Parents Just Dont Understand? Nah, Youre Probably Just Ungrateful.

My dad was always in trouble with the law, sent to rehabs for months, prison for a year, etc. I was raised primarily by my mother, older sister, aunts, and grandmothers. My dad has now been good for the past 8 years or so. Needless to say, I understand the importance of parents. Seeing my mom struggle for years financially and health wise with no complaints, and seeing my dad overcome his demons to be a better man makes me appreciate them so much. Ill never EVER turn away from them. And Im sure most people I know would say the same about their parent(s). But why are there those ignorant youths/teens that feel the need to publicly bash their parents. I cant tell you the amount of times Ive gone on Facebook or Twitter, and see some stupid rant about how much they hate their family. Or how much they wish their family was AS FAR AWAY as possible from them. I even asked a girl why she would say that, and what was her response? "Me and my mom got into a fight because my mom doesnt think my boyfriend is good for me, and wont let him come over. God I hate her! I know what kind of man is good for me, how would she!? Two days later, shes cryin on Facebook how here boyfriend is an asshole. Bet you wish you didnt say what you said about your mom now, right? The general reason for why "kids" say that about their parents is apparently their lack of "understanding" of them. "MY MOM DOESNT EVEN KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME!" Blah blah blah. Theyre your parents, they know more than you think. Its ridiculous. Obviously, you can get upset towards your parents, and get into pretty loud arguements. Who hasn't? Thats normal. Its what you say afterwards that can make you seem ungrateful or ignorant. You really only have one mom or dad, so why disrespect them by saying you "hate" them whenever you have a disagreement? Word of advice, just show some love to your parents when you can, cuz they wont be around forver. And when they do leave this world for good, all youll have are memories. And why have those memories be negative, of times when you blew simple disagreements out of proportion. And then youre left alone, regretting the fact you were such a disrespectful, ungrateful son/daughter. No need for that at all. Your parents love you, and at the end of the day, you love them.

#WorkForChange

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE, OR DO YOU? I DO, DON'T I? WHO ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?

You can ask anybody that really knows me, and they would tell you I'm ultimately a laid back guy who doesn't let too much get me. I can let anything just brush off me like dirt on a pair of jeans (what a cheesy simile). But one of the few things that can REALLY ANNOY ME is when someone takes to a social network to non-directly talk about someone. For instance, say I make you mad because we made plans, and plans fall through last minute on my part. Then I read on your Facebook status which may go along the lines of  "Please dont waste my time. I could have found something better to do instead of waiting around." Now, do I see my name in that status? Negative. But I'm 95% sure it's about me, unless ironically, you just happened to have had ordered cable TV and the guy didn't show up on time to install it. Jesus, in all honestly, I'd actually be less peeved if you went on Facebook and ACTUALLY said, "Don blew me off today, now my day is ruined and I aint got shit to do." I feel like when someone does that, its because they're scared of the confrontation or situation it could cause. They want to talk about a certain someone for everyone to see, but deathly afraid of that person finding out its about them, and responding. The overall concept of doing this seems silly, doesn't it? Now, what I'm doing right now on this blog might make me sound like hypocritical, because most likely this situation happened to me, and I'm blogging about it. But this is more of a general complaint, because I'm sure ALL OF YOU have been on either side of this situation. Oh Social Networking, the best place to talk down on people without the face to face confrontation. And I thought 12 year old kids talking about my mom on Xbox Live was bad......

#WorkForChange

Buddy, NOT Bully

Its 3 AM, and I was laying in bed when the idea of bullying came to mind. All these thoughts about it rushed to my mind instantly , and I was going to wait until the morning to write about it, but remembered its better to do it when its fresh in your head. It seems lately, probably within the last year, I've heard quite more sad stories about the results of being bullied. Stories of young boys and girls being bullied to the point of suicide. Stories of kids/teens being attacked at school for being a different race, physically different, or being gay. And in an instant, their lives came to an end. All because of ignorant torment from their peers. PROOF that words can be the deadliest weapon. Words that didn't even need to be said in the first place caused the lives of several youths every year. Why? Why do people choose to bully? Why do people go out of their way to tease and torment others who really are of no relevance to them? Does it make them feel cooler? Tougher? Funnier? How do they feel after they find out the peer they harassed gave in and ended their lives? Can they live with that? Or how about the people the stood by and watched people get bullied? How do you think they felt when they heard of a suicide of a constantly bullied classmate, who was continually teased and they sat back and did nothing to stop it? Growing up, I never bullied anybody, but rarely tried to stop anyone from bullying. I was friends with people who insulted others constantly, and almost never told them to "knock it off." I was fortunate that nobody I knew ended their lives because of it, but who knows how close it came while I was in school with them. You also have to think, what about those students who went on a shooting spree and their schools? From reports I've heard and read, they were "social outcasts" at their school. Did they get tormented by fellow peers and classmates? Were they harassed so constantly that they finally lost their sanity and took it out on innocent people? It makes you think, could simple hurtful words from ignorant people cause a few individuals to lose all composure and end the lives of many? Now in no way am I saying what they did wasn't their fault. Clearly what they did is and was unforgivable and unforgettable, but you cannot help but think to yourselves, maybe if people had said "hello" to them instead of ignoring them, or tried  to accept them socially for who they were, this would have lessen the chances of these violent events to occur. But who knows, maybe they were just sick individuals from the get-go. But back to my point. Bullying is such an unnecessary part of this modern day culture. I do see schools trying to push a "anti-bullying" movement, as well as Rec Centers around the world ( I currently work for a Rec Center that teaches kids to try and stop bullying).  But as long as there are kids/teens/adults who have no care for their actions and have that attitude of "You're different, therefore I don't like you," I fear that bullying is something that will never go away.  But I hope I'm wrong. Work for a world where EVERYONE is accepted.

#WorkForChange

My next kicks

NIKE KD IV "Nerf" Editions..... What yall think?

What Defines Happiness?

Often times, I tend to over think things. A LOT of things. From financial situations, to romantic situations, to family and future situations. Doing that does often result in stressing myself out, which is very unnecessary. One of the biggest things I tend to think to myself is, "Am I happy?" I tend to overlook whats going on in my life at the time, like the people I involve myself with, as well as how much my family members are currently doing. I even take into account the amount of money I have in my pocket. Its always a toss up, because I can never truly convince myself I am happy. I may be currently satisfied, or not sad....but I cant really say "happy." Maybe because I don't really know what that words means. Do you? Is there an exact definition to that word, or is it different for everyone. Do you need to have a smile on your face to be happy? Does EVERYTHING have to go the way you want it to go in order to be happy? I tend to lean more to the "everyone has their own version of happy" side. I've known people who were more than set financially to have any money worries, yet they didn't seem in good spirits. I've seen families with next to nothing but a roof over their head, but be all smiles because they were still a loving family and were all together. I think at the end of the day, "satisfied" and "happy" tend to get mixed up. You can be successful, but alone. Or with a loving family but no material things. I'd like to think that happiness is as simple as being optimistic and grateful of everything, but like I said...I don't think I know yet what happiness truly is. But I am grateful for still having my family and friends in my life, which right now is all I need to get by.