A decade plus later you’d say I’m an economic success. I’m happily married, have three kids, a homeowner in an affluent suburb, and have an established career. The American Dream sans the white picket fence (not our feng shui).

This post is my way of paying it forward the way Trae (and so many others) have done for me over the years. I have a document on my desktop entitled: Life’s Verse. Bible Verse. I hovered my cursor over the document icon…

The MML continues to be a part of my growth and development because it enables me to continue serving. And on my path to greatness, I keep Martin (my friend), and Martin (Luther King Jr’s) words in my head…

Looking from the pictures on the desk and wall were grinning executives.  Backs straight and hands outstretched, slaps on the back and smiles.  Seeing God-only-knows-what as they peer towards the camera. 

A Note to the Reader:

This is that get your highlighter out and get ready to hit “print” energy. This is that ‘Yup, that was me’ when you see your quote energy.

Ouch, the phlebotomist poked me again. Twenty-two times in total.  “Young man, you almost had a stroke this evening. You’ll be here till the weekend.”

This blog post is a random smattering of thoughts, providing a few standout events from my 2022, my read book list, and a handful of podcasts that pierced me. In the spirit of Kaizen, a Japanese term meaning change for the better or continuous improvement, this piece is my attempt to codify some of what happened in 2022.

While this is true, my dopamine particularly increases when I engage with people; more specifically, real, thought-provoking, intellectually stimulating conversations. You can’t get that from mindless social media scrolling.

Day by day I want to reflect on where my actions didn’t line up with my core beliefs. “Was that conversation I was having with my manager actual feedback or gossiping?”

I want to thank my younger self for her bravery to feel so much. For keeping her broken heart open when it would have been so much easier to shut down or build up walls. For continuing to love, unconditionally.  

As 2021 comes to a close…

To refresh your memory, in 2019 I started training for an Ironman triathlon from scratch. Over the course of the year, I fell in love with the sport of triathlon

But since being here, since having all these experiences with no true companion but myself, I realize that no matter where I end up, I’m going to be okay

Heat rose to my cheeks under my mask as disappointment and anger crept up on me, but I decided I would react differently this time. I would do something different this time.

As a high school teacher, I had plenty of opportunities to keep trying new counter-prejudice tactics, as I heard something denigrating about women almost every day.

I believe is a unique perspective of the story because the fact of whether or not Jesus’ messianic claim to be the incarnate son of God is true can be suspended for the purposes of analyzing the events of his death.

I focused on the wrong things that ultimately steered me toward feelings of isolation. It took me a long time to gain that perspective. I should have focused on the ball. Let me explain.

Over the years it’s been a constant battle between exceptionalism vs. mediocrity, outsider vs. insider, being too “white” to members of my own family and too “Black” to coworkers and classmates.

It didn’t take long for Mr. Perkins to Miyagi me into a disciplined student, who could not only tackle reading comprehension exercises on end, but actually enjoy it. For me, the appreciation for my studies and the stillness it required was the ultimate gift.

Numerous heroes have unfortunately endured self-inflicted tragedies: Tiger Woods, OJ Simpson, Lance Armstrong, and Bill Clinton to name a few.