I Believe That Children are the Future...

There is one thing that I am really passionate about...and that is young people. Kids are the most honest people in the world and it's so refreshing to hear their thoughts about stuff. They are usually so un-biased, and believe it or not, they are usually on the money with their observations. Most of the time, people don't give them a chance - they write them off and treat them like crap. I always fight for the underdog, that's why I'm such an advocate for kids...and the biggest reason why I wanted to be a teacher in the inner-city. But lately, I've been seeing a lot of stuff that literally wants to be sing like Marvin Gaye..."Makes me wanna holler, and throw up my hands."

After losing my job in the insurance industry, I had a hard time getting a job; but I have one as a scorer for a testing company. Basically, I score state standardized tests for the 8th grade level; when I read these papers it just depresses me. They are from all over the state, and from all different school districts. You can CLEARLY see the difference of students in rich and poor school districts...and it breaks my heart.Here's an example; one day while I was reading these essays, I noticed that there were a majority of misspelled words. Now, I know that I'm not Akilah and the Bee...but these words are basic...I wrote them down. Take a look...

conquer - concur
courage - curaj
father - faughther
obstacle - opstickal
doubt - daut
experience - expereenz
innocent - inknowsent
rely - relie

A majority of the kids are doomed. They lack the basic reading, writing & comprehension skills in order to be successful; and they are in the 8th grade...if they are struggling in 8th grade, you know it's over when they get into high school. If they can't read & write, you damn sure can't expect them to do math and other things. What is going on with them? I can't blame BET for this one...OK, I can give them some of the blame...LOL. I know it starts at home, but how do we (Educators, etc.) we fix this? What can we do to help them? What becomes of the kids?

Lemons & Lemonade...

Trying to see the good in a bad situation is a hard thing. I didn't get admitted into the New York City Teaching Fellowship Program. I REALLY wanted to get in...but, due to budget cuts, the economy...they cut their co-hort in half. While I'm disappointed as hell about the whole thing...I'm glad I didn't make it for a couple of reasons:

- I would've had to move to NYC within a month's notice with no cash (which is impossible), so I would've had to turn it down anyways.
- They only give 7 weeks of training before you're thrown into a class & expected to teach these kids.
- Since I won't be in NYC, I can finish some projects and actually pay off my car (and other debt) this year...make it to the family & class reunion...and take that Vegas vacation in October...

I'm not knocking the NYCTF at all - I understand where they are coming from - they have to protect their neck and make sure that they don't accept more people than jobs are available. I just wanted to be out of a bad situation - it's not bad, but it isn't what I want right now (living at home, no money, temp job, etc.) ASAP. I wanted to relocate and start a new life...but that will come later than sooner (yes I mean to say it that way).

This setback is allowing me to make preparations for my come-up...I'm going to go through the traditional route and get my Masters in Education...that way I know what to expect...I'll be working too and I can save to make the right move so that I'm not struggling...

When life hands you lemons...make lemonade! So for now...have a cold glass on me!

Dear God...

Dear God:

It’s me, SLC. I haven’t talked to you in while, so I figured I’d give you an update. The past six months have been absolutely awful, and that is an understatement to say the least. I don’t mean to complain, but can you clue me in? Am I doing something wrong? Now, I do realize that I’m not perfect, but I attend church, treat people the way I want to be treated, I tithe, and I am active in ministry. I try hard to make a positive difference in my life, and bring something positive in someone else’s, but lately my motivation is seriously waning and when I lose my motivation, things can start to get bad because I’m gonna stop caring about stuff…and that can get dangerous. What do I have to do in order for things to turn out ok? You know what…you don’t have to answer that.

God, I’m going to ask a small favor from you. I’m not asking for much, I don’t need a ton of money (although it would be nice) or anything like that. God, I would just like to have one thing….just a little bit of good news. Something that will brighten my day and make me walk down the street smiling and singing to myself. That’s it, God…just some good news…please. Thanks for listening and I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
SLC

Family? What About Family??

