"New Orleans girls never live anywhere else, and even if they do, they always come back."
"Samantha Bartell attended four high schools and graduated from none of them. She enjoys Wilson Phillips and giving out four-piece placemat sets depicting her GED and hand-drawn mazes that say, help me find a direction in life. Her wit is sharper than a laguiole knife." -Christopher Farrell
"At this rate, we can only cross our fingers that your liver will hold out until at least mid-junior year, where after its removal, you'll have to resort to skull jacking heroin to get your kicks." -Kaci Sexton
Dear America,
I suppose we should introduce ourselves: We're South Louisiana.You probably already know that we talk funny and listen to strange music and eat things you'd probably hire an exterminator to get out of your yard. We dance even if there's no radio. We drink at funerals. We talk too much and laugh too loud and live too large and, frankly, we're suspicious of others who don't.Everybody loves their home, we know that.
But we love South Louisiana with a ferocity that borders on the pathological.So you realize that when you strip away all the craziness and bars and parades and music and architecture and all that hooey, really, the best thing about where we come from is us.When you meet us now and you look into our eyes, you will see the saddest story ever told. Our hearts are broken into a thousand pieces. But don't pity us. We're gonna make it. We're resilient.And one more thing: In our part of the country, we're used to having visitors. It's our way of life. So when all this is over and we move back home, we will repay to you the hospitality and generosity of spirit you offer to us in this season of our despair.
That is our promise. That is our faith. -Chris Rose
An excerpt from the LEAP test (the state of Louisiana's test of high school students' competency):
Writing Topic
Your student council is planning a celebration for the end of the school year. Some people want to have a performance by a live musical group as part of the celebration. Others think that having a musical group will cause problems since not everyone likes the same kind of music. Write an editorial for the school newspaper stating your position and convincing the student council to vote in favor of your position.
Actual student response:
'I think everyone likes R&B music. So you can choose between R&B and Rap and you can make a choice out of R&B and Rap. But personally I think I would pick R&B, because nothing can make my groove go better than R&B.
I think a musical group is not a problem. If you know how to handle a business well you're alright. you don't have nothing to worry about. If you consider yourself as a person who can handle things well, then you can handle a musical group.
I personally think we should have a musical group perform. Because I think we deserve a break, it's toward the end of the year and we deserve to have something toward the summer. We work the entire school year. I think we work too hard during exams, quarter finals, mid-terms, tests, etc. and I think we deserve a musical group performance. I don't see why we don't because it shouldn't be a problem because I don't see a problem with it. It's just a musical group performance, and I surly don't see anything wrong with it.'
God Bless Louisiana.
"my deear sam i love you so
dont listen when ppl call u a ho
we met at the beach it was fate
at the way out concert i was soo late
u attend a school by the name of blenk
soo does that really make u a skank?"
-the incredibly talented courtney tassin.
