A good sign??

Currently, I am a criminal justice major and my ultimate dream is to become a police officer. However, I have always had a dream of being a music producer. This past Saturday was a great milestone for me. I sold my first beat and I also hired a DJ for my projects. Hopefully this is a good sign. I have worked so hard to gain as much experience in music production as possible and it is finally paying off. It has motivated me to a new limit. For someone who has never played an instrument, creating music is a big deal.I hope this success continues.

Race

I would like to add a bit to the discussion the class had on Thursday. I believe IN SOME CASES, African American use racism as an excuse. If we look back at the civil rights movement, some of the greatest accomplishments of African Americans took place in that time period. In a period where the oppression was at its peak. I feel if you give 100% you get 100% no matter the odds. Saying "Its because im black" does not apply to the overall success to life. If anything African Americans have lost the unity we once had. We have become jealous of those who choose to step out and take risk. Im sure the black students in our class has had someone treat them differently just because he or she is in college. For instance, I HAD a best friend since the 1st grade who just recently told me I was acting "stuck up". He told me since I enrolled in college I act like I'm better than him. In all reality, I was still the same down to earth guy I was when we first met. He sees my life advancing while he is at a stand still. Instead of giving encouragement or even feeding off of my drive to succeed, he tries to bring me down. This even goes for my family members and complete strangers. All of color. While racism is still alive, it has not and will not prevent me from achieving what ever I set my sights on. With that being said, at the end of the day we are all human. White black orange green it does not matter. Everyone is on this earth trying to reach their purpose and dreams. Being on the U of M campus has really shown me that people of all races CAN get along. Not that long ago, I would not be able to sit next to a white person on a college campus. It has progressed tremendously. Overall, we have to stop using race as an excuse of failure, and we should give ourselves a little bit more credit on the progression we have made over the years in the area of getting along. We are all completely equal.

Strong Hearted

I recently had a conversation with a woman who was in an abusive relationship. She and I were apart of a domestic violence awareness conference over the weekend. During our conversation, she gave details
(i will spare most of the details here) in which would make any human being cringe. Her situation specifically started with a man that truly seemed like "Mr.Right". He called and checked in on her frequently, made surprise visits to her job, and offered to take her anywhere. She went on to say how often he paid for everything such as, clothing, household items etc. With such an attitude what woman wouldn't fall in love with a guy like that. I mean, he IS Mr.Perfect right? EXTREMELY wrong. About 3 months after being married she noticed certained things started to change. In her exact words, "His motives had gone in a different direction." She noticed all those thing he did for her was a method of control. HE wanted to now what she spent her money on, her location, and who she was with at all times. Disguised at first as an caring man he turned into a household dictator. Afterwhile, things turned violent. When I asked her why she stayed as long as she did, (they divorced after a 4 year marriage) her reply was "We were married". She continued to state how she took those wedding vows as they were. "For better or for worse, I meant that." she added. I asked "Even at the expense of your own life? That type of marriage is not a marriage at all."She agreed and said " Sometimes you have to be strong hearted." She was very strong hearted. While with this man she gave birth to twin boys. She expressed how she wanted her children to grow up with a complete home. One day she realized if she stayed with him that would not happen anyway. This woman was truly a strong woman. Even though it caused her physical and mental damage, she stayed true to her wedding vows and her children for as long as she could. She is truly admirable person.