Life Is Like A Garden

This past weekend I had a great time at the Botanic Gardens of Chicago with a good friend. Not many people know this but I really really love gardens. I'm not the type of person that knows every single name of species of flowers and stuff but I love gardens for other reasons, the things they represent to me.

For me, a garden represent your life. You may start off with a naked field or just grass, but then you decide you want to do something with this patch of field. You start clawing into the grass with a special gardening tool to bring up the soil ,and with time this patch of field is ready to be planted.
A person can relate to this when they want to make a fresh start or make something out of their life. The preparation it takes to start into what you want to do with the rest of your life.

Next a gardener starts planting the flowers or vegetables or whatever they decide to do with this garden. They water their garden everyday because it is a necessary step and crucial component into having a garden. Even if the field remains naked for a couple of days, it is important to feed the garden with water and with the nutrients the soil needs.
That reminds me of a student that goes to class everyday. It is important that they do their homework because that is how they develop their brain to grow and sponge up the knowledge that is being given to them, just like how a garden needs water.
The fact that you may not see visually that the flower is growing from on top of the surface, under the ground, the roots are growing and the flower is getting ready to pop out of the soil and into this world we live in.

Finally, you see a tiny little green stem growing all around your garden and you feel so proud because you worked so hard to see this little miracle grow into existence.
This, for me represents when a student graduates. To some people they may see it as the full grown set of garden but for me, it just represent the meaning of the growing up and maturing a person has to grow through, just like a plant.

As you life starts to grow, so does you garden. it is you job to take care of you job to maintain the garden to be in tip top shape. A very important thing is to take out the weeds that can mess up your garden and make it kind of ugly. I see the weeds as negative people in your life, you have to remove them out of your life because it is your life and your garden. The more you let the weeds roam free in your garden, the less attractive your garden and life will seem.

Maintaining a garden can take up the rest of your life, just like maintaining your own life. In a garden and your life, if you care about it, you have to protect it. There's a lot of danger out there and people may tell you to put this into your garden/life but do your research first and know what you decide to put in or take out because people can tell you one thing, but you don't know their intentions…

And remember….."you reap what you sow"

Be A Leader, Not A Follower

I've had a lot of great teachers in my life, but as many have taught us about academics, one taught me about LIFE as well.

The best thing this teacher taught me was "NOT TO BE A FOLLOWER".
He taught us the values of being a leader, and I applied that to my life as an older brother because siblings tend to look up to the oldest. Therefore I stayed away from gangs as much as I could, because my little brothers and sisters are my responsibilities as well, so I would not be able to live my life knowing that if something would've happened to them as a result of me being in a gang.

I've never have been the type to be clubbing or going to bars every weekend. I'm not trying to bash anybody that does that but I would be considered a follower if I did that, knowing deep in my heart that I don't like those type of things, but yet I would go just because a lot of people my age are into those type of things…

I don't follow, but I do think of the people I follow as mentor's.
I went to an online dictionary website and it said the following..

men·tor

  [men-tawr, -ter] 

noun

1.

a wise and trusted counselor or teacher.

2.

an influential senior sponsor or supporter.

How are those not good qualities of a leader right??? So if you think you are a follower, make sure the person is leading you into the right path.

In the end, I want to thank my former teacher Mr.Stone for teaching me not to be a follower and whom I dedicate this blog entry to.

Real Music

Please watch Video First 

Years of listening to so called "music", I kind of feeling that artists sing about the same thing..money,cars and clothes and sometimes even hoes,lol
There are a few artists I actually listen to because now a days its all mostly about having a good beat and a good hook…
The days all we mostly hear is punch lines so I think of them artists as jokes for exmaple LiL Wayne and Drake.
Rarely do we see lyrical geniuses like Nas, Vico C, Common and so on…but I ran across this artist that is up in coming in which I fully support because his music delivers messages and that's what I'm all about.

The music industry know we like listening to garbage music so that is what they give us, but some of us do actually LOVE music and are not content with the artists, so I think if we stop supporting dumb artists like LiL Wayne they will actually give real music artists a chance to be heard because in the end, all the music industry wants to do is make money.

If you guys know of any other good artists like "Childish Gambino" feel free to comment so more individuals know of these individuals that are in love with music rather than artists that are in love with the money and use music to get it.

                                                           Childish Gambino

Giving Credit To Those Who Deserve It

If there is one thing I really hate, is when a girl is going out with a dude that gangbangs and/or is not doing anything with his life to try to make it better but yet are giving credit for trying.

A dog  does not receive a treat for trying to complete a task..only to when the dog actually completes the trick…
So why give credit for a guy who is THINKING about to gangbanging or selling drugs and who's trying to go back to school.

There's a difference between actually saying you're going to do something and actually doing it.

These kind of individuals chose (action) to join a gang, they chose (action) to sell drugs.
I know times are hard but I know people who have 2 jobs, they may hate their jobs but they still manage to have 2 and you're telling me you can't find one???

If you have a man/woman whose going to school or  works and takes care of his/her family..appreciate them to the fullest because as girls, you guys love a challenge and try to make a bad boy into a goodboy. People have to remember, not all challenges are rewarding..but they do make you learn things.
You may be looking for a challenge but you have a blessing of a good person in front of you, and yes, blessings do sometimes comes your way easy and unexpected.

