2013 has been...........

Well here it is folks. As I look at the clock on my laptop, it is 11:50 PM EST. This means two things; There is less than 10 minutes left in 2013 and it also means there is also less than 10 minutes until 2014. As we transition from one year to another year, I get on these cyber streets and see everyone talking about how 2013 treated them. No matter what everyone said, one thing everyone shared was the fact that they were thankful for the year and they are looking forward to the year 2014. Reading these various post got me thinking what 2013 was for me me. Well to me 2013 has been a year of transition.

At the start of the year, I was less than a month remove from graduating college. I was on top of the world. After endless test, paper, projects and finals, I finally could say that I was a college graduate. I believed that with this degree, I would have no problem landing any job. Boy was I wrong. No matter what job I put in for, I got turn down for it. It seem like I got these two reasons everything i got turned down for a job. 1. Well since you have a degree, you should be working for our home office not us. 2. You don't have enough experience to work here. I mean it got to a point were I got rejected by Target, Burger King, and Mickey Ds. Like who really gets turned down by fast food places, but that besides the point. Needless to say, I heard that for 8 long months. Then one day, someone finally decided to give me a chance and gave me at job. Now the job is def not the best/ideal job but i am grateful for it none the less, even though it is part time and it pages minimum wage. The struggle is real y'all.  this is not the only transition that took place this year.

During my 8 months of being jobless, another transition began to happen. I made a mental transition. When all that free time. I really had time to think. Think about what was I doing with my life. Think about why I had such a hard time finding a job. Thinking when was my time to shine will come. These are just a few of the things I kept thinking about. Then one day out of the blue, one thought came to mind that i had never considered before. "Trust in the process" Now grant it, I had no idea what things meant what so ever. Then as life kept happening, that one thought kept popping up in my mind. As that thought kept popping up, I started to understand what that means to me. No matter what happens in life, there is no such thing as a bad experience. Everything that we go thru has a purpose. The experience will help us grow as a person, to bring something to our eyes, and/or to teach us a lesson. After i realized this, things I used to stress about and worry about just did not matter any more. I know that something bigger and better will come and i just need to trust in the process.

One of most noticeable transition that had in 2013 was my weight loss. For most of my life, I have always been a big dude. No matter much my family and friends told me I need to drop some pounds, I did not pay them no mind. I was ok with being big. Then one day, it clicked in my mind that I am 24 years old. That fact made me want to make a change. The reason behind that was a girl I went to school with died at that same age. I had saw her on a random saturday night, and then the next day, I got a phone call that she had die in her sleep. She was 24, and she was overweight just like me. When that popped in my mind back in the beginning of 2013, I knew I had to make a change. I have a lot of things that i want to do, and i have a feeling that there is something major in life that I am meant to do and i can't let nothing stand in my way. So i changed up my diet, began drinking a gallon of water everyday, and started working out. Since then i have drop some weight and gotten healthier. I still have a ways to go but at least I am on the right track.

Last but not least, i think i have started to make a transition when it comes to my feelings.  For the longest, I have always said I never wanted to get married and i never wanted to have kids. I guess my reason behind this is I did not want to end up being one of those dudes who have a  kids and leave them. I figured that the only way to avoid that is to be alone. For the longest i was ok with this. Then one day all of that changed. If you want more insight into that, read my previous post nothing was the same. This year, i have slowly wanting to get marry and have kids. If i could talk to my younger and told himself that, my younger self would give me the hardest side eye known to man. I guess that all comes with getting older. You don't want to stay single forever and start to have all those love feelings. Those are the worst at times.

So there you have it. That was basically my 2013 in a nutshell. I guess the theme of that year was transition. These transitions were all over the place 2013. In the long run, they made me a better person. They helped my to grow and evolve  as a person. I can really say that i am not the say person that I was in the beginning of 2013. So thank you 2013 for all of the things you taught me. Thank you for everything that you showed me and for showing me what I am capable of. Hell without 2013, this blog would never have been created. I honestly believe that even though 2013 has been not the best yer for me, it was gotten me prepare for all the greatness that 2014 has in store for me. Heres to you, the year full of transitions aka 2013.

