Showing posts with label Paul Thomas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul Thomas. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Trials & Tribulations of a 3% Child
Here I sit here, proud and cocky that I have all these "options" of schools to choose from for High School. I start going to visit schools and it felt rather weird when I went to some of the schools. When I arrived at some schools it was as if the faculty (certain teachers aka coaches) knew who I was, and seemed more anxious to convince me to come to their school. It felt like I was being recruited, which felt nice, but I thought that only happened with colleges. Other schools obviously had no idea who I was and just gave me the usual tour and weren't at all trying to be uberly convincing for someone to attend their school. All in all it was both fun and another learning lesson.
So even though I visited a number of schools surprisingly enough, the two main schools I wanted to go to which were Washington and Northeast were also the most convincing out of all the visits. Outside of the fact that the coaches knew me, their faculty and facilities just seemed better and would allow me to grow at a more advanced pace than the other schools. So I was settled on attending one of the two. Well I quickly found out that while I might want one thing, I'm still a minor and my parents aka my mother really decided what's what. So when we sat down to discuss which schools we were going to choose to officially apply to she was steadfast on Central, the so called smartest public school in Philadelphia. She wasn't trying to have me go to school in the Northeast due to the traveling. She reminded me of problems I previously had when I was younger, being at a school far away and transportation. But of course I figured I'm grown now, and fought against it profusely because Central to me was not known for the football team at all.
All said and done, I tried to go to any other football school to avoid Central but yet she posted an argument against everyone and proceeded to cross them off the list. I believe at the end of the night I was almost in tears thinking this woman is trying to ruin my life, all the top football schools were basically crossed off the list and the only options that remained either didn't have football or weren't really known for their football team. In spite of that, before turning in my paper to apply to the schools my mother agreed on, I circled Girls High as a joke, because I didn't seriously think that was even possible, but just for the laugh I circled it to officially apply to go there. This would be one of my you never know what's possible until you try moments I would experience.
I got called into the counselors office shortly after turning in my papers and it was one of the most serious but funniest discussions. They were seeing if I was truly interested in going to Girls High because it was somehow possible for me to attend. They wanted to understand why I wanted to go there and let me know that it would be possible for me to go there and play sports for Central. While I thought it was funny at first, I really ended up thinking hard on it. They gave me time to make my decision, and eventually I realized that I would be too distracted to do any work at all and I also assumed that the sports teams at Central wouldn't be so accepting of me seeing as how I would be attending Girls High. So I just totally gave up and went to Central of course scratching and fighting. The next two years of my life would be a huge and dramatic learning lesson for both my mother and I.
So even though I visited a number of schools surprisingly enough, the two main schools I wanted to go to which were Washington and Northeast were also the most convincing out of all the visits. Outside of the fact that the coaches knew me, their faculty and facilities just seemed better and would allow me to grow at a more advanced pace than the other schools. So I was settled on attending one of the two. Well I quickly found out that while I might want one thing, I'm still a minor and my parents aka my mother really decided what's what. So when we sat down to discuss which schools we were going to choose to officially apply to she was steadfast on Central, the so called smartest public school in Philadelphia. She wasn't trying to have me go to school in the Northeast due to the traveling. She reminded me of problems I previously had when I was younger, being at a school far away and transportation. But of course I figured I'm grown now, and fought against it profusely because Central to me was not known for the football team at all.
All said and done, I tried to go to any other football school to avoid Central but yet she posted an argument against everyone and proceeded to cross them off the list. I believe at the end of the night I was almost in tears thinking this woman is trying to ruin my life, all the top football schools were basically crossed off the list and the only options that remained either didn't have football or weren't really known for their football team. In spite of that, before turning in my paper to apply to the schools my mother agreed on, I circled Girls High as a joke, because I didn't seriously think that was even possible, but just for the laugh I circled it to officially apply to go there. This would be one of my you never know what's possible until you try moments I would experience.
I got called into the counselors office shortly after turning in my papers and it was one of the most serious but funniest discussions. They were seeing if I was truly interested in going to Girls High because it was somehow possible for me to attend. They wanted to understand why I wanted to go there and let me know that it would be possible for me to go there and play sports for Central. While I thought it was funny at first, I really ended up thinking hard on it. They gave me time to make my decision, and eventually I realized that I would be too distracted to do any work at all and I also assumed that the sports teams at Central wouldn't be so accepting of me seeing as how I would be attending Girls High. So I just totally gave up and went to Central of course scratching and fighting. The next two years of my life would be a huge and dramatic learning lesson for both my mother and I.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Trials & Tribulations of a 3% Child
They say you don't realize what you have until its gone, what's even more interesting enough is we all know this and still, no matter how much you think you appreciate something you really don't appreciate it enough until its stripped away. So here I am at this new school thought to be a worst school than the one I was at and the one my mother wouldn't let me go to that my brother attended. I quickly adapted into the culture simple because I was good at sports and once again I knew a couple people there because of football. Outside of that, the environment there was not the best for positive growth. I can't remember a single teacher from being there nor direct positive lesson I may have learned while I was there. Outside of that, I really felt as though I was just passing time because I had no intentions on staying there past that school year. So I didn't really try and build relationships with many people. Although I think getting arrested made me less of a target for getting picked on, I also think it made the teachers avoid me as well. Regardless of my intelligence, they already made up their minds of what kind of kid I was, therefore that may be the reason I may not even remember them.
