Writing | Class Feature Stories

In advance I would like to thank all of whom contributed to my story. I have yet to get my grade back, but I'll let you guys know the minute I get it. As you guys should know, I had to alter a few things, but what does my teacher know.


The chatter of excited young women filled the streets outside of the House of Blues in Anaheim, Ca. Hundreds of fans waiting to gain entrance to the venue stood in long lines wrapped around the building. It did not matter what time anyone arrived. There was still a wait, and, for some fans, a dwindling chance to get a spot in front of the stage.

With the thought of being one of the few to get a front stage position, Chikamnario Ugbaja, stood at the top of the line.

“I feel like I have to be in the front because otherwise it's not worth it,” Ugbaja said. “It’s simply because Trey really interacts with his audience. The closer you are the more likely he will interact with you.”

Suddenly, the fans jolted into action. The doors that kept them outside of the House of Blues finally opened. Ticket takers and security guards emerged dressed in street clothes: T-shirts, jeans, and tennis shoes. Shouts, hoots and hollers shortly followed. “Take your tickets out and open your purses” was the demand. A secondary line was created to split everyone into two lines.

“It makes me more anxious when they do security checks. I try to keep an eye on my placement in line as well as everyone else’s. I can’t let anyone get in front of me and take my spot,” Ugbaja said.

Inside, the crowd tripled in size and the anticipation heightened. Monic Clare was one of the lucky ones to stand at the barrier before the stage.

“I crazily made the abrupt decision to fly out to Anaheim in the middle of a school week,” Clare said. “I rescheduled two mid terms and spent money like never before all for one purpose - to see Trey Songz live.”

The 106 & Park show’s logo posed as the backdrop on a black canvas. Faint clouds of grey smoke against the lighting brightened the stage. Band members took their places. Another fan, Stephanie Walls, watched in awe as Trey Songz took to the stage. The high pitched screams blended together, hurting her ears. It was her first time going to one of his concerts. After four years of supporting his music, she finally had the opportunity to see one of her favorite artists perform.

“His energy is dynamic. He held my attention the entire time despite the fact that it was 11 o’clock at night, and I was exhausted. I was so immersed into his aura that I’m still struggling to remember exactly what songs he sang,” Walls said.

But the atmosphere wasn’t as lighthearted as everyone pretended it to be. The mix of high energy, overly excited fans, and loud music concealed the budding madness. It all began with a throw of a shirt.

“Trey fans do not play. His shows can be a bit dangerous. He likes to throw his shirt in the audience. Fights break out. It's safe to say that I got pushed and shoved a great deal and my friend's glasses got knocked off her face,” Ugbaja said.

Gloria Green was mixed in the crowd. The minute Trey’s shirt was thrown, another fan tried to jump over her in pursuit. Green was left with an injury to her back. Joniesha Williams was also a victim of the crowd.

“This one mountain size female felt the need to jump up and down and somehow pushed me. I lost my footing and she came down on my ankle. I didn’t know it was sprained until the next day,” Williams said.

The types of females who attend Trey’s shows are blind of their surroundings, Rihnay Demetrius said after attending the concert.

“These girls managed to make the bodyguards stumble,” Demetrius said. “I was pushed against the wall near a small end table. The girls stumbled and fell over the bodyguards trying to reach Trey. My knee was pinned between them, the table, and the wall. I screamed, but over the music and girls chanting Trey, no one could hear me.”

For each of these women the experience was a painful, yet memorable one. The positives managed to outweigh the negatives: absences from schools, bruised knees, aching backs, sprained ankles, and sore feet.

“All of this for Trey Songz, he may not know what I go through to see him, but somehow it’s all worth it,” she said.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*a feature story about my grandmother, but I couldn't write it as if I knew her. I had to be a reporter so I changed my mother's last name.*

As Flossie Rogers reached upward to release a T-shirt from her outdoor clothing line, she felt a pulsating pain in her stomach. It felt worse that the touch-and-go pain she felt a few hours ago. She knew she would feel better after a nap, so she retreated to her bedroom. Unfortunately, the pain never subsided. Instead it intensified. She struggled to sit in the upright position, but she couldn’t bend her body. After a desperate call to her grandson, she was urged to go to the hospital. “Oh, I know it’s only an ulcer,” Rogers said, but little did she know, her condition was worse than expected.

She was admitted to Union Memorial’s emergency room. Several hours later, she was given a room where she was examined. She was immediately scheduled to have an abdominal ultrasound and an MRI. Just above her naval, her doctor found a large pulsating mass. Rogers was later diagnosed with an abdominal aortic aneurysm.
Rogers’ oldest daughter, Valerie Carter, was there when the news was announced.
“We both gasped. I didn’t think it would be this serious, life threatening. I could lose my mother at any moment. There should have been signs,” Carter said.
Although the exact causes are unknown, the general causes associated with AAA include emphysema, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Rogers has all three. In addition, she has been smoking for 50 years.

“She smoked a pack a day.” Carter said. “She tried to cut down, but she couldn’t. She didn’t smoke in the house around her grandkids. She didn’t smoke in a car when someone else was inside. I’m glad she at least did that. Any change in habit is good change.”

Rogers was placed on medication to control her high blood pressure, but at the moment that was all that could be done for her. The lower her pressure was, the less stress there would be on the aortic walls surrounding the aneurism. It had to be controlled to prevent it from rupturing.