Wake up Mr. West

Before I start,  let me say that I am a huge Kanye West fan. I like his word play in his album, the beats that he makes, his whole "I don't give a f@$k" attitude, and the way he dares to say exactly what is on his mind. In his own way, Kanye is really ahead of his time. With all that in mind, I feel that I have a right to discuss the recent antics of Mr. West. I also feel that I have a right to discuss a possible solution to some of the things that is troubling Kanye these days. This blog come isn't meant to throw slander to him. This post is just a fans view point of one of his favorite artist.

In the year of 2013, the name of Kanye West was in the mouths of most people for many different reasons.  One of the biggest events that changed his life was the birth of his daughter, North West. The name of his daughter had the world saying "did he really name his kid north west?" A few days later, he would drop his sixth album entitled Yeezus. That album would go on to be one or the best-selling rap albums of this year. He goes on to launch his Yeezus tour which, by the way, I am still upset that didn't get to see but I digress. From what I have been hearing about that tour, it is a must see. People have been saying that YEEZUS isn’t a tour, it is an experience. With all of these things happening in the life of Kanye, the two words in 2013 that became tied to his name were interviews and ranting.

This all began with an interview he did for the BBC. Out of all the things he talked about, one of the things that I feel he was the most passionate about is his leather jogging pants idea. He was upset that he came up with the idea with this odd combination, presented it to a major clothing company to not only to have it turned down, but to have his invention to be made and produced by the same people who turned his down. Due to this interview, funny man Jimmy Kimmel made a spoof of this interview on his late night talk show that has really funny.  Kanye didn't take to kindly to that and went on a twitter rampage on Jimmy. This started a "feud" between the two. Eventually, the two made up on Kimmel show and the so called "feud" had ended.

Now after his album dropped, his interviews became 75% rant, and 25% about Yeezus.  

His next interview was one that I never thought I would see. He would go on the breakfast club to be interviewed by DJ Envy, Angela Yee, and Charlemagne tha God. Now one of the things that the breakfast club is known forward is there straight forward, no hold barred interviews.  Any and everything will be discussed on these interviews.  If you don't know who Charlemagne tha God is, he is basically a straightforward,  no bullshit person that says it like it is no matter if his opinion is popular or not. When Kanye was on there, Charlemagne told Kanye exactly how he felt.  First he said he didn't like Yeezus.  As the interview went on, he asked two questions that I felt would explain everything.  His questions were basically why he denounces these corporations, but said he needs them for his clothing line and why don't he just start his own line with all the resources that he has. Kanye gave his explanation, but it did not make any sense. It wasn't until his next interview that Kanye finally made sense to me.

The next interview that he was featured on was Sway in the Morning. Now the interview was a typical Kanye interview for the first half, you know, Kanye calling himself a genius, comparing himself to other great people, and other interesting things. Then when Sway asked why he doesn’t start up his own line, yeezy snapped telling Sway "You don't have all the answer Sway" and basically talking down to him. Now at this point, Sway looked like he wanted to knock Kanye out and I couldn't blame him. I mean what grown man wants to be yelled at/talked down to like a little child. After Kanye calmed down, he asked him the same question again and Kanye gave an honest/real answer for once.

As he was explaining his reason, there was four main points the he made that stuck out to me the most. 1. "As I work on clothing more, I not rapping as much." 2."I not rapping as much, I not having as much finance, I losing relevance." 3. "Relevance is part of my power that allows my brand to be big." 4." You juggle so crazy but then you get a Nike that can simply say the yeezys did good. That was a good job. Let me get you some more so you can start your own line cause obviously people are lining up for them." After he said all of that, all of his antic and rants finally made sense to me.

As far as all his antic and part of his rants are concerned, he is doing all of this to stay relevant. Just think about it. After his 5th album dropped, no one heard from Kanye or knew what he was doing. I assume that during his time away he was designing. He didn't pop back up until he started dating Kim Kardashian, and let’s be honest, that helped her career not Kanye’s career. Kanye really did not become relevant, at least to me, until his first interview on the BBC were his ranting first began. After that, people began to talk about him, thus he started to become relevant again which in turn started to give power back to his brand. If you look at point 3, he doing exactly what he believes he needs to do to make his brand powerful.  So basically everything he has done is for the betterment of his brand. Pretty clever Mr. West, pretty clever.