I eventually made it back to my old school for 8th grade and was very appreciative for the opportunity. However, when I returned I didn't expect what was awaiting. I was somehow thrust into the most popular circle and I guess I felt as though I had an image to upkeep so once again I maintained my somewhat bad boy image. Still very intelligent and making good grades I was always quick to seize a chance to make a scene if one presented itself. I became very good at getting people to leave me alone when I didn't want to be bothered as well as getting teachers to see things my way. This was the year I also became very popular with the other gender as well for many different reasons. While I wasn't the baddest kid in the school, some may say I may have ran with the baddest circle so I guess that would be the coolest in kid terms.
I thought life was great at this point. I was on the school's basketball team although I didn't play as much as I would have liked. I had a great season of football with the neighborhood team. I was doing a lot with different P.A.L. teams. I actually had a real girlfriend who I really like as well. Although she was a little younger than me, I never attempted to take advantage of her and interestingly enough, we ended up breaking up because of that I think. I ended up getting a lot of attention from many other females whom none became anything serious or more than a fling. I grew into this ultra persuasive person who knew how to manipulate people to most times get my way. I knew what to say, how to carry myself, and what would be needed to get others to agree, go along with, or see things my way. I didn't think anything could go wrong and I couldn't have been any more wrong.
In the city you can have many options as far as high schools you attend. Although you have to apply to attend schools, you still have several automatic neighborhood schools you can choose from. This is very entertaining for some people and others could care less. Athletes based their decisions solely on the winning reputation of the school for the sport they desired to play. Me being an athlete, that's all I cared about. So in Philly the main football schools at the time were Northeast, Washington, Mastbaum, Dobbins, Germantown, Frankford, Bartram and Ben Franklin. I wanted to attend either Northeast or Washington. Growing up I wanted to attend Germantown because that was the program I was around the most. The only way I would attend there was if I attended Lankenau which was the "smart" chapter of the school. I never had plans on attending Germantown because of previous incidents that occurred there that tarnished my thoughts of the school. So I applied to a number of schools and what I got back was flat out ridiculous, funny and interesting all at the same time.
While many people got there letter in the mail which was about 1 page with a number of schools they could go to, I got if I recall properly 2/3 pages with just about every school in the public league on there. It was the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen, because it was a ton of schools I didn't even apply to that were on there. Schools which made me laugh were schools such as CAPA (Creative and Performing Arts), E&S (Engineering and Science), Parkway, Masterman, and FLC, simply because none of these schools had football teams. The most ridiculous thing was that Girl's High was on there, like seriously, I could have went to Girl's High. What caught me off guard and became another learning lesson in my young life was the fact that Lankenau wasn't on the list. I thought there was something wrong so I looked into it and was informed that while I had the academic criteria needed to attend the school, my behavioral record made me ineligible. I was somewhat discouraged but didn't care because I had many other options, or so I thought.
I eventually made it back to my old school for 8th grade and was very appreciative for the opportunity. However, when I returned I didn't expect what was awaiting. I was somehow thrust into the most popular circle and I guess I felt as though I had an image to upkeep so once again I maintained my somewhat bad boy image. Still very intelligent and making good grades I was always quick to seize a chance to make a scene if one presented itself. I became very good at getting people to leave me alone when I didn't want to be bothered as well as getting teachers to see things my way. This was the year I also became very popular with the other gender as well for many different reasons. While I wasn't the baddest kid in the school, some may say I may have ran with the baddest circle so I guess that would be the coolest in kid terms.
I thought life was great at this point. I was on the school's basketball team although I didn't play as much as I would have liked. I had a great season of football with the neighborhood team. I was doing a lot with different P.A.L. teams. I actually had a real girlfriend who I really like as well. Although she was a little younger than me, I never attempted to take advantage of her and interestingly enough, we ended up breaking up because of that I think. I ended up getting a lot of attention from many other females whom none became anything serious or more than a fling. I grew into this ultra persuasive person who knew how to manipulate people to most times get my way. I knew what to say, how to carry myself, and what would be needed to get others to agree, go along with, or see things my way. I didn't think anything could go wrong and I couldn't have been any more wrong.
