Is blood thicker than water?

 We all have that best friend that we truly love, or are always with. You go to the mall together, parties, functions, school, etc. you name it, and you two are always together. Some of us have the luxury of having more than just one friend we share this bond with. You may have a whole group, clique, and circle of friends that you hold dear to your heart. Whatever the case is most of us have someone we can count on at all times, because they got out back.

We also have family that we can always count on. Some of us have an instant bond with our family. I mean it is kind of a big deal to share the same bloodline, to be genetically connected with someone.  Some hold family on the highest regard, but some don’t have anyone to call family.

So allow me to put yourself in situation; hypothetically of course.  You have a best friend who has been with you through thick and thin. You guys have shared so pain, fun, excitement, sadness, anger, etc. you guys are pretty much alike in so many different ways. You know each other inside and out, you literally call each brothers/sisters. Then you have your real sibling who you cannot stand. You guys never seen eye to eye. As a child he/she would consistently blame you for all his/her problems. This constant feud lasted until you were out the house. You guys seldom speak to each other except on holidays, birthdays, and special occasions. This divide causes your family to tear apart. So now you have a choice who would you pick? Is it more important that you guys share the same bloodline; I mean this is family, right? Or would you choose your friend who you have built up a bond with over time?

I mean we all “grew up” being “taught” that blood is thicker than water, which is true scientifically. The viscosity level of blood is greater than water. But does that apply in real life? Do you feel like its requirement to choose family over friends? Or do you base it on the bond that you build with each other, no matter if you’re a friend or a family member? I am not here to make you choose sides, but put things in perspective that you may not have before. So I hope you enjoyed, its been a while since my last. They’ll be readily posted once again.

"Hey whats your screen name?"

I know many of you read or heard stories or people talk about this topic before, but I just had to throw my two cents in also. We all know technology is making our lives easier and less complicated (most of the times). We have cell phones that can pretty much do anything you want! Video calling has begun to change the way we call people; also has made away for the hearing impaired to communicate with much more ease. But with all advancements in technology comes the negative facets of it also.

How many of you remember talking on the phone for hours on end? Or do you remember having these extensive 3-ways (sometimes it would be a 10 person conference call, talking about not a thing) where no one knew who was saying what? But how many of you even talk on the phone? Texting, IM’ing, Tweeting, emailing, etc., has taken over. Instead giving that person a call, we’ll just shoot ‘em a text and call it a day. We have become less personable as these tools become more a component of our everyday lives. I’ll admit I have came victim to this also.

So what’s so bad about this? Our interpersonal relation skills are depleting dramatically. Some people aren’t even able to hold a 30 second conversation without stumbling over their words. Some people are even scared to make eye contact, a necessary skill when applying to a job. People are using these media sites and technologies as their main source of communication. The age of “in person” conversations has been “kicked to the curb” and communication through the technological mediums are increasing, while our social abilities suffer.

Technology is a double edge sword that has its benefits but comes along with negatives as well. I don’t think people realize how accustom we have gotten over time with these technologies that hinder our public speaking skills. I remember back in the day (yea I got two decades in this world and lived for three, figure it out) how we use to meet (bag/hook-up/ connect) people (girls) that I talked to in person. Not using facebook to “poke them” them (her). Do not get me wrong, I love these advancement in technologies, I would be a hypocrite if I said I didn’t. But I think a lot of people are forgetting the necessity in social interaction beyond the QWERTY pad / keyboard. With that said, before you pick up that phone to text or log into facebook, how about dialing that number and call to meet with that person instead. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to be texting your boss in an interview, so get the practice now!

Only if.... hahaha

If you know me, you know I love going to the gym... I just wish we had this at the gym everytime I went....

I Just wanted to say "thank you..."

Some of you will not be able to relate completely to this entry, but some of you will. So at the end of it I hope that everyone can pull something out of it. This post is unlike the other posts, in that I will speak from my own personal experience throughout the entire blog. This will definitely be my most heartfelt blog to date, but bear with me as I may do a small amount of ranting in it.

Where do I start? Should I start at having to learn how to play sports by myself? Or should I start having to learn to ride a bike and picking myself up when I fell? No, I should start when I had to play catch alone. You know what’s even better, how about when I had to learn how to be a man myself. I didn’t have a fatherly figure to look up to. I didn’t have the chance to have those fathers to son conversations like most did. The phrase “father like son” doesn’t apply to me.

