food. A free agent who don’t need no dude. I am a woman. Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman that’s me. I am just Lyrik baby… |
|
|