In the city you can have many options as far as high schools you attend. Although you have to apply to attend schools, you still have several automatic neighborhood schools you can choose from. This is very entertaining for some people and others could care less. Athletes based their decisions solely on the winning reputation of the school for the sport they desired to play. Me being an athlete, that's all I cared about. So in Philly the main football schools at the time were Northeast, Washington, Mastbaum, Dobbins, Germantown, Frankford, Bartram and Ben Franklin. I wanted to attend either Northeast or Washington. Growing up I wanted to attend Germantown because that was the program I was around the most. The only way I would attend there was if I attended Lankenau which was the "smart" chapter of the school. I never had plans on attending Germantown because of previous incidents that occurred there that tarnished my thoughts of the school. So I applied to a number of schools and what I got back was flat out ridiculous, funny and interesting all at the same time.
While many people got there letter in the mail which was about 1 page with a number of schools they could go to, I got if I recall properly 2/3 pages with just about every school in the public league on there. It was the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen, because it was a ton of schools I didn't even apply to that were on there. Schools which made me laugh were schools such as CAPA (Creative and Performing Arts), E&S (Engineering and Science), Parkway, Masterman, and FLC, simply because none of these schools had football teams. The most ridiculous thing was that Girl's High was on there, like seriously, I could have went to Girl's High. What caught me off guard and became another learning lesson in my young life was the fact that Lankenau wasn't on the list. I thought there was something wrong so I looked into it and was informed that while I had the academic criteria needed to attend the school, my behavioral record made me ineligible. I was somewhat discouraged but didn't care because I had many other options, or so I thought.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Trials & Tribulations of a 3% Child
When I first entered junior high things at home were filled with numerous forms of drama. Interestingly enough, they didn't bother me too much most of the time. You had my older brother and sister in high school, and one in college. My mother and father were in the process of splitting up, and I was basically all alone at a new school with few familiar faces. Fortunate for me I had other teammates from my football team and people I knew from the neighborhood P.A.L. who was at the school. Outside of that I basically leaned on my smarts and athletic ability to once again excel and become a recognizable or some would say person of interest.
I now realized that junior high is where you really make your "1st" valid choice on the kind of person you are going to be. I honestly failed in making that decision for myself. I always thought of myself as an easy going, nice person who may have gotten into a little trouble here and there but nothing truly serious. All I ever cared about was sports, video games, and eventually girls. I will never forget my first teacher I had in 6th grade. Her name was Mrs. Bressler. For most kids, she is the most annoying teacher to have. Interestingly enough, looking back on it, it's only because she cared the most. I was eventually not on a good path. I fell into the bad guy mentality because for whatever reason it was more glamorous. The smart and nice kid really didn't get any interest from anyone but the teachers, and what kid really wanted that. I still was the smart kid, but the nice part quickly faded and my naturally rebellious nature turned to a more negative tune.
I became the smart kid with the even smarter mouth. I still did ok in class and for the most part did my work until I personally didn't agree with it. If something didn't make sense to me I would almost always question it, and if your response wasn't convincing enough for me I almost always had a sarcastic response in which most cases lead to some form of discipline. Although I don't remember everything clearly it eventually lead to Mrs. Bressler and I having a lot of time to talk one on one because she couldn't understand why I was acting the way I was. She saw all the potential I had and she refused to let me go down the path I was on. I ended up having to see the school counselor which in my head was laughable. They thought my rebellious attitude arose from the fact that my parents were splitting up. I really didn't let that bother me much, because I looked at the benefits more than the negatives and that startled them and confused the hell out of them at the same time. The only time that would ever bother me was when I would have to see my mother cry every now and then. Outside of that, my father literally lived in walking distance so it's not like I didn't get to see him, he just wasn't with my mother anymore. That's more her problem than it is mines at the end of the day, that's how I looked at it.
Something eventually sunk in from Mrs. Bressler and I eventually held back on the bad boy image at least in her class and I still drove for excellence for the most part that year. Unfortunately good things don't always last when you're young and still trying to figure things out in this thing called life. While sports was going well outside of school via playing football and a number of other sports with the P.A.L., school became a very persuasive influence on most of my actions. There seemed to be no avoiding becoming a bad guy. Like I said earlier, it just was more glamorous. On top of that, I quickly learned of the rivalry between the different grade levels and if you weren't connected to a group then you were really putting yourself at risk of getting picked on. I ran with various groups, none of which were looked upon as the nice guy group at all, but were all considered cool and at the end of the day that's all you really cared about as a kid.