The last statement he made that involved Nike explains why he feels he needs these big corporations in order to get his clothing line established. He feels like he needs to go thru an already major clothing company in order for him to have his own clothing line. One of the things he was saying to Sway that he tried starting his own clothing line, invested 13 million into it, and lost all of his money. After going through that big of a lost, he still wants to start his line, but doesn't want to take that big of a gamble again. Can you blame him? No matter how much money you have, 13 million is still a lot of money. Losing that will hurt anybody; well expect Bill Gates and Oprah of course. Then you have to factor in that not only does he has to worry about his investment, he has to worry about how all the business decisions he makes will affect the future wellbeing of his daughter.

After all of that, do I agree with him? I somewhat agree with him. As a fan, I see where he is coming from. I can see how he feels that he needs these big name companies in order for his clothing line to come out and for people to see how great that he thinks he is. I can also somewhat see why he goes on and on with his rants. If that what he needs to stay relevant,  them he will continue to do so because that is want get his name out into the masses. Now as a person who one day wants to have his own business/company, I don't see why Kanye needs these companies in order to be great. He is an amazing artist, very smart, and has vast amounts of resources that he can pull together to pull of his clothing line. I think he is just scared and does not believe his own hype. I can understand the reason why he is mad with the fashion industry, but ranting and complaining about it will not make the situation any better. The best way to prove these companies from Mr. West is to prove them wrong, release and few clothing items, and show them why they had worked with you from the start.  As far as being relevant, Kanye is going about this all the wrong way. You don't need to whine, rant, bitch and moan to be relevant. When you rant, you don't sound smart. You say a lot of smart/right things but no one hear it due to your ranting and the way you say these things.  Just do want you always did to be relevant....make good music because to be honest Yeezus was not all that great to me. Maybe it is one of those albums that have to grow on me after listening to it multiple times. If you do have to rant, do it for a good reason like when you called out Bush on live TV.

Apparently I not the only one who feels this way. Famous people have put in their two cents on this matter as well.  Earlier this year Marc Echo, founder of the Echo clothing, stopped by the breakfast club to promote his new book. During his interview, he was asked his opinion of how Kanye feel he needs this big name companies. These are just a few points that he made. 1."Why the hell does he need these gatekeepers?" 2."You don't need the cosigns." 3."He's afraid to try on his own and screw up." 4. "Goalkeepers, the people, are going to transition and vote." During the same interview, Charlemagne says that he should make his line for the people. He said "Power will always be in the people, regular everyday people." One thing both Sway and Marc Echo asked was why doesn't Kanye start out small and slowing build up his clothing line.

So after all of this typing and thinking, I am just about ready to wrap up this post. So Mr. West, I believe all you have to do to get your clothing line up and out is just go back to the days that you was just a producer and want to become a rapper. No one just gave you a record deal. You had to prove that you was worthy of having one. Take those same lessons and apply them to getting your dreams out there to the world. Nothing worth having will come easy. Like I said earlier, just pull together your smarts and resources together, and I sure in no time your will see your dreams come to life. You just have to get humble and hungry for greatness once again. 

Dear "Real World"

Dear "Real World",
     
     First and foremost,  FUCK YOU!!!!!! FUCK you for the lies you tell, the dreams you have crushed, and the billions upon billions of people you have under your control. You strive off of the fears and weaknesses of others, and in turn, you use these things to control the same people you claim you want to see succeed. Your high standard of the mood that a person should be and look like is nothing but lies upon lies upon lies. You have people to think that getting a degree will insure a person to a great/high playing job. What you don't mention is the large amount of debt that millions of people will be enslaved to after getting that degree, and having that degree will not promise you that high paying job. You also forgot to mention that with that degree, some jobs will not hire you because of it.

      You have people slaving away at a bullshit jobs just to get buy. You make people living in a world built for one type of people instead of all types of people.  You want people to live in a black and white world, but nothing in this world is made to be just black and white. You have people settling for less than they are destined for. You have folks working a dull 9 to 5 so they insure job security instead of looking for a career or starting up their own business.  For that, you should be a shame.