 Father’s Day is the most difficult. I am constantly reminded of how everyone else’s father is there for their child. But I don’t celebrate Father’s day, Mother’s day comes around twice year in my house hold. Yea I wish and call my dad and say happy birthday like any other son would. But the appreciation for my mother is showed on this day as well.

It’s a lot more difficult than one thinks growing up without a father who is not consistently in your life. While many of you were being taught how to play sports by your father, I was teaching myself. While many of you were being molded on how to be a man, I was molding myself. My mom did a wonderful job raising me, but there are some things in life where a father role is necessary in a child’s life, and the mother can’t replicate it.

So this is not a rant to say I hate my dad, or anything this is more of a thank you. I learned what it takes to be a father from what was not there. The man upstairs has a funny way of demonstrating and teaching but it is a lessoned learned. I am not resentful in any shape, way, or form, I still have love for him, but not the same love I would have for him if he was more active in my life. So my message to you all is play an active role in your child/children life/lives you don’t understand how much you are need.  Giving birth doesn’t make you a parent, playing the role does. So thank you dad for teaching me how to be a father in your own light, I still have love for you.

"Absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence"

There’s a list of conspiracy theories that many of you can think of, but there are many more facts that are proven to be true.  So what’s the difference? The difference is facts are accepted across the board because there is evidence that proves them to be true. But before they were facts, they were theories, beliefs, and just idea as well.  So why are people so quick to shun down all theories that don’t necessarily have the substantiation to prove them to be right… yet!

So why is media (how I can’t wait until I tackle them in a blog to come) and the general public constantly attacking any theory and putting it to shame right away? So often people are very dismissive when it comes to conspiracy theories or the unknown in general. A few famous conspiracy theories that seem to always be thrown out the window are the following:

1.       HAARP

2.       Illuminati

3.       9/11 terrorist attacks

4.       JFK

5.       Aliens

6.       Here’s a big one: Religion

7.       And the best of them all: Why is Meshawn so cool? ( we know he’s cool, but how can someone get that cool… cooler than the other side of the pillow)

The list can go on as we all may know. But why are we quick to shun things down is my question? I think its matter of man fearing the unknown (you should read my last blog). We want to know everything and prove it with science. But sometimes things aren’t that easy. Many people do not believe in ghosts but there are countless video tapes with sightings and testimonies from reliable sources, but there are still great deals of skeptics at hand. There are also a lot of critics when it comes to religion, but there are so many believers at the same time. Why can’t these theories be accepted without having hard evidence?

This leads to my main message (I think I’m going to have to switch up the format, I always wrap it up like this in the end “smh”) for this blog post. Absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. Just because you do not have actual verification or can hold up to the scientific method, does not mean it not true. Majority of the times people who skeptics of these topics do not have to prove the theory false either. I am not saying to go around claiming all types of things or convert to scientology, but just realize that not everything in this world or universe is known. “Science” is constantly proving its own self wrong, and we are making new discoveries every day. So if you’re wondering how this applies to you, just think like this: “when are you too old to learn?”

*untitled*

Its been a while since I posted a new blog, so i decided to do one today... I may post another one to catch up, but it has been really positive week. So all those who follow my blog I hope you enjoy this one... Its a little different how I approach most of em, but we'll see how this works out.

“… fear what they don’t understand, hate what they can’t conquer, it’s just the furry of Man…”
- Nas , ‘ Hate Me Now’


I couldn’t have said it any better, well… yea I couldn’t. But I am not speaking about the fear you have for the boggie man nor do I speak of the conquistadors who conquered the Aztec natives (history 101 lesson). I am speaking in a more general sense. I consider these lyrics hold true in almost every setting.. The most frighten thing about it is the fact that we really don’t notice it on a daily basis. I know some of you are like “I ain’t scared of nothing!” or “my mom told me to love everyone the same.” But in reality we show hatred and fear more commonly than we think.


Have you ever walked into a party and felt really uncomfortable. You notice you are the only one that is anything like “you”. The music is different, the way people are dancing is different, and the way they speak to each is also much different than what you are use to. Everything about the atmosphere that you were currently in was strange and very unfamiliar. So you refrain from acclimating into the scene and you remain to yourself throughout the time. Instead of really learning about the difference, you were “scared” because you didn’t know anything about the scene. Many people face this fear when you go any strange setting. How many of you remember the first day school? Most of us were petrified. I remember seeing a few kids run out the classroom crying. Some of us had the same fear when going to college, but was able to have better control over our emotions (few students were running out the dorm crying I remember correctly... haha). Fearing the unknown is a general instinct of all humans and animals, but fearing is only one piece of it...