This would lead me down a path that eventually got me arrested for something I didn't even do, but due to my already rebellious reputation and the already built up tension between me and the teacher amongst other factors I just decided to plead guilty and deal with the consequences. Using my above average intelligence I got my mom to transfer me out the school before they kicked me out, this way I could return if I wanted to. Unfortunately she decided to send me to a school further away from my neighborhood because she didn't want me to go to the junior high my older brother went to because he became what some would call a bad kid during his time there, and she didn't want me to continue down that same path. Going through all of this obviously made me sit back and think on a lot of things and needless to say, my rebellious nature just got more fueled because of the nonsense I had to go through. To sum it up, I really started to gain a stronger disinterest with going with the flow, simply because I didn't agree with everything involved in the flow. It appeared that people never wanted to admit there was a grey area in life and I couldn't stand that, and I continuously fought for exposing nonsense until it lead me to my current status. Things would get even more interesting as time went on and I would learn so much even before hitting high school than I could bargain for.
I now realized that junior high is where you really make your "1st" valid choice on the kind of person you are going to be. I honestly failed in making that decision for myself. I always thought of myself as an easy going, nice person who may have gotten into a little trouble here and there but nothing truly serious. All I ever cared about was sports, video games, and eventually girls. I will never forget my first teacher I had in 6th grade. Her name was Mrs. Bressler. For most kids, she is the most annoying teacher to have. Interestingly enough, looking back on it, it's only because she cared the most. I was eventually not on a good path. I fell into the bad guy mentality because for whatever reason it was more glamorous. The smart and nice kid really didn't get any interest from anyone but the teachers, and what kid really wanted that. I still was the smart kid, but the nice part quickly faded and my naturally rebellious nature turned to a more negative tune.
I became the smart kid with the even smarter mouth. I still did ok in class and for the most part did my work until I personally didn't agree with it. If something didn't make sense to me I would almost always question it, and if your response wasn't convincing enough for me I almost always had a sarcastic response in which most cases lead to some form of discipline. Although I don't remember everything clearly it eventually lead to Mrs. Bressler and I having a lot of time to talk one on one because she couldn't understand why I was acting the way I was. She saw all the potential I had and she refused to let me go down the path I was on. I ended up having to see the school counselor which in my head was laughable. They thought my rebellious attitude arose from the fact that my parents were splitting up. I really didn't let that bother me much, because I looked at the benefits more than the negatives and that startled them and confused the hell out of them at the same time. The only time that would ever bother me was when I would have to see my mother cry every now and then. Outside of that, my father literally lived in walking distance so it's not like I didn't get to see him, he just wasn't with my mother anymore. That's more her problem than it is mines at the end of the day, that's how I looked at it.
Something eventually sunk in from Mrs. Bressler and I eventually held back on the bad boy image at least in her class and I still drove for excellence for the most part that year. Unfortunately good things don't always last when you're young and still trying to figure things out in this thing called life. While sports was going well outside of school via playing football and a number of other sports with the P.A.L., school became a very persuasive influence on most of my actions. There seemed to be no avoiding becoming a bad guy. Like I said earlier, it just was more glamorous. On top of that, I quickly learned of the rivalry between the different grade levels and if you weren't connected to a group then you were really putting yourself at risk of getting picked on. I ran with various groups, none of which were looked upon as the nice guy group at all, but were all considered cool and at the end of the day that's all you really cared about as a kid.
This would lead me down a path that eventually got me arrested for something I didn't even do, but due to my already rebellious reputation and the already built up tension between me and the teacher amongst other factors I just decided to plead guilty and deal with the consequences. Using my above average intelligence I got my mom to transfer me out the school before they kicked me out, this way I could return if I wanted to. Unfortunately she decided to send me to a school further away from my neighborhood because she didn't want me to go to the junior high my older brother went to because he became what some would call a bad kid during his time there, and she didn't want me to continue down that same path. Going through all of this obviously made me sit back and think on a lot of things and needless to say, my rebellious nature just got more fueled because of the nonsense I had to go through. To sum it up, I really started to gain a stronger disinterest with going with the flow, simply because I didn't agree with everything involved in the flow. It appeared that people never wanted to admit there was a grey area in life and I couldn't stand that, and I continuously fought for exposing nonsense until it lead me to my current status. Things would get even more interesting as time went on and I would learn so much even before hitting high school than I could bargain for.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Trials & Tribulations of a 3% Child
Early in my football career I had to learn how to cope with losing a lot. I truly gained a deep understanding of teamwork, discipline, and hard work. I also understood that although you may be doing everything you can to succeed, that it still may not be good enough and you have to understand that it may not be your fault. There are other factors that come into play in everything you do in life, and until you can coherently measure, examine and plan for, against, or with them, your chances for success grow slimmer.
While playing football in my early years my mother being as smart as she was made sure we stayed on top of our education. There was no practice unless the majority of your homework if not all was done. She would end up being the judge on what that was and we eventually gained a mutual understanding. So it was school, home for homework, and then off to football practice which started at 6. After that it was home for dinner, and if I had any homework to finish I did that and then went to bed. Seeing as how football came natural to me, I didn't understand at first why it was that our team lost so much. In my eyes I was doing everything I could, I mean I literally played whatever position the coach needed me to and I excelled at it. Somehow it was never good enough.
