Seasons Change Part 1
Hey friends, I know it’s been a while…it literally feels like we’re only a few days into April but in reality April’s almost over lol. Looking like we’re gonna be spending another summer in lockdown…more plans getting postponed and cancelled, it really sucks..as much as I wanna stay positive and be optimistic and be like just gotta control what you can control…it still sucks lol. So anyways, I’ve written about this before but it’s funny how like sometimes you can come across the same thing twice and take away something different each time. So I have the words “seasons change” tattooed on my arm and it’s something that I whole-heartedly believe in, situations in your life come in seasons and seasons change, seasons come and go. I’ll link the post above cuz it’s a really good one, I really like it. So I was listening to Justin Bieber’s new album which is amazing btw, and he has this one line where he says “some people come in your life for a reason, others they come in your life for a season” and I was like damn, ain’t that the truth. I’ve always believed that but I had some doubts cuz I was like well I’ve known some friends for a looong while and then we stopped being friends, what about that? But the more I thought about it…like you know how some seasons feel shorter than others and some feel longer than others. Like we’ve had winters that lasted from like November to like April and it felt like the snow was never going to end, but it did…and Spring came. Similarly, some friendships feel like it’s forever but it’s still just a season, just a longer one if you know what I mean. He then says in the same song “some people bring you a million blessings, some people teach you a million lessons” and again it just got me thinking about all the people in my life, especially the people that have come and gone and all the memories we’ve shared and everything I’ve learned cuz in reality, even tho we may not be friends anymore, all of these people played a significant and important role in my growth. I wouldn’t be who I am without all of those so called ‘lost friends’, so I’m thankful as I am sad, but life goes on and like I said, seasons change. And I’m glad I’m a hoarder in this sense because I know I’ll always have memories and certain things, places and even people will remind me of these people and moments and memories. With all that, I’ve missed you all, I hope to get back on track…and see you soon (maybe lol).
Monday, April 19, 2021
Monday, April 05, 2021
Rock Bottom
So I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted, matter a fact I know I’ve been super slacks in general lol, just haven’t really been in the mood for it y’know. Like it feels like I =have a lot on my plate but at the same time I’m not really clearing any of it, I’m kinda just like staring at it like damn, that’s a lot on my plate LOL. So I’m sitting here, thinking to myself I should probably put out a post since it’s been a week, but I’m scrolling through the many notes on my phone and I’m like eh I don’t really feel like talking about any of these things right now. I was about to say forget it and not post today and then it hit me…I was thinking about a conversation I had with my friend literally yesterday as we were hanging out and catching up. He was telling me how he was going through a really rough time, probably one of it not the hardest moments in his lise…but despite it being hard, he was like I’m glad I went through it cuz I got to really appreciate the people that supported me through it and as well it was necessary to help me grow and mature as a man, cuz ain’t that what life’s all about? So yeah we were just kinda going back and forth, I told him about some of the hardest moments of my life and that’s kinda where I wanna bring y’all today…the fact that these ‘rock bottom’ moments are absolutely necessary for you to grow and learn as an individual. For one, whenever I go through tough times, stressful moments and hardships, I think back to my rock bottom moment and I really try to channel the emotions and feelings I felt during that time…how painful, stressed, mad, bad or whatever it was, I really try to refeel all of that…then I kinda bring myself back to present day and I’m like look, if I can get through what was the hardest, most difficult moment in my life, then whatever it is I’m going through right now is nothing compared to that. That’s something I feel I’ve always thought about and tried to preach to others, like no matter what you’re doing through and how bad it might feel right now, think about the worst moment in your life and the fact that you’re still here today…if you got through that you’ll get through this. Stressful times, difficult moments, hardships, pain…it’s all necessary to help us grow, it builds character. I always think like can you imagine if life was all rainbows and butterflies…yeah it would be dope but it’s the hardships and difficulties that make the good times so much more enjoyable y’feel? This whole pandemic got everyone feeling all kinds of ways, it certainly amplifies the negative emotions and stressors, but again just think back to your rock bottom moment…how bad it felt, how terrible you felt, how you didn’t think it would get better or that you would get better…but it did, and you did…so whatever it is you’re doing through right now, it’ll get better as well and it’s just another hurdle in your life to jump over. Stay safe, stay healthy and stay positive y’all…I’ll see you soon.