There’s this person (girl) you like, but for some reason whatever game (talk) you spit to that person (girl) it has no affect. You start to think like why isn’t this working; I mean had no trouble getting any other person (girl) I wanted to. So this goes on for a while and you are never successful. So next week you heard your friend hooked up with ‘em (girl) and you’re like “what???” You’re not mad at your friend but at that person (girl). What were you doing wrong, thinking to yourself like I am the master of seduction, so why was that person (girl) not under my trance? So you build animosity towards this person (girl) because you were unable to hit it off. This exemplifies the last half of the lyric quite well. Since you were unable to bag (hook-up) with that person you no longer like them, but in fact dislike them altogether. This story is made up of course (thought I was speaking from personal experience? Right), but this happens far too often. If you are not on top, deep down inside you tend to have some hatred to whatever is oppressing you. I used that example because most people have done it or seen it before. There are many examples throughout history where man hates what he cannot conquer.

So the overall point of this piece is to not fear the unknown but accept it, and not to hate what you can’t overcome.  There’s too much to learn, in this small amount of time we have on this earth. We cannot be fearful of what we do not understand but learn to embrace it. As well hating what we can’t conquer, we must learn that nothing fosters from hatred. Take the time to be loving, caring, and respectful to everyone and everything. If you can’t beat it the first time keep trying until you can, except if you start looking like a creeper (referencing the example above). So enjoy and live life. I am going to end on this quote that I seen on twitter from one of my peers; I think this makes sense in this setting:

“Fear is consequence of negative thought…”

Out of Sync

So this post was inspired by a motivational speaker by the name of Ed Gerety , if you haven’t heard of him check him out, he’s really good. He speaks to the incoming freshman class here at Bentley University every year during orientation. But this past orientation was the first time I heard him (yea I was an OL but didn’t go to my own orientation, #dontjudge; I had to re-live the experience haha). The entire presentation was great, but there was this one piece of it that really sunk in. He started to go down memory lane…

Rugrats, Yo-yo’s, Transformers, Hey Arnold, CatDog, Prince of Bel’Air, Johnny Bravo, Chuck E. Cheese, Discovery zone, Cousin Skeeter, Etc. The list can go on for days, everything that was a part of my childhood was mentioned pretty much. It made sit and reminisce on the past. I honestly I haven’t done it in a while. American culture so fast paced you don’t necessarily have time to reflect, you are to worry about the now and if not your mind is constantly thinking about the future. If not that also it is usually blurred with some type of substance and you don’t remember anyway (#shoutout to college soda, happy hour, and any other reason to consume that stuff; #domtjudge).

As we took a ride down memory lane, he mentioned the importance of staying in tuned with your childhood and to keep your imagination. I took this advice to heart. So I started to imagine I had powers, and started running downtown Boston shooting imaginary laser beams at people! (haha, I really did, but to myself). But seriously I started to think creatively and gave myself some more me time (and no I am not speaking about me doing the jerk, the dance haha). I can honestly say this sparked my interest in writing blogs, along with persuasion of my brother.

So the point I am really trying to make is you have to remove yourself from the now sometimes. Not necessarily dwell on the past, but reflect. Also make sure you use your imagination, it really makes you feel young again. Like Ed Gerety said, we constantly find ourselves in the same daily routine. Quoting him “have you ever walked in the shower and find yourself washing your body in the same exact order you do all the time?” yea we all do. So get out of sync, and enjoy the randomness on occasions.

My Wolf Pack grew by....

Summer 2010 has been a great summer thus far, it is at its halfway point and I feel as though the second half is only going to improve dramatically. I have yet to get my travel on, but I am looking forward to taking off soon. But anyways, but despite having fun I realized this summer has been very important one as well, on a professional setting, social settings, and economic setting (if that makes sense haha).

First I had the chance to meet 50 people I probably would never have met otherwise when I did the new student orientation program. I earned (I don’t like the word give, nothing is given in life) the opportunity to be an Orientation Leader and really got close to a lot of peers on my campus. Not only did I increase my Wolf Pack by 50 (ha inside joke) but I am improved as a leader dramatically. I was able to learn from my peers, and improve on my public speaking skills. I also was able to learn that the administrations at my college are human too, despite what most people believe. Lol. They also learned what SMH means! Lol

I was also able to reconnect with one of my first, friends ever! We were friends as far back as I can remember. I haven’t seen or heard from him in 8 years, but who would have thought facebook actually worked in connecting people? So we were able to chop it up (shoutout to my brother for putting me on that terminology/Lingo, it means converse) about the past, and it felt like the old days. It really made me appreciate how much I grown from back then, and also show the importance of childhood. “Sometimes I wish I could be a kid again.”(J. Cole School Daze good song)

I also was able to stay in reach with one of my professors and a few of my friends who graduated already from college. They are helping a great deal with me getting a jump-start on my business plan. They are pulling together resources for me as well as reaching out to people for me. They are cutting down the time dramatically for me, and I can’t think them enough. Looks like I might have this started before I even graduate school!

