Just My Thoughts

I never thought I would say this but I'm back at the Mecca. I'm back at Howard University. I'm back at the place where Diddy first uttered the cogent phase "Take That" in front of his peers . I'm back at the place where naif freshmen lack the intellectual fortitude, and abide to everything the upperclassmen say. I'm back at the place females are swarming every perimeter as if they were reenacting the aftermath of 9/11. I'm back at the place where people compiled their dreams, and watched it either shatter, or blossom fruitfully. I'm back at the place where I thought I would never step foot at once again. Now I'm not trying to drown you all with my real world type confessional, but I decided to go a little bit different with this one. In a world where dreams deflate, and come a dime a dozen, I was wondering to myself, "If an opportunity seized you, and was vital to your dreams, would you consider jumping towards it and sacrifice the essentials, or wait until things work out conveniently?" I had the opportunity of interning at Vibe Magazine this past summer, with six music savvy intellects. The experience was more than beneficial. The atmosphere, the aura--literally the vibe of the place, had my blood boiling. My dream of interning at a huge magazine at the tender age of 18, had come to light.

While working at Vibe, I tried to assimilate myself with all the writers by engaging in music or even sports related conversations. Whether we were talking about Kanye's Graduation, or the demoralization of the Knicks, I made sure to keep myself active in these convos. One person who I shared conversations with was Todd Thomas. Todd worked in the marketing department at Vibe, and was a real down to earth dude. One day, I told Todd about my dreams of being a writer for a huge magazine, and how i already started a blog in hopes of circulating my material. Todd seem interested in my work, and asked to see some of my material. With no hesitation, i quickly gathered my work, and showed him in hopes of drawing some interest. Let's just say with god's help, I drew some serious interest. Todd was able to hit up Jay Casteel, founder of Ballerstatus, and Athena of Morehiphop.com to promote my work. With that said, I'm here representing Ballerstatus, like Kanye repping the Roc. Same time though, I'll be honest. Interning at Vibe, and writing for Ballerstatus, had me thinking--"I can do this. I can do this right now. I should be doing what these writers are doing." My boy and I are both aspiring journalists, and we had a conversation. He was offered a spot at XXL, before his 20th birthday, while I was trying to complete my internship at Vibe. We both sat there puzzled as to why we were letting people with Kwame Brown like abilities get paid for things we could do better. After that phone conversation with my boy, that spilt second, I actually considered dropping out of Howard to pursue my career as a Journalist.

I remember walking into Danyel Smith's Office, editor and chief of Vibe Magazine, and telling her my about my life changing decision. I walked in, took my fitted off, and sat down ready to reveal my decision. My palms were actually sweaty, and my heart was beating at a cheetah's pace. I told her I felt my time was now, and that I just wanted some insight as to I was making the right choice or not. In utter dismay, she pleaded with me to reconsider my options, and look into finishing school, and pursuing an education. She even brought in two fellow writers, one Howard graduate, in hopes altering my mind. Honestly, I still was fixed on pursuing my dreams.

I spent the next two weeks of August asking everyone at Vibe as to what would be the best move for me. Surprisingly, I got some mixed responses. I had people encourage me to do what my heart said, and follow it. Others were adamant about me finishing out, because having an education is vital, especially during this day in age. With print journalists falling out of sync, and the Internet dominating all facets of the game, I was left to ponder what to do...To be continued...