Rogers and Carter were introduced to the hospital’s vascular surgeon, Dr. Black. He explained that the size and location of Rogers’ aneurism is a cause for concern. Because it was 5.7 centimeters, it blocked blood flow to her kidneys, liver, and her lower extremities. At that size, the aneurism could not heal on its own. She would not be able to survive without surgical intervention. Reducing her blood pressure was the only a temporary solution. A change in lifestyle was needed, but it was uncertain how long it would last.

“That is a waiting game. Reducing her blood pressure won’t solve anything. My mother’s life at home is stressful. And if she’s sent home in that environment, it’ll be bad for her. And I’m afraid to go home and find her lying on the floor dead,” Carter said.

The second solution Dr. Black introduced was surgery called open aneurism repair. Unfortunately, because of the location of the aneurism, the procedure could not be done in that hospital.

With every decision, there was a risk. If she decided to have the procedure done, she could have an arterial embolism where there was a sudden stop of blood flow to her vital organs. She could have a heart attack or suffer from a stroke during the operation. In addition, she could also have kidney failure.

“It’s a lose-lose situation. You’re damned if you do, and you’re damned if you don’t. If she goes through this surgery, something bad could happen to her. If she doesn’t go through it, she could die at any minute. And I don’t want her to die, but I know she won’t go through with it. She’s wary of surgeries,” she said.

Carter looked down at her mother. Tears drenched her flushed cheeks as she held her hand. The decision was made. Rogers had to go through with the procedure. A day later, she was moved to Johns Hopkins Hospital. Three days following the move, the procedure begun.

Nurses periodically checked with Carter to tell her the status of Rogers’ health. They gave her the news, she made it, but there was a lot of damage. The damage was due to the aneurism rupture. In the process, she lost her right kidney, part of her small intestines, and her gallbladder. She was placed under a chemically induced coma to heal. Barely recognizable from the bloating caused by her procedure, Rogers laid in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit unconscious for 19 days. On Friday, Sept. 18, she awakened from her coma, expected to make a full recovery.

“Part of my family hated the fact that I made the decision to have my mother go through this surgery. I made so many people unhappy, but I don’t care. I asked her if she wanted to live, and she said yes. I had to do whatever it took to get her healthy, but we still have a long way to go and more decisions to make,” she said.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*this is the Troy Taylor Bio I did*

The temperature heightened as the air grew more oppressive. It was one of many disadvantages of having a recording studio in the basement of a suburban Atlanta home without windows. Staying on task, Troy Taylor focused his eyes on the illuminated screen of his Macbook Pro. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he nodded his head to an instrumental song played on the sound system.

Ownership of that particular song belonged to one of his new protégé’s Darryl Cook. Taylor stopped nodding his head. A particular piano key sounded out of place.

“Darryl, that bridge is not good,” Taylor said. “You have to break that beat down. The beat doesn’t have to continue on like that.”

Taylor was an R&B music producer. His job required a lot of things from him. He wrote, produced, arranged, sung, and did everything else needed to finish a song. At the moment, he kept a watchful eye on his protégé as he continued to mix his own musical creation.

Instead of letting his protégé continue with his song, Taylor dismissed him, taking control of the keyboard and finishing the song himself.

“It takes a lot of guidance on their part to achieve what I need them to achieve. The ability to make good music. That is the ultimate goal,” he said.

Taylor‘s music career began 20 years in New Haven, Connecticut. Being 21 at the time, he was given a choice of what type of life to pursue, college or music. He once said that college wasn’t made for everyone, so he chose music. To him, college was a waste of time. By that he meant that one goes through all of those years to get a piece of paper you won’t be able to use.

Taylor’s first project began in 1989 when he started work with a young R&B group, now known as Boys II Men. He produced instrumentals, written songs, arranged vocals, and added a few of his own background vocals to their songs.

In 1990, he started his first production company, Character Music Corp. He produced and wrote for R&B artist like Color Me Badd, SWV, 702, Brian McKnight, Tyrese, Johnny Gill, Faith Evans, and many others. In the process he gained a new understudy by the name of Carl Thomas, an aspiring singer at time.

Taylor took the time out to look around at a room full of his peers. He called them all his students in an institution he ironically called Troy Taylor University.

“I try my best to allow the Lord to bring the talented people to me, so that I don’t have to look. I don’t want to question why I work with particular people. I realized that everyone talented isn’t meant for me to teach and mentor.”

He later started work on his new production company, Songbook, in 2003. He produced artist like Aretha Franklin, Patti Labelle, Whitney Houston, Ginuwine, Gerald Levert, The Isley Brothers, and other legendary acts. He also signed his first artist, Trey Songz.

Beyond producing, to many Taylor was a motivational speaker to those in need of motivation.

Recently, he signed a new producer to Songbook. Dre Norris had known Taylor for two years, but never had the opportunity to make music with him. Now he has that opportunity.

“Its dope learning from a legend in the game,” Norris said. “The best piece of advice he gave me was to put things in this order: God, family, then music. I live by that. I appreciate him telling me that.”

Taylor filled everyone’s ears with wisdom. He wanted his peers to avoid the hardships he been through. He wanted to be that inspirational voice to others. It was something he lacked in his upbringing. Sometimes he thought about not having a mentor and how he desperately needed one. Now he is in the position to help someone else. At times it seems like tough love. His approval is never easy to obtain, but he surrounds himself with hard workers willing to want to be better.

He turned to his protégés. The room fell silent. Their attention belonged to Taylor.

“If this is the path you choose to live, you must know this. Not every artist can be a star; not every star can be a legend; not every legend can be an icon. So what are you?”