Marriage

So I've been talking to my friend a lot lately about marriage.
What makes people want to get married was a huge question for me.
I thought about it very deeply and I thought why not take it to the next level and get married.
I started seeing no point in being in a relationship for a long time and treating each other like if you guys were married.

Then again, marriage is a huge commitment that is taken between 2 individuals who are deeply in love and know what they want and I guess that is what I long for in the future.
Somebody I can trust with all my heart and they could do so as well. Somebody I can grown old with and cherish her every day. Of course there are going to be ups and downs, nothing is perfect..but that is the reason of getting married, almost getting rid of the option leaving each other and working it out together.

I am highly against domestic violence and if I were to get married I know I would invest in a punching bag rather than hitting my wife,lol
But it also applies to females as well, just because it is not right for a man to hit  a woman, women should not provoke and and dare the man to hit her.

Other than that, in order to get married I have to remember that I have to be able to support my family. I want to get my education first and get a great job. If God wants to bless me with the trustworthy beautiful wife then I'm up to it but I can see why he hasn't done it yet, because as much as I would want to, I don't think I'm ready yet.

In the meantime I'm going to enjoy this single life and get myself educated one way or another and prepare for my future.

Components Of Being In A Relationship

I believe that being in a relationship consists of these things:

• Love
• Trust
• Communication

I'm going to start off with Love.. as I grew older, I learned the true definition of Love.

Love is not loosing that passion for one another regardless of the time years you both have been together. Love is showing and giving respect to each other as much as you guys can. Love is setting boundaries and limits where the relationship is respected and if one lets another disrespect the relationship, then they are not really showing respect to their loved. Love is word that you give meaning behind it so why not still show it even when the person you love already knows you love them.

Trust!!! You can't really love somebody without trusting them. If you have no trust on them,  you better believe there is going to be a lot of unnecessary arguments.

It takes years to build trust and a second to loose that trust, so therefore, for me, if a person I'm with tells me they trust me with all their heart, then it means more to me for them to tell me that they trust me rather than telling me that they love me.. i say this because trust is more valuable to me because you can have it today and be gone tomorrow.

Last but not least is communication. Communication is really important because in a argument, you need to speak as well as to listen. One person cannot be doing all the times, one person cannot be doing the calls all the time, and one person cannot make be the one making the effort to see one another..if that's the case then why not call or text or see a brick wall?? That is basically what one person is doing if they are going all the effort to communicate. You need 2 individuals to communicate.

If you are not married, and somebody is not willing to meet these components with you..then why be in a relationship with them…you would be better be off alone.

Boy And His Blind Father

I once was helping my friend with her college h.w and I ran across this story and I wanted to share it with you guys, it titled, "Boy And His Blind Father"

This teenager lived alone with his father, and the two of them had a
very special relationship.

The son was crazy about football and was always involved in every game
but even though
he was always on the bench, his
father was always in the stands cheering. He never missed a game. This
young man was still
the smallest of the class when he
entered high school. But his father continued to encourage him but also
made it very clear
that he did not have to play football
if he didn't want to. However, the young man loved football and decided
to hang in there.
He was determined to try his best at
every practice, and perhaps he'd get to play when he became a senior.
All through high
school he never missed a practice nor
a game, but remained a bench warmer all four years. His faithful
father was always in the
stands, always with words of encouragement for him.

When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the
football team as a
"walk-on." Everyone was sure he could
never make the cut, but he did. The coach admitted that he kept him on
the roster because
he always puts his heart and soul to
every practice and at the same time, provided the other members with the
spirit and hustle
they badly needed.
The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him so much that he
rushed to the nearest
phone and called his father. His father
shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college
games. This persistent
young athlete never missed practice
during his four years at college, but he never got to play in the game.

It was the end of his senior football season, and as he trotted onto
the practice field shortly
before the big play off game, the
coach met him with a telegram. The young man read the telegram and he
became deathly
silent..............

Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, "My father died this morning.
Is it all right if I
miss practice today?" The coach put
his arm gently around his shoulder and said, "Take the rest of the week
off, son. And don't
even plan to come back to the
game on Saturday.

Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well. In the third quarter,
when the team was
ten points behind, a silent young
man quietly slipped into the empty locker-room and put on his football
gear. As he ran onto
the sidelines, the coach and his
players were astounded to see
their faithful teammate back so soon. "Coach, please let me play. I've
just got to play
today," said the young man. The coach
pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted his worst
player in this close
playoff game. But the young man
persisted, and finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in.
"All right," he said.

"You can go in." Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the
stands could not
believe their eyes. This little
un-known, who had never played before was doing everything right. The
opposing team
could not stop him. He ran, he
passed, blocked and tackled like a star. His team began to triumph. The
score was soon
tied. In the closing seconds of the
game, this kid intercepted a pass and ran all the way for the winning
touchdown. The fans
broke loose. His teammates hoisted
him onto their shoulders. Such cheering you've never heard! Finally,
after the stands had
emptied and the team had showered
and left the locker room, the coach noticed that the young man was
sitting quietly in the
corner all alone.

The coach came to him and said, "Kid, I can't believe it. You were
fantastic! Tell me what
got into you? How did you do
it?" He looked at the coach, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Well,
you knew my dad
died, but did you know that my dad
was blind?" The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, "Dad came
to all my
games, but today was the first time he
could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could do it!"