I've come to the conclusion that I am a Reality TV freak! Monday through Friday, I am watching some show, from The Biggest Loser, From G's to Gents, For the Love of Ray J, America's Best Dance Crew, Harlem Heights (which I am liking enough right now to stop by BET boycott momentarily) and last but not least, Making the Band 4. I have a love/hate relationship with this show. Why? Because Diddy (I absolutely admire his entrepreneurial skills) just drags the show on too long. I need them to make a decision about this dog-gone group Danity Kane. They are dragging this storyline so much that I just wish that they edit them out of the show. I'm quoting Steve Harvey right now ("We all know what its bout! Bring on the water!). Come on already....Geez...

I love watching the guys, Day26...I think that they have some of the best voices out there. But this past episode really made me notice something and not for the good. As of right now, the guys' contract are in the process of being negotiated, and until the negotiations are finalized, they can't record in the studio, book shows, etc. In other words, these guys aren't making any money...and they are feeling the PINCH. Haven't you heard? It's a recession!

One of my favorite members, Que, was really having some problems. He stated that he didn’t have a father and he had to take care of his family because he was the man in the household. MTV then cut to a clip of him talking to his mother, explaining to her why he didn’t have any money. I got the impression from the conversation that she was asking him for some. As he explained to his fellow band mates what was going on, my heart went out to him. His mother quit her job, the family was in the process of moving into a new home and his sister was at home. He went on to explain that with this launch of their first CD, he never got a real chance to spend his money the way he wanted to; he was taking care of his family instead. He has the whole weight of his family on his shoulders at the young age of 20! All I could think about was, “it’s not your responsibility, Que!” I understand that you’re making a living in the music industry, but your mother is a grown woman, and if you weren’t in the music industry, she wouldn’t have quit her job…she would still be working. I loved when Brian told him that it wasn’t his responsibility. Now Que is all stressed out about money when he should be relaxing and enjoying this time in his life (note to Diddy: hurry up and pay these guys…please!).



This reminds me of when you see some of the guys that just make it in the NFL or NBA; they come from nothing…then all of a sudden they have more money in a matter of weeks than they have seen in their entire lives.

Sportscaster: What are you going to do now Johnny now that you've made it to the NFL?
Johnny: First thing I'm doing is buying my mama a house and a car...

Family, friends and others that you vaguely remember come out of the woodwork, with stories of hard times, business plans that is going to make everybody blow up and putting guilt trips on the newly rich: “You wouldn’t be where you were if it weren’t for me…” If these guys were in any other profession like doctors, lawyers or engineers would people still be coming at them for handouts? Are they really obligated to help people out financially and what is the limit to which they should help people. These men and women help out so much to the point that they don’t have anything for themselves and then they are forced to work extra hard to maintain the lifestyle…and that’s not fair to them. I know of one NFL player from my area that bought his mother and sister a house, cars and gave them monthly allowances. When he got cut from his team, he was unable to get signed to another team, and now he’s broke…but his mom and sister got theirs…

How much is too much? Why should you feel obligated? Your parents made the choice to bring you into this world and take care of you…Anything else that you do for them is extra. Now I’m not saying cut them off totally, but I think you should do what you can within reason. If you WANT to take care of their every need then by all means, go ahead. But I don’t feel like you HAVE to do so. That just creates a monster in the long run that can destroy families (because I believe that family/friends & money is/are a horrible cocktail). Am I wrong for feeling that way?

But back to Que…take care of yourself, homey. Your money is coming…just remember that the music industry is fickle as hell, so use your money wisely and invest it properly…in other words, make your money work for you now, so you don’t have to work for it later…

**photo of the NFL draft is used for illustrative use only…I don’t know those guys and I don’t know if they got their family on payroll…LOL!**

25 Random Things About Me...

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.


Normally, I don’t do these…but I read everyone else’s list. So, I’m gonna do one too…Don’t laugh…

1. My favorite color is blue…I don’t care what shade of blue…it can sky blue, aqua blue, or midnight blue…just as long as it’s blue…

2. I hate when people ask me where I’m going. If I wanted you to know, I WOULD TELL YOU!!!!

3. I am scared that I won’t be able to have children. Why? Because I’m absolutely crazy about them. It’s usually the people that really, really want kids can’t have them and a lady or couple that don’t want kids and/or mistreat/abuse them will have a lot. Ironic, isn’t it?