Monday, March 29, 2021
Guest Writer #40: Golden Frieza
We made it y'all...the last guest post, ever...or is it? Nah it just feels right to close it off now, I definitely have other things planned and the guest posts had a good run. Started this little series in September 2013 and here we are in March 2021 calling it a wrap. I just wanna say thank you from the bottom of my heart to each and every person that wrote one or multiple guest posts for the blog...it's not easy sharing your life in such a public space and it's especially not easy being vulnerable or talking about super personal things so I'm thankful for each and every one of you and especially those of y'all who really dug deep and shared some super personal and intimate stuff about your life cuz I know firsthand it can be scary and uncomfortable lol. With that all being said, PLEASE show some love to all the previous guests posts and enjoy the last guest post ever, NUMBER FORTY.
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You’re Doing Amazing, You’re Killing It, You’re Exactly Where You Need To Be.Weekends. The two days where we countdown to, counting down Monday to Friday, for those two days where we apparently can relax or “live our life”. We literally go through 5 days, just to enjoy two days, sometimes even less, because I know some of us spend Sunday thinking about the fact that we have to go back to work on Monday, so Sunday is a write off basically. Friday night can be a write off too, because we’re too tired. So basically, we spend our lives waiting for Saturday so we can really do what we need to do. One day out of 7. We literally have 52 days in a year where we can unwind. Now this is just for 9-5 jobs, but even if you work in a job where you work weekends, you literally look forward to the one or two days a week you have off. Why do we do this? Why don’t we make use of every minute we have on this earth and cherish it, no matter what we’re doing. I literally started making everyday a weekend in my head. Even though I am working, I treat it as a day of experiences, a day of learning, a day of spreading positivity and good vibes to myself and those around me. Even if you’re out here folding clothes, there’s still some solace and tranquility to it, cherish the moment. Cherish the moment you fold that cotton v-neck sweater and put it on the shelf, it’s an art, you Banana Republic Picasso. And no I am not talking about anyone in particular. I am just saying there is art, there is peace, there is accomplishment in everything we do. Instead of cherishing these moments, we tend to countdown until our next day off, not living in the moment. I was guilty of doing this at one point in my life, and then I realized I was watching my life pass me by. Life passes you by if you don’t stop and look around every once in a while. Your life is shortened massively when you’re only living for about 15% of the year. Why not live for 100%? Anyways, there’s a reason I realized this.
Life is short. No matter where you are in life, you’re doing amazing. A lot of people measure their own success with someone else’s ruler. I know people who were happily married at 24, and have 2 kids now and a house. I also know people who were married at 27 and now divorced years later. I know people who are single, but living their best life. I know people who are single who really want to find someone. No matter where you are in life, how big your house is, how old you are and what car you drive, do you ever stop to think … why does it matter? Does it even matter? Does it matter that you’re not at the same “level” as your friends? We all have different definitions of success, different goals, different aspirations, but we ALL matter. For example, if everyone was a successful entrepreneur who sold luxurious candles, we would have no doctors, we would all be dead. But at least we would have some lit candles (literally) at our funeral. I’m thinking a nice Tom Ford eau de wood scented candle. We are literally all important, let me use one of my friend groups for example. One works at a clothing store, if we didn’t have them, we wouldn’t be able to buy clothes. One works at a phone company, without them we wouldn’t have our cell phone plans and we couldn’t keep in contact with each other. One of them works for a marketing company that works with groceries, without them we wouldn’t know what deals are going on to do our grocery shopping for the week. Savings? I know everyone loves savings. We literally need everyone to be doing exactly what they’re doing so the world can go round. So don’t feel bummed that you didn’t quit your job and create a podcast, or chase your dreams of becoming a rapper or an artist. Not everyone can do it, and if everyone could do it and be successful, then those things would be worthless. If everyone made amazing paintings, no one would buy one. It would be pretty basic. Supply and demand. The reason these things all seem so enticing is because only particular lucky people can make it, but you’re still doing amazing in whatever you’re doing. We all can’t be Drake. We can’t all be Steve Jobs, but we can be us. Without us, the world would be a different place. Imagine how much impact you have on the world. Since you were born, you have interacted with so many people, that literally if you weren’t born, those people’s lives would be completely different. One thing you said to them or did to a particular person could’ve literally had a ripple effect and you didn’t even realize it.
Life is short. I will say it again. I don’t want to get too personal, but my sister has a disease that’s literally one in a million per year. Like one in over a million people get it in a year. She got it when she was 19. She is one of the youngest people to ever get it, according to the specialist. She recently went for an MRI, and they said that even after all this medication, and all these side effects from the meds, it still didn’t help. These side effects were pretty bad too, anxiety, depression, weight gain, possible hair loss, like it was pretty bad. All of that just for her to get no where. It’s been so disheartening going through this journey with her. She is my younger sister, we talk about growing old together with our families, we talk about the future. So to hear things like this is scary, to say the least. I would give my sister any organ, anything she needs. It isn’t that easy though is it? She literally can’t walk for over 20 minutes without breaks, and we take something like that for granted everyday. Her meds make her feel nauseous every night, another thing we take for granted, just the fact that we don’t have that same discomfort every night. The list goes on. Honestly, everyone goes through something. The best thing we can do is ride with it, and realize it’s a part of us, and make use of the fact that we’re here, alive, and capable of doing whatever we are able to do. Make use of everyday. Make use of every hour, every minute, every second.
