DMFS (defense midfield forward soccer ;) )

Since about 5 years old I've been playing soccer. I've dabbled in basketball, football because of my dad, and even track. But soccer is the only sport I've stuck with until now. It has provided me with some of the greatest and also most devastating moments in my life. I always thought I was talented at soccer, for the most part my opposition was never as fast, big, or strong as me. I probably would have been pretty good if it wasn't for the position change and a bad injury to my back during my sophomore season. 

The highlight of my soccer career SO FAR was my junior season at Whitney Young. I played with some of the most talented players in the city which  eventually lead us to a city title. Although I didn't start that year I still played a good amount of time coming off the bench considering it was my first year on varsity, even got a couple of minutes in the championship game. 

I plan to go to Howard University next year where I am fully confident in my abilities to walk on and make the team. As soon as my college selection process is complete I will begin contacting the soccer coach at Howard to inform him of my intentions. Hopefully I will make the team and have just as much fun as I did playing for Whitney Young.

"You just stepped on my brand new Air Jordans!!"

About 4 years ago I spent about three months working (chores) and saving money for what I believed I had to have. Something I idolized and loved, Jordan cement 4's. These weren't just any old Jordan's, if u had these you were the coolest kid  in school. You may have seen the Jordan 4's in Spike Lee's Do the right thing, their the ones that got stepped on in the infamous scene.  If I was a shoe there's no question that I'd be a pair of Jordan 4's. 

Like myself, these Jordan's are very well put together. Everything about the shoe is very clean and attractive and the design is flawless. Most of the shoe is covered in smooth black suede while other parts of it are strongly contrasted with an almost silver gray and a bright red. They look nice with everything and are always comfortable to wear. 

Also like myself, these shoes are very athletic. If you asked anybody on the court they would tell you that these shoes made u run faster and jump higher then all others. You had to have em or no one would even pick you up for there team. 

87th and KING

Martin Luther King was a great man. His accomplishments during the civil rights movement and his method of non-violence are both admirable, but I wouldn't say he is king. There are so many other civil rights leaders such as Malcom X and Huey P. Newton who deserve the same recognition Dr. King gets.  
I can understand why King and his methods are awarded greatly by whites and those in power, but  awarding him and not others they are almost lessening the severity of the civil rights movement. To say that non-violence was the "right answer"  suggests that Jim crow laws, hate groups, and unequal rights  didn't present Life or Death situations for blacks of the time. It suggests that talking it out would have worked when it almost never did, while responding violently as a means of self defense saved lives.  It also downplays the disgusting racism of our American heroes, leaders, and ancestors of the past who sat by and watched and most likely benighted from unequal rights. 
I am still a fan of Dr. King, his beliefs however are very much like "a dream." The ideal situation where words can fix oppression and racism. While self-defense is seen as negative and inhumane.  

Father, Son, Mother, daughter

In my experience, I have found that father son relationships and mother daughter relationships are in a lot of ways similar. In both of these crucial relationships with adolescents, the parental member is instructing the adolescent to come into their own. Fathers show their boys how to become a man just like mothers will show daughters how they can become a woman. They teach them the things many consider the basic tools to growing up. A father might show his son how to play sports, shave, work with his hands, or even how to dress. Just as similar, a mother often teaches her daughter to do the things many consider traditional, like cooking. I honestly don’t know much about these relationships though.

On the other hand, mother son relationships and father daughter relationships are also very similar. In these relationships the parents show their child how to deal with the opposite sex. Dealing with the opposite sex is critical in a person’s development and problems often develop when a person wasn’t taught well, or at all. In my personal experience, my mother taught me how to be a gentleman and respect women, but at the same time know that their not important to accomplishing my goals. Also, I know that my father talked to my sister when she was young about the double standard she faces. He showed her how guys become cool and girls become ho’s to their peers for essentially the same exact type of behavior. 

The World is Yours

I don't believe that I have some type of higher purpose or ultimate meaning in life, and I don't think anyone else does either. For the most part I think were all just kind of "here," but as long as we are we might as well have some fun and make the most of it. It's great that we all get to exist somehow.

I feel as though If humans had some sort of task to complete or a meaning to live by we would know for certain what it was by now. Those who chose to live by a meaning that someone else has told them aren’t getting all they could out of life. In some ways it is kind of a waste. We are meant to do what we want to do and live happily, nothing more.

I believe there is a god somewhere but I don’t think anyone can tell me anything about him for fact. No one knows what this god would want us to do, so we might as well do what we want. I consider it the greatest blessing that we are all here. Life is the greatest gift we have ever received so try to get the most out of it while you can. 

Godliness

I've never been a very religious person, but from what i have seen in my seventeen years on earth god seems to provide a reason for people to do things that would otherwise not be considered exceptable. These days you don't have to look far to see someone justifying there actions thru god. In other words god has become the ultimate scapegoat.

Wether its Jesus, Muhammad, or Buddha, people will pray for forgiveness for their actions and act in accordance to what they believe there god desires. This is where we find the extremist that says or does something totally out of line, but can find acceptance thru others with the same faith as themselves. For instance, Pat Robertson targets God as the cause of destruction in Haiti, Rush Limbaugh votes God the cause of the Volcano eruption in Iceland. Last month Islamic clerics claimed that provocatively dressed young women provoked God to unleash the recent rash of earthquakes, and now Governor Rick Perry accuses God of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill while British Petroleum lays it on “the Lord.” 

We can not continue this trend of justification thru god. It does not promote free independent thinking and if anything drags us down as a people. 

"I'm Socrates, But My Skin More Chocolatey"

     "Excuse me, is you say'n something? Nu-uh, you can't tell me nothing."  Kanye West is  one of the most controversial figures in pop culture. His lyrics and his actions seem to go against all popular ideas and poke fun at the establishment as well. This quote sums up his philosophy on receiving knowledge. Kanye's idea of not buying in to what everyone else thinks as true parallels that of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates.
Socrates dedicated his life to studying the human condition and debating with others on how one should live their life.
      He reputedly challenged those in power in an attempt to make them look foolish and always went against the norm. In Kanye's first two albums ; college dropout and late registration, he insults   those who go to college. He discusses how much money people spend on there education and states that it isn't worth it with lyrics like, "look at the valedictorian,  scared of the future while I hop in the dolorian."
      The views of both Kanye and Socrates were seen as very controversial. As a result of Socrates persistent questioning the figures in power became very upset. Eventually they chose to kill him. On the other hand Kanye is viewed negatively by many figures in power because of his lyrics and his actions in public which reflect his beliefs on life. The comparison between these two philosophers are very evident. Kanye must be the modern day Socrates.