Gone and Back

yea guys it seems I have been inactive for a minute. School has been eating me alive. Exams, projects, more exams, and homework on the side. I want to start this over and have some legit things to talk about on this blog so I will have some more additions and people to add to this thing other than me. So stay tuned!!!!

Exams and Chaos

Did I seriously just hear about colleges beginning to not look at the SATs anymore?! You mean to tell me the main reason why I couldn't get into an IV league school is now slowly beginning to go away as if it was never placed there as a requirement to begin with?? I am stunned! I am overly stunned. I remember being in high school and taking one of those Kaplan courses just so I could do better on the SATs because I thought the SAT was a clear cut example of college. But in reality, it isn't. If you ask the maker of the SAT why he made it, he will tell you he made it so individuals could be tested on the SAT, not on whether they would do good in school or not... That is completely insane to me.

Don't get me wrong, I love the college I attend. I wouldn't change school for anything. This school has definitely prepared me for life indeed (I sound like an advertisement). I just don't understand the purpose of exams in general. An exam, in reality, is a test to see how much you can hold in your brain for a short amount of time. It doesn't necessarily make you learn anything, it is just placed there to have a reason for taking a class I swear. From working at different companies and talking to people, they all tell me how if they forget something, they simply open a book and look for it. They don't test there self and and see how much they know at a random time in the year. If anything, exams should be taken out of all curriculum, and be replaced with research studies. Yes that's right research studies.

Think about it. When you do a research study, you have to gather information on a certain topic. Not only do you have to use calculations and determine things on the side, you are legitimately teaching yourself something you wouldn't normally learn or want to learn about. I remember I did a research study on how to supply a village in Africa (Cameroon to be more exact) with clean hot water by using solar power since there is not a good source of electric power in the area. I swear if you asked me any question from that study, I can tell you exactly how we came to it. Unfortunately, we were not able to gather enough funds to implement the design we made. I feel like if a person can relate to what they are doing more, it stays in their mind longer.

Moral bar: Out with tests....In with research!!!!

Death- The Common Theme

As a young scholar walking through life, few times this actually crosses my mind or, a matter of fact, a lot of other young people. Death is, has to be, the #1 most common occurrence in life. To walk around everyday and know your days on this world as we know it can end at any moment in time is quite scary. Not knowing what happens to you afterwards is even scarier. Of course, religion gives us an idea of what is going to happen but in all honestly how do you actually know that will occur without experiencing it yourself? Yes, there is such a thing as fate and trust in a being greater than any man or woman living on this earth. I am not trying to go against any type of religious standpoint in any way shape or form, I just want to know the truth. I just want to hear it from someone of that lifetime rather than reading about it in a book that was written by a man, not of higher intelligence, not out of this world, but born into this world like you and me. This is simply an example I am using. I have full belief there is a god, I just want to learn from him/her and not a book of writings written by other men.

I just wish I knew I was living a good life so I know the one I look up to would be happy I am trying to do what I can to make this earth a better place before my time is done. Put my mark in as many people as I can so they can see what it is like to have a heart and not be fake to people. I sit here wishing everyone could see what I see. But I know this will never happen because everyone is different with different views of the world.

So with that said, I am going to try and go to sleep and continue hoping the best to see the world we live in make a change with the times!

Enjoy your Sunday

I wish everyone a good sunday. Go to church, take a load off, make the best out of your day and continue to thrive as a person and be thankful to be alive for another day! Thanks.

In The Sleepbox: Predator

Since I do not have any worthwhile dreams to talk about recently, I think I will start this new stardom of mine talking about my most memorable dream as a kid. So, in case you scare easy or hate scary movies, I just want to warn you that this is a SCARY topic.

My most feared kid scary movie was Predator. I literally couldn't even sit through the whole movie without turning it off for a little bit or fast forwarding to a better spot. A few nights after watching the movie for the first time, I had this dream where I was literally put in the middle of a swamp/wet lands. The area was entirely too dark for me to see more than 3 feet in front of me. As I began walking around trying to realize where I am I hear a SCREECHING sound that travelled up and down my spine as though I was literally tickled with a blade. Since this sound was in front of me, I proceeded to turn around and run as fast as I can without caring what it could have been. As I began picking up speed, the beast you see above you revealed himself and began chasing me wildly. I frantically started running like I never ran before! After a short time of being chased, I saw a house in the distance that looked dark, gloomy, and unoccupied. Before I could even attempt to break for the house, the ugly beast grabbed my legs and threw me on the ground like a rag doll. It roared like a wild beast, sharpened his blade, and was about to begin his ruthless beating of a 7 year old when…I woke up out of the Sleep Box. That was by far one of the most memorable dreams I ever had.

Moral of the Story: Learn to run faster.

