Just another adult--offering advice.

As I wrap around to another birthday, I find myself taking more time to reflect on several random things. As I get older, I am beginning to accept my "duty" of educating and informing others about things that I have encountered in my lifetime. 

In an effort not to digress--I will maintain focus and remain true to my purpose for writing this post.  Afterall, it is very easy for adults to get off on a tangent in the name of "giving advice."  So, what I have decided to do today is to simply outline some topics that my readership (you) can possibly read about in the New Year.  Please note the key word here is "possibly."  As a free spirit, unbound by "blogging curricula" I might decide to completely abandon these thoughts and pursue others.  


Here goes:

1.  Buying and managing a household

2.  The trouble with procrastination

3.  The American celebrity obsession

4.  COLLEGE!!!  

5.  Smart shopping

6.  Relationships (I am not claiming to be an expert--but I will share what little I do know about that dirty little word).

Alright, so there is something for everyone! I can't wait to get started!!! 

Uninspired

I once heard someone say, "Write while the heat is in you." Hearing this, I could just imagine one of the greats Shakespeare, Chaucer, Langston Hughes, or Maya Angelou feverishly burning holes in paper with their pens and gaining cramps in the hands--all because inspiration heated their minds.  Well, I have been waiting for that "heat" for days now and nothing--my core must be ice cold. I have tried everything: silent moments of deep meditation, late night television rendezvous, quick jaunts around my neighborhood to "people watch,"  and phone calls to friends to "catch-up."  But to my dismay, NOTHING.  I am officially uninspired. 

So, it's Sunday, I am getting nervous because I have a deadline.  I pause, I take a deep breath, and suddenly I realize (even as I write this) that there is value in the struggle.  

So, the question is--what is the value? As a teacher and someone who loves to write, I understand that good ideas do not always come easy.  I also understand that the perfect sentence doesn't always form on demand. A writer can not just decide that they are going to write something wonderful today and do it. This is just not how it works. Unfortunately, there is no "Writing On-Demand" button on our television remotes to remedy weeks like this.  There is a process--a process that everyone who attempts to write anything worth reading must conquer once, and then again, and then again, and again. 

So, this is my message for the day (unintended--but powerful). Sometimes, the process is the inspiration. As a writer, don't be afraid to reveal your insecurities. Your struggle is someone else's inspiration.

Maybe the heat was in me afterall!

*From Yours Truly*

Soulja Boy Told 'Em---what message is he really sending?

As I sit on my plush new couch and take a brief moment away from work to relax and watch television, I browse channels---NFL Football, Bridezillas, The 70's show, Nascar Racing-- I stop at BET to watch a video that, as sad as it may sound, actually caught my attention. The bling was blinding me. In fact, I became fascinated by the amount of gold, platinum, and diamonds that adorned (almost strangled) the neck of Soulja Boy. In the video called, "Turn My Swag On," Soulja Boy puts on an obnoxious amount of jewels, while the following lyrics spew out of his mouth.

Hopped out the bed turn my swag on
Took a look in the mirror said what's up?
Yeah, I'm gettin' money...
I ain't did nothin but count this money...and make my whole crew stunny.

At this point, I am cracking up (ROTFL--well, maybe not on the floor--but I am laughing out loud) because not only does having that amount of jewelry around your neck make no sense, but the lyrics also have ZERO substance. Is this what we have come to--excessive flaunting of material goods and music that doesn't inspire? So, I began to think--does this video (and the millions of others like it) represent American values? Has excessive materialism become so excessive that the material items no longer hold any value? So then, I'm thinking, maybe the accumulation of valuable items is more like the Anglo-Saxons who believed that the more material items you were able to accumulate--the more meaning your life had.

Realizing that I might be thinking entirely to deeply about this video--I snap back and simply ask myself--why? Why are material things so important to Americans?