So this summer has taught me a lot and it’s not even over yet! So with that said the point I am trying to make is, embrace change and network with as many people as possible. You never know who is going to be able to hook you up with that job offer you’ve been waiting for. But also make sure you stay connected with the old, you never want to forget about old friends or professional contacts as well, they are equally important. So I want to shout out all the Bentley OL’s , and most importantly Social media sites for keeping me connected! My wolf pack has grown 10 fold this summer!

The Choice is Your's...

Being at a business school you learn so much. You learn the general basics of how a business runs as well, the “proper way” to create a business plan, to eventually start your own (started one already and working on a second one now). I can say a business degree is the best undergrad degree possible, especially if you are not sure what you want to do with your life. You can apply aspects of business in any profession. Most people use the fundamentals of business at a very early; who remembers selling candy?

Business 101 summed up in a nutshell:

Yea buy your candy first (investment, start off costs), always that friend who didn’t pay up; “next week I got you!”(Liabilities, unearned revenue), then all the money that you made after you bought the initial candy (revenue, profit.) Then you finally had enough to buy the street fighter or NFL Blitz video game! Or even that money to pay for the trip to “field day.”(Yea I know went back on memory lane).
So most of us had the business mind-set early, just didn’t know the proper terms and processes of cash flow movement. But besides that you learn a lot of things outside the classroom. You learn different aspects of people as well as what drives them to do what they want. I can say being at a business school majority people is driven by money. By all means money is what you need to get by, if you’re not bringing the bacon home, and then you’re obviously not eating. There’s a list of other reasons why a lot of people are at a business school, but one I don’t here too often is passion.

Yea having passion for something will allow you to wake up in the morning and love your job. Your career, won’t be a part of your life, it will be an aspect of your life. So finding that niche where you combine something you love doing, will get you further in life, you will get that promotion you want when you get there. But also being at business school you learn that if you’re not continuing on with business after undergrad, people reactions are like huh? What? Why? Oh that’s nice (sarcastically of course).

I intend to further my education in the aspects of education, going to a business school I learn that business isn’t something I want to do for the rest of my life. I still wouldn’t have gone anywhere else, but I rather make a difference, then to be in corporate America. When I tell a lot of people this I get oooo and ohhhhhh’s but not quite the most welcoming response, it is crazy how you can read body language when they feel you shouldn’t take that route. But enough about me and back to the overall message and point.

I feel as though too many people are too caught up in the salary, reputation, and other things, than to follow something they really love to do. Here’s my advice to all before picking a career think about this. What are you passionate and really love to do? Now pick a profession that closely matches it; as well as they will allow you to live comfortably too. Then go for it! It doesn’t matter what people say! Do you want to be that person hitting the snooze but 5 times before you get up, Monday through Friday, for the rest of your life, thinking ugh work! Or do you want to love your job, and actually have passion to continue it! I chose my path; now make sure you chose the right one for you…

Taking a few steps back...

I was going to wait until tomorrow for this post, but I couldn’t.

While many of us were home watching Lebron James make his decision to what team he will play for (which I thought was kind of obvious), most of us were unaware and still are about a very poor verdict on the behalf of our judicial system. Before I get into details of the case or even let you know of the decision I want you read the following piece then, close your eyes and imagine, then continue to read the rest of the post.

IMAGINE: So you’re at party with a group of friends, had a few drinks. You decide to leave the house at which your partying at to go home its getting kind of late and the old couple next door called the cops because it was noisy. So as you walk out the front door you see the officers are already there. So you decide to stop what you’re doing and begin to walk away slowly. Cops ask to speak to you, so you walk over slowly and try your best to sober up. The cops then ask you to get down on your knees and place both hands behind your head. The cops then begin to search you and your friend. They ask you to lay down on your stomach, you hear your friend mumble a few words, the cops started screaming, and your friend continues to rant for a little while longer. One of the other cops come back over to you and begins to yell back at you. Next thing you know… BANG! (Now close your eyes and picture this.)