Every year we played a neighborhood rival team which I eventually learned was literally around the corner from my house. This team was feared amongst the league and threatened to win it all every season. I always looked forward to playing them so I could measure just how good I was and every time, once again, I excelled at doing my job, but it didn't matter, because my team still lost. Once I realized just how close they were to me amongst some other factors, being my mother becoming not able to take us to practice for my current team anymore, I eventually tried out for the rival team. I wasn't welcomed with open arms of course, but when they recognized the talent they couldn't deny it. I eventually earned a starting position and was an integral part of the team that year. The icing on the cake was the fact that we won every game and the championship my first year with the organization and I was awarded with a runner up MVP award.
So although nothing really changed about me, to reach a higher level of overall success I had to end up changing teams. Some would probably look at it as me quitting on the one team. I on the other hand look at it as this. If you wanted to go on a rather long road trip. You wouldn't take your car if it was a little shaky, you would rent a rather new one that you knew had a better chance of successfully getting you to your destination. Nothing changed about you, but changing vehicles would ensure a better chance for you to successfully get to your destination. The goal for me was to win, and now I was officially a winner. It felt truly wonderful at the end of the day to get that feeling of your hard work being rewarded.
I would go on to win a countless number of games, championships and personal awards with this organization. The coaches and team parents there were steadfast on being the best and didn't let education suffer at the cost of it. We had a rather nice network of people that truly cared about us and it followed us through high school and onto college. If it were one thing I could have changed it would be the fact that while others may not have felt this way, I may have gotten some lessons wrong. I was always under the impression that we needed to do good enough in class so that we could be eligible to play sports. Never was the thought of an academic scholarship really talked about. I figured if I didn't do good enough in class to play sports, I wouldn't play therefore I wouldn't be able to get to college. This would eventually lead me to develop skewed views once I hit junior high.
While playing football in my early years my mother being as smart as she was made sure we stayed on top of our education. There was no practice unless the majority of your homework if not all was done. She would end up being the judge on what that was and we eventually gained a mutual understanding. So it was school, home for homework, and then off to football practice which started at 6. After that it was home for dinner, and if I had any homework to finish I did that and then went to bed. Seeing as how football came natural to me, I didn't understand at first why it was that our team lost so much. In my eyes I was doing everything I could, I mean I literally played whatever position the coach needed me to and I excelled at it. Somehow it was never good enough.
Every year we played a neighborhood rival team which I eventually learned was literally around the corner from my house. This team was feared amongst the league and threatened to win it all every season. I always looked forward to playing them so I could measure just how good I was and every time, once again, I excelled at doing my job, but it didn't matter, because my team still lost. Once I realized just how close they were to me amongst some other factors, being my mother becoming not able to take us to practice for my current team anymore, I eventually tried out for the rival team. I wasn't welcomed with open arms of course, but when they recognized the talent they couldn't deny it. I eventually earned a starting position and was an integral part of the team that year. The icing on the cake was the fact that we won every game and the championship my first year with the organization and I was awarded with a runner up MVP award.
So although nothing really changed about me, to reach a higher level of overall success I had to end up changing teams. Some would probably look at it as me quitting on the one team. I on the other hand look at it as this. If you wanted to go on a rather long road trip. You wouldn't take your car if it was a little shaky, you would rent a rather new one that you knew had a better chance of successfully getting you to your destination. Nothing changed about you, but changing vehicles would ensure a better chance for you to successfully get to your destination. The goal for me was to win, and now I was officially a winner. It felt truly wonderful at the end of the day to get that feeling of your hard work being rewarded.
I would go on to win a countless number of games, championships and personal awards with this organization. The coaches and team parents there were steadfast on being the best and didn't let education suffer at the cost of it. We had a rather nice network of people that truly cared about us and it followed us through high school and onto college. If it were one thing I could have changed it would be the fact that while others may not have felt this way, I may have gotten some lessons wrong. I was always under the impression that we needed to do good enough in class so that we could be eligible to play sports. Never was the thought of an academic scholarship really talked about. I figured if I didn't do good enough in class to play sports, I wouldn't play therefore I wouldn't be able to get to college. This would eventually lead me to develop skewed views once I hit junior high.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Trials & Tribulations of a 3% Child
Growing up I took a liking to being above average in various ways. I was an above average athlete overall, no matter what the sport I could do better than most, given time. In school I was always a straight A student and would literally cry if I got a B. Making friends for me was easy due to both of those things as well. When it came to other things such as video games I took a deep interest in being able to do better than others as well and would go through fits when I couldn't figure out a way to beat certain people and would rather lose to that person 20 straight times rather than play someone I knew I could beat easily. To say I was an overachiever would be kind, I just looked at it as a challenge and early on I figured it's better to stick out for being above average than anything else.