This is life. You have one life to live. Don’t waste it on a toxic ex partner, things in the past that you can’t control, people and situations in your life you can’t control, stop wasting your time. Be positive, be optimistic, be realistic, but mostly importantly be you, be beautiful, and live life the way you want to live it. Help others live their life, love unconditionally, give hugs to those who need hugs, smile to those who need a smile, but most importantly give yourself the love, the smiles and the hugs you deserve. This may sound cliche, but I find too many people are way too hard on themselves, and I am STILL guilty of this. I know I need to change myself, I know I need to live in the present, I know I need to move on from the past, and I know that I just need to cherish the memories that I’ve made that make me happy, be happy where I am, and be excited for where I am going to go. Are you going to do the same? You’re doing amazing, never forget that. The world needs you. Just like it needs me, and everyone around me.
Friday, March 26, 2021
Mementos & Memories
Hey friends, I know it’s been a while lol I apologize. I’ve been in a weird head space lately and haven’t really even been thinking about writing. The guest post is good and ready, could’ve posted it Monday but decided to save it for next Monday, yeah I dunno it just feels like I have so much on my plate but at the same time like I’m not really doing anything about it LOL. Reaching the finish line fr school, graduating this year, gotta start looking for jobs, still got work and like co vid kinda also zaps you of like any motivation or energy to want to do anything lol or maybe that’s just me. I was scrolling through the notes on my phone like hmm maybe I should put out a post tonight, but I was like man I dunno what to talk about lol I’m not really feeling any of these. The it kinda hit me as I was staring at the note. It’s crazy how lspecific songs, things, places or whatever will remind you of people or even specific moments that you had with those people. This applies to like all my friends but it definitely hits harder with the people I don’t talk to anymore you know. Like obvs there’s things that remind me of my friends, but because I still see and talk to them and we’re still creating new memories, it’s a thought that comes and goes. Whereas with people I don’t talk to anymore, that’s all I really have…memories, so it kinda lingers you know. Like when I was in high school there were specific songs that reminded me and still do remind me of specific girls in my life lol and I used to stay away from those songs cuz I didn’t wanna think about it but now it’s funny to listen to cuz their faces are like attached to those songs for me. I look at like my basement and all the hours I spent gaming with the guys and random sleepovers that really weren’t sleepovers cuz we’d play videogames till like 4 am, sleep for a few hours then wake up and play more videogames LOL. Everytime I walk past this park it reminds me of all the times I would chill with this one girl and we’d talk for hours late into the night just chilling in the park. I even look at certain restaurants like oh damn I remember I met up with so and so here and we talked about this or this happened. It’s really crazy and really cool to think about…in a happy and sad way lol like it sucks it’ll never be like that again but I’m happy that it happened and I can look back on it you know. Because I’m such a hoarder of sorts, I like to keep these things to look back on…old birthday cards that just say happy birthday rodmond and then a signature, I keep that stuff lol…letters from my ex (we’ll talk about that another time)…random cards from like baptism, Christmas, etc. It’s also why I love looking back on like yearbooks too lol…it’s like I enjoy the sadness it brings but also the happiness in looking back at the memories LOOOL is that weird, or rather does that even make sense? I look at this blog for example…my life told through posts…stories, experiences, lessons that I get to look back on if I ever choose to. And at the end of the day, things that led and helped me get to the point that I’m at today. That’s one of the reasons why I don’t like deleting or throwing things away lol whether old conversations or physical mementos, I keep that stuff for the accidental times I come across it or the random times I clean my room and find it LOL. But yeah, I hope you’re doing well…maybe I’ll hit y’all with an update post when I collect my thoughts lol, catch y’all on the flip side…PEACE.
Monday, March 15, 2021
Guest Writer #39: Someone You Used To Know
We're reaching the end man, damn...it's a little bittersweet...something I started so long ago and have been able to share with so many of my friends and acquaintances alike, it's really cool looking back at all the posts, how people felt. Something I also can't help but think about is the person behind the guest post and who they were to me at that time and who they are to me now...cuz things are always changing you know, you grow closer to some people and you drift apart from others, but anyways...show them some love and enjoy today's guest post!