Shots fired and your friend lies motionless on the pavement. Leaving behind friends, family, and loved ones, and now you want justice to be served. So you go to court and verdict comes and the cops gets away with murder, and is only charged with involuntary man slaughter, faces up to 4 years. Your friend was unarmed, handcuffed and everything was on video tape. But the cops is still able to walk free. How? That’s where I go blank too.

This is basically what happened except it was on New Years Eve of last year. I don’t know about you, but I find this more shocking and more worrisome then if LBJ will pick the Knicks or Heat. It’s that someone can walk away with murder like that and only face up to four year, mind you this was all caught on tape.

So what is wrong with our judicial system today? I don’t understand, the racial barriers do not even matter at this point, but I am sure this had some swaying factor in the decision, how can someone say I was just pulling out a tazer but by mistake I pulled out my gun and shot him instead, #PAUSE. A cop for however many years couldn’t tell the difference? #PAUSE

Everyone should be concerned for two reasons:

1 Cops are obviously are not getting trained properly; if they can’t tell the difference between a firearm and tazer, nor when they gun down a handcuffed man facing down on the pavement.

2. And our court system to allow this murder caught on video be let go as a “Involuntary Manslaughter”

This has really put America a few steps backwards using the words of a very good friend. I just find it weird that both things would be aired at the same time, makes you wonder. We’ll leave on that note.

Here a link so you can educate yourself on the topic : http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/07/08/subway.shooting.trial.verdict/index.html?hpt=T2

"Some say money isn't everything..."

So the other day I posted a thought that came across my mind on twitter, then on facebook, which seemed to get a lot of “likes” and “retweets”. There’s very few virtual feelings better than going on either site(facebook and twitter, we don’t like to mention the other site) and seeing your homepage with 30 notifications and 15 retweets (its like now I know ppl are paying attention to what I say ooohhhh yeeeeaaah). No one wants to admit it, but everyone knows that feeling, and it feels good as hell.

But if you don’t follow me on twitter or missed it, or really don’t feel like searching or scrolling down looking for that thought on facebook, here it is:

“I rather someone steals my money, than steal my thoughts.” Whoa right? Yea I said the same thing.

So think about it, if someone walked up to you with an ultimatum and was like you either give me all your money you have in the bank (saying if you were well off) or from now on you can’t have credit for your own ideas. So let’s at this in a much smaller realistic scale, we’ve all cheated once or twice in our life, possibly even more for some. Some will probably cheat after reading this; I am not here to cast judgment on you, because I can careless, well I care, but… I mean you get the point. Just think when you let that cute girl/guy next to you copy from your exam or vice versa, will that person remember you when they CEO of the company your working for. Just think that exam might have been the ticket for their way to the top, your thought, not theirs. But you’re a nice guy.

Once someone steals your money you can’t make more with that stolen money. But you can always make or replace that stolen money with your thoughts.

Door Step Chillin

Lets just dive into it, i guess you ready?


I was coming from the gym having a deep thought sparked off by the song I was listening to, “Losing my Balance” by J. Cole (great song), when I see this man sitting across from my apartment at his. I mean I seen this guy all the time around the same time. Right after I come from the gym around 6-7, he’s there. I usually never think anything of it but this time was different for some reason. Maybe the song that was playing kind of sparked my interest, but whatever the case may be, my thoughts of what his thoughts were racing through my mind, as if it was his mind… ( I didn’t lose you did I? good).

So I started to wonder what was he thinking?

Should I have done something better with my life?
What has my life amounted to thus far?
Should I go to work tomorrow?
Whats for dinner?
Am I really satisfied?
Was my goal in life accomplished?
Do I still have time?

Weird? I thought so too. Why would I stop and really care what this man is thinking. I think it’s because I seen a reflection of myself in this man that I didn’t even know. Scary how you can look into someone you don’t even know and I find a personal connection without saying word. No one truly knows what that man was thinking and probably never will. But I know the same thoughts that I thought of were racing through my mind, about what may have been going through his mind, was actually thoughts of my own mind. (did I lose you? I’ll give you a sec if you need it. Sure? Ok let’s go!). All these were my own, I’m young in college and juggling all sorts of responsibilities that I probably shouldn’t handle on my own, but I’m doing it. Cause no one else will. So I guess after reading this entire blog entry you are wondering what’s my point? Well, its whatever you want it to be. I just don’t want you to “ Lose your Balance” when you deal with these every day issues we call life.

This is my first Blog of many. Thanks for Reading!