Summertime for most kids growing up involved summer camps, family vacations, sports camps and all sorts of stories of trouble you may have got into with friends. In my early years that definitely wasn't the case. My family didn't have much money to take family vacations or send 5 kids to any kind of summer or sport camps. Also, my cousins would basically live at my place during the summer as well for multiple reasons. So where that may be a recipe for disaster, we on the otherhand came up with many fun and productive things to do. We actually had school and would go through the day as a shortened and of course more fun version of school. My older sisters and brother designed our classes and graded our work. We had a nice variety of things, math, english, current events, social studies, art and gym.
My younger brother and cousins often did work that would get them ready for what they were going to be doing the upcoming year. Me being me however would end up doing math almost at the level of my older brother and sisters and I took a deep interest in a certain part of current events, that being anything having to deal with money. This would become my two main areas of interest that I focused on as I got older. I figured if you want to make money you have to be good with math and knowing what's going on now involving different aspects of how it is made and spent. So that's what my summers consisted of in my early years and they were very memorable and I appreciate them til this day. I learned a lot, had a lot of fun with my brothers, sisters and cousins, and went into the next school year beyond prepared to tackle the course work.
I started playing organized football at the age of 5 and I guess this is where the overachieving really started. My older brother played the year prior and at that time I was told I had to wait a year. When I eventually came out to play I mistakenly ended up on a team that was intended for kids older than me but still I ended up making a name for myself. I excelled way beyond the talents of many of the players who had already been playing for a number of years. When I was informed that I was on the wrong team the coaches of the younger team were eager to get me to play, although it was my choice whether or not I wanted to move down or not. Let's just say they knew how to sway a kid easily. I ended up playing about 5 different positions, one of which was of course running back. I dominated at every position they eventually put me at and this is when football became my first true love. As I grew older I learned many lessons from football alone that help groom me for life and that's another reason I will always love football.
Summertime for most kids growing up involved summer camps, family vacations, sports camps and all sorts of stories of trouble you may have got into with friends. In my early years that definitely wasn't the case. My family didn't have much money to take family vacations or send 5 kids to any kind of summer or sport camps. Also, my cousins would basically live at my place during the summer as well for multiple reasons. So where that may be a recipe for disaster, we on the otherhand came up with many fun and productive things to do. We actually had school and would go through the day as a shortened and of course more fun version of school. My older sisters and brother designed our classes and graded our work. We had a nice variety of things, math, english, current events, social studies, art and gym.
My younger brother and cousins often did work that would get them ready for what they were going to be doing the upcoming year. Me being me however would end up doing math almost at the level of my older brother and sisters and I took a deep interest in a certain part of current events, that being anything having to deal with money. This would become my two main areas of interest that I focused on as I got older. I figured if you want to make money you have to be good with math and knowing what's going on now involving different aspects of how it is made and spent. So that's what my summers consisted of in my early years and they were very memorable and I appreciate them til this day. I learned a lot, had a lot of fun with my brothers, sisters and cousins, and went into the next school year beyond prepared to tackle the course work.
I started playing organized football at the age of 5 and I guess this is where the overachieving really started. My older brother played the year prior and at that time I was told I had to wait a year. When I eventually came out to play I mistakenly ended up on a team that was intended for kids older than me but still I ended up making a name for myself. I excelled way beyond the talents of many of the players who had already been playing for a number of years. When I was informed that I was on the wrong team the coaches of the younger team were eager to get me to play, although it was my choice whether or not I wanted to move down or not. Let's just say they knew how to sway a kid easily. I ended up playing about 5 different positions, one of which was of course running back. I dominated at every position they eventually put me at and this is when football became my first true love. As I grew older I learned many lessons from football alone that help groom me for life and that's another reason I will always love football.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Trials & Tribulations of a 3% Child
I forget what company the commercial was for but it was a commercial that asked, "What if?" and it asked about a store/business that transformed or totally changed from one to another several times during the day. Most people may not remember it, but it was a really interesting commercial to me for a number of reasons. One, the way they did it was very futuristic in a Power Ranger type transformation, with the buildings and layout of products changing and what not. The other main reason was because this reminded me of my 1st original idea I had for a company when I was about 7 or 8 years old.
I always managed to keep it to myself for the most part, and share it with a limited amount of people but right about now, I could care less. I have many ideas floating through me now and even if someone took my idea I would take appreciation in seeing it actually come to a realization. I've revisited the idea, regrouped some thoughts and possible expansions as well. Knowledge and capital were always my hurdles in holding me back from even getting this thing off the ground. So if you like the idea and can maybe do something with it or help the cause feel free to do so.