4. I’m terrified that I will die early in life, and while I am sleep. For that reason, I hate going to sleep (I’m usually up until 3-4am) and I try to get the least amount of sleep as possible.

5. I hate medication. I think that it’s a way for other people to control you; it dulls your senses & makes you into a walking, talking, but catatonic zombie. I also think it’s a cop-out for doctors (they get you in and out of the office ASAP to increase the number of patients they see and make more money; plus I think they get kick-backs from pharmaceutical companies). If doctors took the time to really talk to you, they could find an alternative way to treat you, unless it was absolutely imperative to give you medicine.

6. I am a conspiracy theorist…didn’t you read #5! I think the government is behind a lot of things that are wrong. If you get the time, ask me about AIDS in the USA and 9/11.

7. I am THE MICHAEL JACKSON FAN. I know all of his songs, I know the dance moves. I am praying he goes on tour so that I can go…FRONT ROW! But if I had kids, I will confess that I would never let him babysit…

8. I’m starting to think that I need new friends. I feel like I don’t have a lot in common with them anymore. Plus, every time they have a problem, they call me, I listen and offer solutions and try to help as best I can. But when I need someone to listen to, they ain’t trying to hear anything I have to say…so I really don’t talk to them anymore.

9. I’m really hard on myself. I’m my harshest critic.

10. When I was younger, I used to eat cigarettes (Salem, Newports & Pall Mall). My father jokes that it stunted my growth…if I didn’t eat them, I’d be at least 6’3 instead of just 5’10…lol…

11. I hate stupid people…they kill me with their stupidity. They’re really good too. You won’t know they’re stupid until you’re good into a conversation with them…then you’re like DAMN! I just wasted time talking to this stupid (insert cuss word here). I think if people had stickers letting us know what we are dealing with…the world would be a better place.

12. I love going to the movies. I have to be there to see the previews, that way; I can make a mental note about the movies that I’ll see in the future. If I don’t see the previews, I don’t want to watch the movie.

13. 2008 was the worst year that I’ve ever had. 2009 will be better…I’m sure of it!

14. It took me a long time to find what I want to do with my life…but I’ve finally figured it out. I want to own my magazine and freelance writing (articles, screenplays and songs). My backup plan is to be a teacher.

15. I’m so glad that I didn’t become a lawyer or a doctor.

16. I have an ongoing fantasy that I’m the lead singer of an all-girl band. Kind of like a female EWF or Maze ft. Frankie Beverly. (You thought it was going to be nasty didn’t you?)

17. I love music – all genres. You can look at my MP3 player and see music ranging from Tupac to Steeley Dan. (yeah – look it up, they’re good)

18. I’m still salty about those Negroes that stole my car. Now I have to pay for car repairs (the damages are below my deductible so I have to pay out of pocket) because these fools want to steal. If I see them around my car again, I’ll be sending another note asking for bail money because I shot those fools.

19. I can read and play music (4 instruments), but I want to learn other instruments: mainly the drums, trumpet, trombone, bass, flute and the alto saxophone).

20. I break stuff. I don’t mean to do it on purpose; I just don’t know my own strength. When I do break stuff, I try to fix it ASAP so my brothers don’t make fun of me. They call me the BEAST…lol…

21. I need to lose weight, but I have no motivation. I wanted to go on the Biggest Loser because I think I would do well, but I have no desire to be on national TV with a sports bra and biker shorts…

22. I should’ve taken sports more seriously in high school so that I could’ve received a sports scholarship. I just got burned out (thanks Kenan). I see some women on the court and I like damn! I could kill them in the paint.

23. I have a serious crush on Q-Tip. It may sound weird (and I don’t give a damn what you think), but he is so sexy…totally not what I usually go or in a guy. I saw him in concert last summer and I was so in love…

24. I hate repeating myself to people that I know UNDERSTAND me. What I’m saying to you isn’t going to change…it’s just going to piss me off and make me cuss you out.

25. I’m crazy about my brothers…despite the fact that they drive me crazy, I’m still crazy about them, and will cut anyone that tries to do them harm. Ask some females out there about me that have tried to start some drama with Dean! LOL! I’m so good at it that others have asked to be their Big Sis for this very same reason.