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Pivoting and TransitioningBefore I jump into this, just wanted to give a big shoutout to RT the realest for giving me an opportunity to get on the blog. This has been a space that was homegrown and explicitly showed his inner thoughts to you guys which is quite rare nowadays. So thank you for giving people a blog full of posts to ponder about it because I know a lot of us can relate.
But let’s jump right into it!
Pivoting and transitioning….Nah I’m not talking about basketball… We ain’t talking about PRACTICE! Sorry I had throw that in there, but I’m talking about pivoting and transitioning through life and making decisions. I can speak for myself and maybe some of you guys can agree, but if something you worked so hard to make your plan happen or you had your mind made up on something on things were going to go… but then it doesn’t. I don’t know about you but stuff like that used to eat me up inside and it would show visibly on my face. It would bother me so much that my mood would change and honestly it started creep into my relationships/friendships and my family. Until someone really close to me put me on the art of pivoting, which is essentially going from plan A to plan B. When something doesn’t work out, instead of focusing on where things went wrong…. focus on how you can salvage the situation and turn into a bright spot. If you can pivot and transition from something going wrong to looking for ways to better your situation, you’ve already mastered the art of pivoting and transitioning. One of the things that helped get better at pivoting was this quote, and I hope this helps you pivot your way through life’s trials and tribulation. “What has reached you was never meant to miss you and what has missed you was never meant to reach you” Prophet Muhammed(Pbuh).
Friday, March 12, 2021
Hit Or Miss
So it feels like it's been a while since we've talked for some reason...anyways, so I feel like there are just some things in life that you can't control. That's a pretty obvious statement and this is definitely something I've talked about on the blog before. So like I said there are some things in your life you just can't control, one of them is who likes you and who doesn't like you...not romantically just as a person, but I guess you can apply it romantically as well. No matter how dope of a person you are or think you are, no matter what you do or say some people just won't like you for their own varying reasons. The other thing for me at least is that I can't control what posts y'all like or dislike, and this is something I've said a million times like the posts I think are super dope, put a lot of time and effort into usually don't generate as many views as like the ones I just write spontaneously or write without much thought or effort. At least that's the trend I notice lol there are def variable and there are def topics that I know will garner more views like anything related to girls or relationships lol. At the end of the day, something I remind myself of is that some posts are gonna hit and some are gonna miss, that's just something I can't control and def something I shouldn't get stressed over (which I don't lol). Timothy Dela Ghetto is somebody I really vibe with and you'd know this if you knew me, so he's always like man I put so much money, time and effort into skits and they don\t get as many views as like mukbangs and that's just eating and talking. He's like I enjoy doing the skits but mukbangs are so much easier cuz you're just eating and talking with the homies. I think about the blog in that aspect sometimes too lol like how easy would it be to just write about girls are relationships constantly and watch the views pile up LOL. But that's why I sometimes say that this blog as much as it is for you is moreso for me...as therapy (bars) and like just a form of expression, being able to write and talk about whatever I want and I've said it before I really felt that freedom when the blog hit a million views cuz it was like a huge milestone but also a huge weight lifted like the pressure was gone in a weird way lol. Right now I feel like less need to maximize views and more just being creatively free...making posts like updating y'all on my life or experimenting with new ideas like the Ask The Audience Posts. At the end of the day, like I said I can't control what posts people enjoy reading or don't enjoy reading, I just have to keep writing for myself, talking about things I like, things I know and most importantly things that make me happy...and shouldn't that be what it's all about? So till next time, PEACE.
Monday, March 08, 2021
Guest Writer #38: TC
As always, all of the previous guest posts will be linked below...show whem some love!
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My man thanks for having me again. Honestly, every time I make a guest appearance I like to look back through the previous posts and see who I was and what was on my mind at the time. It’s cool seeing how my perspectives have changed through the course of these guest posts.I guess the biggest thing on my mind right now is passion. I feel like most people at this age yearns to do something that they are passionate about but lack the courage or awareness of what their passions are. I am at the point in my life where I am scared to see who I would be in 10 years if I don’t chase / find my passions. It’s like I am looking at a divergence in my life where one path is the typical American Dream, but the other being absolutely unknown, yet completely enticing. You know that feeling when you were a kid and you had the naivety of wanting to change the world. I don’t want to lose that.
Growing up, we all had these wild dreams that we wanted to pursue. For me, it was always some variation of helping the poor, fighting for equality, representing the underprivileged – just making a difference. Moving back to the East Coast has given me the chance opportunity to befriend a group of Harvard Law students. Talking to them and hearing their stories of foregoing the Corporate dollars, to pursue careers of representing the underprivileged, or fighting for equality gave me a wake up call. I was once like that.
The next chapter in my life is yet to be determined, but I am excited and can’t wait to see where my passions take me.
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