For my birthday I became acclimated with going to Chuck E Cheese and having a party there. It was always a fun time, games, pizza, cake, and the annual beat down of Chuck E. What more could a kid ask for? Well the last year I attended I got home and went to thank my mom and started another line of questioning. "Mom, what happens when my party is over and all the kids leave?" She replies, "They clean up and then close." I continue, "Well what do all the older people do, like where do they go?" She replies, "They take the kids home, maybe stay home or go out somewhere else." Still I continue, "Well why doesn't Chuck E Cheese just switch some things around and make it for older people after we leave?" She replies, "Because it's a kids place, it's not really for older people." Still I ask, "Well why don't they just make it for everyone?"
This conversation would eventually lead me to explain to my mother my idea of a place that would serve as a family fun center during certain hours and a young adult playground during other hours. It would be a 24 hour running establishment that would hopefully be incorporated, thus allowing it to be a franchise. There was a lot to it and as I got older I would learn of the Dave & Busters and the Sahara Sams and so on. Still I saw none of them that fully grasped my idea to the fullest concept so I continued to research and expand on the idea. I would notice different locations for different establishments as I would travel around the city.
When I shared these ideas with my mom she always responded with what she thought was good advice which was for me to go to college and we will revisit the idea at that time. Until then, she suggested that I just write it down and work on it as much as possible until then. Now this may have been the best she had to offer, but of course if I was talking to an actual business owner it may have been a tad bit different. Anyhow, I have no regrets with the things I've been through and opportunities that may have passed me because at the end of the day I love where I am now with my relationship with God. I'm pretty sure if He would have blessed me beyond my means back then, I would have not come to know Him like I do now.
So from this young age I continued to think outside the box on ways of making money and different business ideas. I would grow up gaining three different sets of education which were sports, school, and my own personal wealth principles. At times the other two dominated my wealth principles simply because that's the way my environment designed it and I would eventually come to realize this, and find out that's what made me the 3%.
I always managed to keep it to myself for the most part, and share it with a limited amount of people but right about now, I could care less. I have many ideas floating through me now and even if someone took my idea I would take appreciation in seeing it actually come to a realization. I've revisited the idea, regrouped some thoughts and possible expansions as well. Knowledge and capital were always my hurdles in holding me back from even getting this thing off the ground. So if you like the idea and can maybe do something with it or help the cause feel free to do so.
For my birthday I became acclimated with going to Chuck E Cheese and having a party there. It was always a fun time, games, pizza, cake, and the annual beat down of Chuck E. What more could a kid ask for? Well the last year I attended I got home and went to thank my mom and started another line of questioning. "Mom, what happens when my party is over and all the kids leave?" She replies, "They clean up and then close." I continue, "Well what do all the older people do, like where do they go?" She replies, "They take the kids home, maybe stay home or go out somewhere else." Still I continue, "Well why doesn't Chuck E Cheese just switch some things around and make it for older people after we leave?" She replies, "Because it's a kids place, it's not really for older people." Still I ask, "Well why don't they just make it for everyone?"
This conversation would eventually lead me to explain to my mother my idea of a place that would serve as a family fun center during certain hours and a young adult playground during other hours. It would be a 24 hour running establishment that would hopefully be incorporated, thus allowing it to be a franchise. There was a lot to it and as I got older I would learn of the Dave & Busters and the Sahara Sams and so on. Still I saw none of them that fully grasped my idea to the fullest concept so I continued to research and expand on the idea. I would notice different locations for different establishments as I would travel around the city.
When I shared these ideas with my mom she always responded with what she thought was good advice which was for me to go to college and we will revisit the idea at that time. Until then, she suggested that I just write it down and work on it as much as possible until then. Now this may have been the best she had to offer, but of course if I was talking to an actual business owner it may have been a tad bit different. Anyhow, I have no regrets with the things I've been through and opportunities that may have passed me because at the end of the day I love where I am now with my relationship with God. I'm pretty sure if He would have blessed me beyond my means back then, I would have not come to know Him like I do now.
So from this young age I continued to think outside the box on ways of making money and different business ideas. I would grow up gaining three different sets of education which were sports, school, and my own personal wealth principles. At times the other two dominated my wealth principles simply because that's the way my environment designed it and I would eventually come to realize this, and find out that's what made me the 3%.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Trials & Tribulations of a 3% Child
So as I got older I learned to appreciate things for what they were but still question them sometimes if I don't fully understand them. So although I never got an answer from my mother about why my father just doesn't just learn something new so he can make more money and not have to work so much I always thought about it in the back of my mind and would continue to try to figure it out on my own. Around this same time I was being exposed to a lot of different things simply because my parents were wise enough to send me to school outside of my normal element. Simple example would be my first grade class, where I was one of only two black people in my 1st grade class, the other being my teacher. However my ways would still excel and I was always at the top of my classes.