        Even though you have most people fooled, you do not have every one fooled. Slowly but sure, people are starting to see thru the illusion that you have been casting for such a long time. People are really starting to rise up. More and more,  we are seeing people are breaking against the rules that you have set into place and setting a some new rules.  They are showing that there is another way to gain success than the way that you said. They are showing that their isn't a way a person should look to be successful.  They are showing that with a dream, faith,  and hardwork, anything is possible.  Really they are showing that anybody, no matter who you are, can achieve their goals and dreams.

        So in close,  once again real world,  FUCK YOU! Even though you are still a powerful force, I feel that one day your region of terror will be over. People will wake up, live out their dreams,  and truly live out their life. So until then real world,  I have no choice but to go by your rules right now. When I do become successful, my success story will inspire others to follow their dreams/passion and find their own way to success. So beware real world,  BEWARE!!!!!!

SIGNED,
An unplug rebel

25 years of lessons

Boy ol boy, yesterday has been a great one. As I tune in to this show on mtv, I begin to recap my day. First and foremost, it was my 25th bornday. I didn't do too much for it. I went out for breakfast with my family, got a new phone, went to the barbershop,  hanged with some friends at the movies,  went out to dinner, and went a pool hall. All and all, I had a pretty great day. Throughout the day,  I thought about everything that I have been throughout these 25 years of living, whether it was good,  bad, or a little bit of both. As I was thinking, a few main points stuck out to me that has really impacted me. So I thought I would share a few of the lessons that I have learned thus far in this journey called life.

1. Put god first
There was times in life that we have hit rock bottom,  lost in the darkness,  and feels like the world is against them.  I certainly know that I have felt like that at one time or another.  The only thing that has kept my head above water is god. It hasn't/wasn't nothing that I done to deserve his mercy but nonetheless,  he saw fit to deliver me from my hardest times. Now I not saying that following God will make everything good because you will get tested at times. Just keep him first and know that everything will work out for the best.

2. Be yourself, no matter what others think
Now this lesson took me a while to learn. It took me till I got to college to understand this. Now don't get me wrong. Before college,  I was still the same werid, odd, a less random person that I am now. I think the main reason I didn't embrace myself was due to others. I did have a few friends pre college while being myself. Now when i got to college, I didn't  change anything about me.  In fact, being my weird, odd self actually gained me some of the best friends that i have now. Just be yourself.  Real people will like you for who you are. I would rather have a few friends that like the real me then a lot of friends that like a fake me.

3. Karma is REAL
I can't stress this fact enough. You get what you put out into the world. If you do good things,  good things will happen to you. If you do bad things, well expect bad things to happen to you. No one escape from karma judgement. Just because you get away with something in the eyes of humans doesn't mean you will have the same luck with karma. One of the funniest thing about karma is that it doesn't always come back at you the way you dish it out. The affects could be minor or it could be major. Remember there is a consequence for every action that you do.

4. Don't be afraid of love
Lets face it. At one put or anothor, we will all fall in love. To some people that is a scary thought because love is one of the beautiful/scariest thing known to man kind. To this day, love is the one factor in life that we as humans have no control over what so ever.  It comes without warning and you have no control over who you fall in love with. With all that in mind, don't be afraid of love.  My friend once told me that you have to find someone that is worth diving in the pool of love with. If you find someone that you really care about with all your heart, tell that person because that person just might feel the same way about you. Even if they don't, don't give up on love. I would rather hear a no than to life in a world of "what if".  Love will happen to you when it is supposed to and when you least expect it to. Just let love find you.

5. Trust in the process
I believe one of the most used phrases known to man is "everthing happens for a reason". At first I didn't believe it. I thought it was just something that folks said. As I became older, that phrase started to become true. The reason why we go through these is to teach us a lesson, to make us stronger, to help us to grow, and to bring certain things to our attention that needs our focus.  We never understand why things happen to us while we are going through it, but afterwards it all makes sense to us. That why I said trust in the process because you never know what you will get from your process.

So there you have it folks. These are just a few of many lessons that I have learned over the past 25 years.  These have molded me in to the person that I am today. As I continue to live, there will be other life lesson to be learn, new experiences to be had, more trails to face, and other things life will throw at you. At the end of the day, learn from the lessons that life gives you and grow to be a better person each day that you live