Ugly Since 1988

You ever start going through old yearbooks and pictures, then notice you wasn’t all that great to look at? Let me tell you how my confidence was on some disrespectfully low levels back in the day.  I hated wearing my glasses just because they where so dam big. My shirts where always tucked into my pants. I really didn’t wear anything name brand. I was definitely rocking Fubu like it was still the hottest thing on the streets (I actually don’t think it was Fubu, probably some Chinese knockoff).  No sense of style and colors, I would just get dressed. I was picked on a lot. I wasn’t good with jokes back then. I was just an ugly kid trying to make it through life.
As an ugly kid trying to make it through life I definitely had a crush on a lot of chicks. They would never give me the time of day at all.  I struggled at spitting game to a girl. “I like your shoes,” I was that weirdo. My soul would be hurt when they told me to go away. If I was a bit more light skin I think I would have released an emotional album like Drake. The thing that hit me the hardest is when I hit puberty and I broke out like crazy, acne everywhere. I really was an ugly dude trying to get by on these streets.  I think the thing that kept me together is the people I surrounded myself with. We just lived life and enjoyed every moment of it.  I feel like once I hit college everything before that didn’t matter at all. College was the place where I defined who I would be for the rest of my life and that’s what I did.
I thank the lord everyday for puberty not lasting that long because my face could not endure any more hardships. My own sense of style finally came in, confidence followed and I could only go up from there. Not saying I am the best thing to look at but I am pretty sure I am okay to take out in public. I am oblivious when females are trying to get my number or kick game to me. “It was nice talking to you, but I am going home now.” I am the most direct person you will ever meet. Don’t worry my confidence level is on Diddy right now and I am still that ugly kid from 1988 but I’ve just matured and stayed humble. I don’t search for validation from people, just from myself. When it comes to that point where you have to search then you already lost. The thing about getting older is that those people that didn’t want you back then always want you now but that’s another story.
1988: Ugly
2006: Ugly
2015: Still Ugly 🙂 #ThugLife

Sallie Mae

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You have to know where I am going with this topic if it is dedicated to my baby momma Sallie Mae. The struggle is so real when Sallie Mae is involved in your life. She reminds you every day that she will be apart of your life until your child (degree) is completely paid for. If you don’t have a child or any other bills to pay, paying her will feel like all of this wrapped up in one.  Even if you don’t have a job those payments better not stop or you will receive a nice little call from a random ass number saying “Hey Kevin Pierre, we didn’t receive our monthly child support payment.” Those calls are dreadful and are depressing.
The most important decisions in your life are made when you have to pay Sallie Mae.  You will be sitting on the toilet and literally think, “ Should I pay my phone bill first or should I pay Sallie Mae.” This will be one of the hardest decisions of your life because if your phone get cut off you can’t talk to people but if you don’t pay Sallie Mae SHE WILL stalk you.  If Sallie Mae stalks you this will cause all sorts of problems. The most common questions you ask yourself when you have child support payments to make to Sallie Mae are below.
“Am I going to eat today?”
“Should I become a stripper?”
“Do I really want to buy gummy bears today?”
“Can I give this degree back?”
“Where is Waldo?”
“What should my stripper name be?”
These are all valid questions that may need to be answered but what you should do is just try to pay Sallie Mae. If you don’t have to pay Sallie Mae you won’t ever have to know this struggle. She will contact you 6 months to a year after you graduate and hound you until you start making payments. It’s better to plan accordingly for it her so you can be ahead of the game. Keep your head up and don’t let Sallie Mae catch you with your pants down. You just have to know how to play the game better.

Trip Tripping

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Hello readers, as it is still January you should be planning your trips for the year. I think its great to plan trips especially if you plan trips with great people. When it comes to planning trips with people you always got to have some ground rules with some people. You can’t really go on vacation with people you don’t trust or you don’t like. It just makes things awkward. Maybe if you don’t like one person on the trip and are cool with the other person you can keep it cordial. Still that is a bit of a risk. You don’t want to be miserably on vacation when you are supposed to be enjoying yourself.
            Plan at least 5 different destinations (minimum) you want to go on for the year. No matter what they are, just plan 5 and if you make 2 of them you are still fine. The 5 destinations you want are locations where you will have the most fun and forget all of your troubles. You also definitely want some international trips where you have to use your passport. If you are not actively using your passport you are really missing out.
            The last part is deciding who you will go on these trips with. Honestly this is the hardest part because you can’t trust everyone when it comes to vacation time. You will definitely know who your friends are when you are on vacation. Money is always an issue especially if someone doesn’t have any but they want to go. You don’t want to go on vacation with someone that doesn’t have money. If you have to pay their entire way, then that is a problem. You don’t want this type of person with you. My friends and I have a system when it comes to stuff whether it be plane tickets, liquor, parties, food, etc. We all got each other and pay each other back no matter what. We don’t hound each other for money we have a system. If someone says they got the flight, the other person pays for the hotel. If something cost more then the other additional funds get transferred to the person or that money goes into buying the needed items when we land (food and/or liquor).  You will learn these lessons when you are traveling with the wrong people. When you travel with the wrong people you will know exactly the write people to travel with.
All in all, live your life and travel as much as possible. Try new things and experience the world before you can’t. You are the only one holding yourself back from trying new things. Be great, plan accordingly and live your life.
My 5 trips from last year are Miami, Las Vegas, Toronto, Las Vegas (Again) and Haiti. Each adventure has its own story that we will save for another time.
“The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page“

The Naturalist (Part 1)

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I just want to give a quick shout out to those individuals who go natural and get a lot of shit for it. People hate change and when you change their view of you they will continue to hate you. From the outside looking in I feel that I have somewhat experienced this when my sister first started. My sister has been growing her hair for over 10 years now and loves it. When first starting something you always hear from irrelevant people and there annoying opinions.
So take a trip back to high school, 10th grade where this story begins. My sister decided to cut her hair not because she was following a trend, just because she had bad edges and her hair was falling out. She wanted to start fresh and see where it could take her. She literally started with a baldy and when she came to school the next day it all came in at once. The critics, opinions, rumors and just the people who weren’t use to change. My sister and I look a like a little bit but when she did that we literally looked like twins. The worst thing is that people look at you different when it comes to change. You are now considered ugly and not a good person at all for changing people’s view of you.  You are not going to talk about my sister in front of me, only I can do that. Through all the criticism she grew from it and continued being her.  The same people that talked bad about her are the same people who also became natural. Let me sip my tea though.
I think my love for people with natural hair has come from my sister and her journey. The journey was a struggle and now 10 years later she is still on it. Nothing ever comes easy but the journey to become natural and stay natural isn’t for everyone. Don’t get me wrong I don’t have any issues with individuals with un-natural hair; I am just giving those with natural hair a quick shout out. The hair discussion is a completely different topic that we won’t get into. No matter your hair situation and no matter what people say, as long as you continue to be you that is all that matters.
“If someone is strong enough to bring you down, show them you’re strong enough to get back up”