Tag: blogger

A Message to The College Bound

7-students_web_0

I first want to give sincere congratulations to all of my High School Grads going on to College this year! What an exciting journey! Education happens to be another passion of mine and I love seeing young people achieve. Sure, I have my thoughts on the school system as a collective whole, but that doesn’t mean it’s all bad. I still love the idea of continuing ones education and if I didn’t have mad student loans, it is something I wouldn’t mind going back to.

So, I was speaking to a niece of mine and I do have a some suggestions for those stepping into this new life:

  • Don’t Have Too Much Fun

College is a different world than High School. Partying and drinking all night may make you popular, but your professor will fail you, without mercy and without pity. The decisions you make now are extremely critical and they impact you for life. Don’t be the person who could have graduated but was too busy chasing sex and Hennessy to study. This is your chance to be the adult you couldn’t wait to be. This means maintaining discipline, control, and making wise decisions. College students, especially freshmen, are green lights to those who only want to cause your downfall. This is not High School which means you should always be aware of your surroundings and use logic in every decision you make.Trust for these first years should not be a big priority, get to know people first or they will take advantage of you.

  • Be Sure to Choose a Major that is in Line With the Career Path You Want to Take.

Political Science sounds good on paper, but you’ve been into math your whole life, why not accounting? Some actions don’t require research, just common sense. Make sure your majors line up with your career path and goals. Don’t just pick anything because it sounds cool, but make sure it will lead you to where you want to be. Beware also of majors that won’t get you anywhere after you graduate. For instance: Unless you are trying to be a preacher, a major in Theology’s not going to do much for you. Philosophy is another one that sounds deep, but won’t take you anywhere in the real world. Make sure your course of study is in an area that is strong, where there are plenty of careers in that field.

  • Don’t Choose Your School Just Because of its Prestigious Reputation

Don’t believe the hype. I’m sure we would all like to go to Harvard but there’s a good chance you can save a lot of money going to a smaller school and receive the same level of education. Don’t limit yourself to what you see on TV, but keep your options open and never participate in something because you just heard about it. Do your research and make sure it’s the right thing for you.

  • Have Fun!

There’s enough hard work and study to go around for everybody, but don’t forget to enjoy the experience because once its over that’s it. You will never get the opportunity to experience this again. Even as we age, College for the first time is never as fresh and as exciting as it is when you are fresh out of High School. Many of you will have your own apartments for the first time, your own space by way of a dorm room, you’ll get to pay your own bills for the first time and make big decisions on your own. It’s just a different experience at 17 and 18, than 40 and 45 because life is just beginning; so if you have a chance to do it now don’t wait. Take it all in, study but don’t forget to breathe, it’s a wonderful moment and it will disappear before you know it. I started off saying not to have too much fun, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have any. Just balance your time and discipline yourself and you’ll do fine.

Re-Spinning Posts

I will be re-spinning a lot of previously published posts from time to time for those who have not already noticed. I have a lot of new readers and I just want to take the time to rotate some material. Plus, my one year Blogiversary (nope, that’s not a word) is next month so I’m kind of celebrating and at the same time thinking about what I want to do next with this blog. I’m not telling you exactly when Year One is though, that will ruin the surprise :).

This Should Be Interesting ….

Reading_glasses

Somehow, I knew it would come to this. Constant watery eyes, blurred vision, and a deep passion for reading and writing, even when there’s not sufficient light (dangit you smart phone screens). Why am I not surprised that I need glasses? I haven’t gone in yet, but I do believe I’m nearsighted. I’ll definitely have to get some really cute ones! Me with glasses though? This should be interesting lol. I’ll post a selfie if things turn out the way I think it’s going….

Blogger Support: Fact or Fiction?

That one follower who likes every one of your posts no matter what it is. Ever wonder if it’s real? Yea, me too.

No, I don’t believe in fake followers. I believe every subscriber is flesh and blood, despite their reasoning for doing so. I do, on occasion, wonder: when you like a post, do you click that button because you really like or agree with the content? Or is it just to show your support for the blog you just followed? And if it’s to show support, do you think it helps or hinders the blog? I mean, you can tell if someone is truly engaged or if it’s just a routine type deal so I’m just wondering. I suppose you can call this a random Sunday thought. (Hey, I like that) Do you engage blogs you follow because you are interested in the perspective or just to give the illusion that you are since you followed them? Personally, since starting this blog I’ve come to enjoy interacting with other blogs. It fulfills my need to be of service and it also helps my own blog because people generally tend to give back, not that I support for this reason at all, it’s just one of the perks to blogging. As they say, “to get support you have to give it” If the people aren’t coming to you, you have to go to the people. But I only like posts I really like or find useful in some way so I’m just wondering. What kind of blog support do you engage in? And which in your opinion is more effective? Are you a silent supporter? That is, you shake your head in approval and shout your, “That’s rights!” into the screen with no intent of seeing your words in print. No matter your method, are you sincere in your support? Is it fact or fiction?

Yours, Not Mine

“What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham: your boasted liberty, an unholy license: your national greatness, swelling vanity. Your sound of rejoicing is empty and heartless. Your denunciation of tyrants brass fronted impedance; your shout of liberty and equality, hollow mockery. Your prayers and hymns, sermons, and thanksgiving, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him, more bombast, fraud, deception, and hypocrisy–a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.” – Frederick Douglass, July 5, 1852

Courage

Close up portrait of a young african american woman looking out window when working on laptop

I know that it is never easy

to wear scarlet letters on your skin

to take history

and C-section her calendars

for the stories

that didn’t make it

until you find the authenticity

of truth

like consciousness

beautiful

but delicate

see through

and cutting

like shattering glass

piercing the spirit

and slicing through flesh and bone

so no one looks at the news the same

but for those of you

who have cherished her summers

kissed her springs

embraced the coldest winters ever

and dared to wear her degradation

on your lips

for your courage to find the other pieces

of her

the parts society is too fearful

of hearing

she bathes in your smile

because you loved her, truth

saw her delicate

and fragile

torn between the additions

and subtractions

that multiplied her sorrows

until her parts were divided

ripping her reality from the pages of scripture

like confused tongues

and babblings

snatching her away

from the breast of wisdom

like coal painted faces

minstrel shows

whitewashed genesis

cream-colored pharaohs

but she is not interested

that you feel sorry for her

history

she needs not of your pride

not of your bonafie hustlers

in prophet suits

not of your street corners

not of your liquor stores

not even of your religion

for her stone coated roses are too heavy

to place upon your caskets

for even in death

you have honored yourself

above her

truth

needs not of your chocolate bars

for history is tired of eating

she is sick

to the brim

with prophecies

and worries

and concerns

and birth pains

over those who wear her burden

like the colors of their skins

but she is thankful

that they have chosen to rather be humiliated

than to deny her

and this poem

is for all

their bravery.