Youthful Life: X

"What's wrong with being elitist if you are trying to encourage people to join the elite rather than being exclusive?" Richard Dawkins I'm an elitist . There I said it. Being in a place where I have an even wider variety of people with differing experiences, life paths, belief systems, etc. has made me realize just how much my access to education and corresponding "pedigree" has impacted me. The way I talk, what I talk about, how I carry myself, why I dress the way I do, and everything in between communicates I am a product of an immense amount of privilege. There's nothing implicitly wrong with that per say but it can easily become a problem in snobbishness, snootiness, and unappealing arrogance. I don't think I'm better than other people but pretending I'm like other people is a falsity for us all. I have had a rare life experience with a lot of opportunity. I think for me it shows up most when people are intimidated by me, have diffic...

" America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds  herself to be false to the future." Frederick Douglass The American Dream is dead. Rather it never existed. Maybe it did, but even then it was not made for everyone to be able to attain it. What's a dream if its within reach for everyone? No it was, is, and always will be reserved for a select few. And to those who don't fit the selection criteria but somehow, against all odds (*read systemic and interpersonal barriers) make it  - the narratives are co-opted to reify the propaganda that the dream is only deferred not denied. This country doesn't want us all the make it. Our society isn't built for everyone to thrive. Our perspective needs people to trounce upon, to use, to throw away as disposable. We need people to other. We need them to be different. We need there to be a distinction between us and them. That is what we are founded on - blood, the ideals of the rich white-ma...

Truth - stories are how we communicate. Stories matter more than we may ever truly know. It's through stories that we create our truths and come to believe what we believe. It's by the storytelling of others and their craftsmanship of the narrative, richness of the plot, and vivacious characters that we come to have our worldviews. Stories have an immense power if only they are allowed to be told. Representation matters, stories matter, we matter.   "There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously ...

Truth - Money only has value because we have made it that way. Think about it just like we covet dirty green pieces of paper with dead white men's faces on them we could just as easily be doing the same with q-tips, buttons, or pebbles. The object is arbitrary but the way we idolize it is where it gets all it's power from. Some say does not bring happiness, and while that may be true, it most definitely gives you access to obtaining it. More money more problems, but are some of those self-induced? This is unrestricted.  "Wealth is the ability to fully experience life" Henry David Thoreau In this day and age where the vast majority of people are seriously struggling to make ends meet, it has almost become taboo to speak on the topic of wealth. Who has it? What is it? Why does it matter? There has always been this shroud of secrecy and pretending when it comes to socioeconomic status. People put on a show to act as if they have more  (and sometimes less) than...

The 20s are all about being okay with not knowing. For some people, not having their future planned out down to the minute can be gravely terrifying while others relish in the spontaneity of their lives. Often the world of young people is split in two seemingly diverging paths - one that leads to jobs and family, and another that entails traveling on a whims' notice. The reality is you can have both, and most have a little bit of each. No matter what your happiness in life though comes from your inner satisfaction. Do you believe that you deserve to be happy? Some things are just beyond belief. When I was a little kid there was no problem that was beyond fixing when my dad said everything was going to be okay. I remember this one time I had been riding my bike around the cul-de-sac. I was recently training wheel free and zoomed around the curves of the asphalt like a speed demon on a mission. My helmet was fastened tight but I had neglected to put on my knee pads. One ino...

The 20s are all about living it up. There is no time like the present and time is of the essence now more than ever. All of those cliché things that people tell you about living in the moment, being where you are, and enjoying yourself ... just so happen to be true. College is one of those unique places and times in your life where you have little to worry about other than yourself. Your responsibilities are limited and your possibilities are seemingly endless. These really might be the best years of your life. My journey during this senior of mine has been to figure out not only how to have fun or what my college experience has meat (because I'm annoyingly complicated and perpetually in this meta-state of self-reflection) but what I'll be doing when college is over. Newsflash, my graduation is only 106 days away. This year, this month, and even this week has been filled with some monumentally important advice from all the random people in my life. Professors, administrator...

The 20s are all about being in the middle. One of the ways we understand is in the context of  a literary narrative. We are the protagonists of our own life stories (out of necessity). What that means at the same time is that no matter what we do or wherever we go we are still the center of our worlds. It's both kind of sad and empowering. That means even when we feel invisible, or when we're over all the hype around us - we haven't really shifted in our chronicles. Absolutely all the time we're in the midst the crossfire. When I was younger I had this irrational goal of becoming a celebrity or famous. I don't know what it was about stardom that gripped me so tightly. Everyone just seemed so happy and like they were constantly having the time of their lives. As soon as they hit the red carpet all eyes were on them. Calvin Klein suits, stainless steel iPhone case, and bright white smiles - what could be better? Thoughts of flashing lights, beckoning calls, and t...

The 20s are all about knowing your limits. College can often be a place where people are disingenuous when it comes to valuing your health over productivity. Self-care is preached from the pulpit but in the pews it is nowhere to be found. Students, staff, and faculty alike are asked to bring their best selves but aren't given the time or are stigmatized for taking it. The atmosphere that a college creates may not always be what's sound for all its community members. Whether we like it or not - we all are susceptible to sickness, fatigue, and overall the shortcomings of being human - enter the state of delirium.   People do a lip-service when it comes to self-care. Yes, it's all well and good to say whenever you're tired or can't do anymore to take time to take care of yourself. The action or good-will behind it when it is put to practice leaves much to be desired. When those who are indispensable are fully incapacitated it's as if those around them are incap...