Brand new year. Brand new attitude.
It's "Go time"
Plain and simple.
It is time to start behaving like the person you dream tobecome, It is time to start making the small pragmatic steps 새 bring you closer to your goals. It is time to stop talking and begin walking.
This new and improved attitude is about being more "active participant' than "passive observer." You must manifest strategies and solutions to life's challenges through actively engaging with the world around you. You are the catalyst needed to put your life in the right direction. Because we are a community of students, the manner in which we handle educational endeavors is paramount.
Education is not about being passive. Education is not about being popular. Education is not about being pre-occupied with the Proper. Education is about gathering knowledge and developing a sense of critique and scrutiny that will produce improvements in technology, humanities, medicine, law, agriculture, and hosts of other disciplines.
Education is about meeting challenges.
The only question that remains is: Are you up for the challenge?
As a new semester begins, everyone is full of similar questions. "Will I like my classes" "Will I enjoy y professors/students?" "Will I discover what truly makes me happy?" "Will I manage to get that future job I've been dreaming about?
I've learned the best way to answer these question is by posing one question.
"Are you up for the challenge?"
It is a simple question that requires a simple answer.
If the answer is "no," the you simply move forward to face the next of life's challenges. If the answer is "yes," and you recognize that you must rise to this challenge in order to grow and develop, then you fully dedicate yourself to the task at hand. You do not go and seek approval first. You do not prolong the decision through a process of unnecessary over-thought. You simply begin work. A wise man once told me, "You don't waste a bunch of energy on worrying? that same amount of energy can be placed on anticipation and planning."
Gearing up fur "Go Time" is essentially about making the mental and psychological adjustments necessary to move you closer to your goals. Thc-re are several steps and/or components to consider when gearing up for "Go Time." But, the only one I will focus on in this piece is : Inner Honesty.
Inner Honesty is often undervalued. There are many instances when social norms require people to cm-tail their Inner Honesty. This is understandable; but, Please, don't make it a habit. My suggestion is that you exercise that Inner Honesty as much as logically possible. Learn to trust in that inner voice. Learn to trust yourself. Trust and believe you desired results. We arc limited by our mind? and our minds, alone.
Once we are attuned to that raw "inner self," then many thing? once considered complex? are made simple. When we are sincerely in harmony with that "inner voice," we don't tend to cloud our thoughts and emotions with trivialities and emotional distractions. We don't ask question like, "Will they find it socially acceptable?" "Will they like me?" "What if they laugh at me?" When exercising Inner Honesty, we tend to ask different types of questions: "How can I get them to understand this?" "What would be the best way to address this situation?" "How should I go about relaying this particular message?"
When operating our of places of Honesty, we tend to concent ourselves with questions and ideas that Pertain to the expression of that Honesty. This, in and of itself, is HappyWork. There is a simple Happiness associated with the ability to live and express yourself freely that is simply liberating. (One of these sentences might actually serve as a good definition tor Happiness.)
Three and a half years ago, I starred a blog:ghettoGHKKS. It wasn't popular with everyone in my support system, and everyone didn't agree with my decision. Many loved ones believed chat the explicit language I chose to use would damage my career and impair my ability to gain employment. But looing back, it is easy to see the enormous amount of knowledge I gained? about so many things? through my work with ghettoGEEKS. ? and it all stemmed from my desire to be Honest about sensitive social issues in a Public forum.
My first blog (Published, August 7, 2008):
What UP, What Up....
You have just been invaded by the "Shitty City Committee"; a.k.a. ghettoGEEKS! Our sole. duty and obligation is to bring nothin' but that REALNESS.... raw and unadulterated! We are here to spit on topics from politics, economics, race, sexuality, gender, culture, class, war, drugs, lies, power, religion, streets, incarceration, fear Hip-Hop, and all other types of s%#t that find pertinent to the edification of people who share a keen interest in TRUTH and DIALOGUE. Let's grow up... and face facts... and stop bullsb *%in' ourselves and everyone around us!
With that said, I gotta couple questions....
Why in the is it all of sudden popular to hate on George W. Bush? It seems you can't turn on a television or a radio these days without some pundit discussing the failed policies of the Busb administration... These contemporary critiques might be just and credible, but guess what....YOU'RE FIVE YEARS LATE, MOv#$^##KERS! When it was pertinent for those in power (and yes, the media have substantial power, too) to stop Bush and Cheney [and whoever else is a part of their clandestine regime] they did nothing! any sane person knew five years ago, that this invasion in Iraq was built on some colonialization-type bul*(^$it! This war was pre-meditated...and all you had to do was ask somebody in a ghetto in Texas about) it...and they world have told you that George Bush wasn't about s#@t as a governor...except gaining power ofr wealthy whites...and keeping the power to themselves....Which is the same formula he used for the Nation.
So, I don't want to hear anything negative George Bush now from any media personalities. Y'all mu*)*@ukaz are weak! Now, that the man is on his way out of power, y'all decide that it's the proper time to uncover the corrupt activity, and write a bunch of books on how corrupt the Bush administration was? where were all these American military personnel were dying on account of these blatant lies? Why wasn't Donald Trump talkin' about how big of an idiot Bush was when be stood on the airline carrier with the "Mission Accomplished" sign at this back? Where were all these brave critics then? Huh? I'll tell you where...somewhere gettin' paid from these corrupt Bush policies. Or they were somewhere with their mouths closed because they were too afraid to lose their careers and shit. Simple.
When Colin Powell left the administration, why weren't all the brilliant political guys asking questions as to why this man decided to distance himself from this garbage? My recollection of the event is that the media framed him as a "softie." someone who was essentially not par for the course, He was weak. Undedicated. Nobody, including Powell himself, said unequivocal, that this War in iraq is about Money and Power for the Rich. Present-day colonalism. The same don't change, People! In the last eight years, America's actions on the world's stage have been about acquiring more money and more power. Simple. All this bullshit that the American people have been fed was fur the sole purpose of getting the masses behind their fradulent campaign. Simple.
....gotta bail now..tryin' to figure out how to get some food in my stomach.... but don't fret.... I'll be okay... George Bush recently said that he "has faith in the American people." He continued to say that because we're so ingenious, that we'll figure out a way to make it through this recession and be has total faith in our ability in overcome these tough times. Man, just knowing George. has faith in my ability to survive makes me warn and fuzzy inside. This is where I find my solace in these "$4.00/gallon gas" times I'm living in. Thanks, George!
looking back on this piece, I still see the Honesty. Whether I was right or wrong? Iwas Honest. In fact, when I read this piece now, the accuracy or inaccuracy of my statements means a lot less than the fact I actually wrote them down for the world to see. Honesty has a certain resilience that is timeless. Because I chose to stay true to my "inner voice," I have something that continues to help others. This brings me pure happiness.
So, what are you waiting for?
It's “Go Time!”
By Prof. eRic Durham
Dept. of English Language and Literature