Hotep,
The above quote was taken from the National Bestseller, "The Last Lecture," a book derived from the lecture of Professor Randy Pausch; a man dying from terminal cancer.Reading the words of a dying man was nothing less than a moving experience for me. Now, I'm sure hearing that from a voice that's speaking from a death row prison cell is like a Philly snowfall in mid-January; it's expected. Right?
Well, the fact that I've been sentenced to die isn't the only reason I'm feeling the words of a dying man. Professor Pausch's entire expression was the result of his intent to educate and inspire anyone taken aback by life's mudslides. I mean, sometimes falling down can be a very painful experience. But, getting back up can lessen the sting of that fall depending on how determined you are to succeed. Na mean?
Mrs. Daisy Meyers was known as the "Rosa Parks of the north." on August 13, 1957, she and her fam integrated Levittown, Bucks County in Pennsylvania. The days to follow turned out to be a racial hell, rather than a peaceful homeowner's transition. She and her fam endured weeks of constant harassment, vandalism and snarling racist neighbor's screaming insults. At one point, hundreds of demonstrators surrounded the house. Cars rode up and down the street blaring "Dixie" and "Old Black Joe," along with a confederate flag being hung from a vacant house across the street. SMH
That mudslide was incapable of suffocating the moxy of an innovator living her dream. Mrs. Meyers became a school teacher/principal in York, PA and went on to pen a book, "Sticks and Stones" about her experience with the Levittown miring. Ironically, Professor Randy Pausch felt that innovators were similar to the initial penguin that jumps into waters that might contain predators: "somebody's got to be the first penguin. Feel me?
As always, I gotta keep it 100. All of this talk about education and innovators leads me to a commendable expression catering to the recent and future achievements of my niece, Denyse (Nyse) and my cousin Jasmine (Jazzy). Nyse recently received her Associate of Business Administration with a concentration in Information Systems. She's currently pursuing a Bachelor's of Fine Art in Visual Communication with a concentration in Web Design and Development. That's what's up! Stay on your grind, Playa.
Jazzy is on track to graduate at the top of her class at Cardinal O'Hara High School. She co-produced a documentary about the mudslides suffocating Philly's inner city youth called: "For Our Eyes Only," as a high school sophomore. Real talk.Jazzy is currently weighing her academic options as to where she'll attend school this coming fall. Her recent acceptance of admission into the Film Bachelor of Science at a particular film school is a strong indicator that Jasmine is well on her way to an exciting career within the world of entertainment and media. Word is bond!
Congrats to the both of you. The x-chromosome in my fam unleashes the pride of a Mann. Feel me? Nyse, Jazzy, please hear me when I say, we are the fruit that came from a tree of innovators. Don't be afraid to fail. Living your dream is a success within itself. You just gotta get it in! Ya heard?"
Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted."- Randy Pausch
Holla if ya hear me,
MannofStat
Copyright (c) 2012 by Leroy Elwood Mann
My decision to return to school was not an easily one. When I was first approached I had my reservations. I thought of every excuse in the book. But then I looked at my son all of them seem to fly out of the window. One of the main reasons why I returned was to show him. I couldn't tell him about the importance of an education if I didn't complete mine. I wanted to open his eyes to the possibilities one could have with a good education. So not only am I'm doing it for myself but I'm also doing it for him. The other reason why I decided to return to school is because I refuse to become another statistic. I will not be classified as another uneducated, black, single mother. I hold myself to a higher standard than that. I hear when you say, "don't be afraid to fail" but to me failure is not an option.
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