Going to school outside my neighborhood allowed me to meet people who were different than me and learn that in the end we are all the same whether it be good or bad, at the end of the day we are all just people. However I would eventually have to leave this school due to my mother and father becoming so busy and transportation issues with me and my younger brother being involved in so many after school activities. So by the time I reached the 5th grade I was back at a local neighborhood school and would get welcomed back in the traditional way as it seems in our hood.
I learned a lot in just that one year about people period, and how they treat outsiders, regardless of color, prosperity or talents. That year I went through many test to gain other kids respect as well as adults in the neighborhood I would eventually meet. Prior to that year, I never went out in my neighborhood because I played for a football team outside my neighborhood so my only friends were from school and football, so none of those people lived near me. I learned to earn respect you simply had to give it and if you were dealing with a respectable person there would always be a mutual good thing to fall back on.
Many parents in the neighborhood loved me and learned to love my mother as well. She would eventually grow to become the mom for the neighborhood. With her having a number of kids and being involved in knowing everything that was going on, she developed a network with all the other parents and made sure they knew when their kids were at my house and what was going on at their schools and when they needed to be there or when something important should have been coming home.
Report card time brought quiet time to my house simply because everyone avoided my house due to having to show Ms. Thomas your report card. Because anyhow you didn't have good grades you weren't banned from my house, you were require to be there, and I had to tutor you. So in a way I was put on punishment because that would normally be videogame time. On top of that your parents would obviously know and you would be garnished of your fun for whatever time they saw suitable.
This year I also joined the Police Athletic League, P.A.L. for short. I can honestly say that this may have been one of the most influential and most beneficial programs I may have ever been a part of. It gave me a safe place to enjoy activities and sports on a daily basis that was very close to home. I would eventually come to learn and play many sports and participate in many programs both educational and entertaining. It helped expand who I am to a significant degree to which I will forever feel in debt to the creators and officers who helped run that program.
My 5th grade year was the beginning of an open-minded approach or thought process that would become a significant part of me and keep me different from most people. I would eventually make a ton of new neighborhood friends, get in a lot of trouble as kids did, but make lasting impressions on many people that til this day is still positive and unforgettable. I would learn to look at things with an open-mind and to not put barriers on what I could do. I truly began to harness this 3% mindset and understand it to a significant level this year. However, it still didn't dawn on me yet, that I was only in the 3%. Time would eventually show me otherwise.
Going to school outside my neighborhood allowed me to meet people who were different than me and learn that in the end we are all the same whether it be good or bad, at the end of the day we are all just people. However I would eventually have to leave this school due to my mother and father becoming so busy and transportation issues with me and my younger brother being involved in so many after school activities. So by the time I reached the 5th grade I was back at a local neighborhood school and would get welcomed back in the traditional way as it seems in our hood.
I learned a lot in just that one year about people period, and how they treat outsiders, regardless of color, prosperity or talents. That year I went through many test to gain other kids respect as well as adults in the neighborhood I would eventually meet. Prior to that year, I never went out in my neighborhood because I played for a football team outside my neighborhood so my only friends were from school and football, so none of those people lived near me. I learned to earn respect you simply had to give it and if you were dealing with a respectable person there would always be a mutual good thing to fall back on.
Many parents in the neighborhood loved me and learned to love my mother as well. She would eventually grow to become the mom for the neighborhood. With her having a number of kids and being involved in knowing everything that was going on, she developed a network with all the other parents and made sure they knew when their kids were at my house and what was going on at their schools and when they needed to be there or when something important should have been coming home.
Report card time brought quiet time to my house simply because everyone avoided my house due to having to show Ms. Thomas your report card. Because anyhow you didn't have good grades you weren't banned from my house, you were require to be there, and I had to tutor you. So in a way I was put on punishment because that would normally be videogame time. On top of that your parents would obviously know and you would be garnished of your fun for whatever time they saw suitable.
This year I also joined the Police Athletic League, P.A.L. for short. I can honestly say that this may have been one of the most influential and most beneficial programs I may have ever been a part of. It gave me a safe place to enjoy activities and sports on a daily basis that was very close to home. I would eventually come to learn and play many sports and participate in many programs both educational and entertaining. It helped expand who I am to a significant degree to which I will forever feel in debt to the creators and officers who helped run that program.
My 5th grade year was the beginning of an open-minded approach or thought process that would become a significant part of me and keep me different from most people. I would eventually make a ton of new neighborhood friends, get in a lot of trouble as kids did, but make lasting impressions on many people that til this day is still positive and unforgettable. I would learn to look at things with an open-mind and to not put barriers on what I could do. I truly began to harness this 3% mindset and understand it to a significant level this year. However, it still didn't dawn on me yet, that I was only in the 3%. Time would eventually show me otherwise.
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