The Roots and the Uprising

When I was living on the east side of PA near Philly, my friends came to visit during the week to check out The Roots in concert. Me, not so big on The Roots, wanted to tag along because it was out of the norm of everyday working life. Although I knew I had to wake up early to go to work, I figured this is a once in a lifetime type of experience and I wanted to take it. As we entered the arena of this music guru’s lair, I realized that these guys were amazing! Their demeanor of playing pure, real, free speech music really caught my attention. Although this was most likely a much smaller venue than they were used to, they were so into their own performance. You could really tell they love what they do no matter what type of money is coming through at the moment. As my friends got in the mood and began jamming away, I noticed an attractive girl walk behind me and ask the bouncer near the bar a question. As I was not trying to hear the conversation at all, she had the audacity to scream it in the guy’s ear so everyone close by could look at her with complete confusion. She walks up to the bouncer, and asks him, “HEY!! I just got here. When are the Roots getting on to perform?!” The bouncer replies, “This is them…” “Oh…” the girl replies back.

In two letters, one syllable, one conversation, this girl went from attractive and approachable to the vermin of the music world. I could not believe, still cannot believe, she came to a concert completely naïve to what she was about to watch. Although she may have came with her boyfriend, she was very alone at that point in time which gave her no credibility to even be there, or try to zoom in to the magnificent display of music everyone was seeing. In complete disgust, I had to write this down somewhere because it bothered me so much to see someone pay a ticket, if she even paid, to see a music phenom they had no idea about! I may not have listened to their music but I at least knew what they looked like before I went.

Moral of the story: Research before you proceed and commit.

Would you open the door?

Today, as I wait for the bus to proceed with my journey with life, I was struck into a situation that took awhile to sink in. I am looking for a bus station that was recently moved from the city’s mall to a random spot behind a bank and in front of a hardware store. In my quest to search for this bus stop I realized I didn’t actually know where it was. The last time I was dropped off from school at this stop, I had to GUIDE the bus driver to the bank so I could get off because he had no idea where he was.

So, since I knew the bank just recently closed, I decided to knock on the door and see if they would simply answer my question of where could this mysterious bus stop be? When I did so, I got looks of dread and displeasure by the workers. One began shaking their head, and the other was trying to understand what I was trying to say. After a few seconds, I realized this was a dead end. Eventually, they had to leave and I figured out, after I walked a safe distance away, what I wanted. As I walked back to the car, my mother sat with me for a bit and told me, “Its probably because you were black…” Now, from that statement, you might think “Yea your right. RACISM!” But no, consider this.

Obviously, it’s a bank. LOL. If I worked at a bank and saw a large black male dressed in some sketchy clothes trying to get me to open the door, I probably wouldn’t. The individuals I tried to talking to were a middle-aged African American woman and a young white female. No surprise at all. But, the thing I am getting at with this is…Will they open the door for YOU??

My task for you is, if your willing, go to a store right after it closes. It does not have to be a bank. Realize your gender and the color of your skin before you do and how you are dressed. Ask them a simple question like, “Hey, I have no idea where I am, would you happen to know where [fill in the blank] is?” See if they will actually open the door to tell you. I am very interested to see how out of the ordinary this could go. Consider this a research study of mine. Game on.

In the Sleepbox

This is a new weekly post I am going to start up simply talking about some reckless dream I have that may have some unreal meaning behind it! I hope you as readers enjoy it! This will vary until I get enough material to have a legit post on the normal!

Genesis

It all began when I was a kid. As a child, you are shown things and never really sure as to why or how they occur. You are left to yourself to understand because in life you must learn how to do this on an everday basis without mom or dad (if they are even around) to be there for you to guide you. Ever since I can remember, I felt like I was different. I noticed that I think differently than most individuals, I carried myself differently than many, and I allowed the many experiences in my life to mold me into a person mature enough to understand that life is more than materialistic things, money, and the Swine Flu! I was never the type to hang out with my "friends from school." When I say friends, you can correct me by saying associates because that is more so what they were. People knew who I was but they didn't get me. The black kids would call me a sellout because I wanted to strive for more in life and the white kids thought of me as a sellout to my culture because I wanted to a future. With a school of mainly white and black students, I didnt really have anywhere to go for some good comfort. In this effect, I was left to fend for myself. Once the bell rang to leave school, I became a Solo Dolo (as upcoming artist Kid Cudi uses in his music).

"Anything man-made is flawed in some type of way simply because the being that makes it is not perfect either." - Madubuike

A Solo Dolo is a term originating from the New York Area that symbolizes someone who is a solo, able bodied, thought provoking, one-man team kind of person. Some of them are druggies, some are renegades, and some go with the flow. Since there are many definitions to this term, I would like to make one that suits me. In my definition, when you see this individual, he is not with friends, but with himself. He feels that if people provoke him, he is at fault. Having the ability to think for yourself and open your mind to things most people wouldn't even think of is what he is all about. He also craves to better himself in a way that doesnt meet the standards of his nation, but of himself.

For now call me SpeedRacer and I come to you wanting to unravel my mind on "The Uprising" many don't see when they walk outside, or go to work, or learn in college, or even watch television. So please stay tuned because I want to learn from other as well as have others learn from me!