I've come to the conclusion over the past six months, that my mind is maturing faster than my body. Seriously, that may sound a little arrogant but I swear to you it's the truth. I've been raised amongst a generation who believed in respect, love and admiration. They loved one another, their family, friends, job and life but now a days things aren't the same.
My parents are true Washingtonians along with my brothers and I. My parents were born in the late 50's but they are true 70's offsprings. They told/tell me stories all the time how they could sit outside on the stoop with their neighborhood peers and just talk, go to clubs and actually have a good time with being in fear of their lives, and how they had friends who happen to fall in love with the drug game, regardless if they were selling or using end up died, still struggling or in jail. I've learned from their stories and their music. I enjoyed my Saturdays waking up early (sometimes) and cleaning the house with some old Phyllis Hyman, Bloodstone, The Moments, Blue Magic, Whitney Houston, The Whispers, etc. just to name a few. Their music intregied me. I'm a person with a fine tuned ear for a good beat and excellent lyrics and thats what they had it back then. They love and they loved hard. They didn't disrespect themselves or their lovers for a dollor sign. Based on my parents upbringings they molded me to be the person I am today. Yes, I did do some rebellion and smart tounges were thrown here and there but I always have respected the struggle my parents came from. Based on those morals and rules I abdied, I learned that life isn't easy and you will have more down's than up's.
Everyday when I get on the train headed back home. My peace, my santuary, my world away from the world, I have to go through hell just to get there. I find myself everyday shaking my head at some teenage girl popping her mouth, loudly at some girl that ran her mouth wrongly to her. Some little boys smoking cigarettes when they don't even have a lick of hair on their face yet. Another black young boy "speaking his mind" with curse words that pierce my soul everytime I walk past them. Speak your mind with out curse words young sirs. Fore if all you can speak with is with curse words, then you really don't have much to say. I tell myself all the time that I'm glad that I'm not in school anymore. It actually does hurt me deep inside to see my youth, my peers, my culture is slowly going down the stony road to ignorance. I know when I was in school (8 yrs. ago) we had more respect for our elders and for one another. We wouldn't dare speak curse words to or around any elder, for that a cause for you to get your mouth slipt by one of their children. When we fought one another, we didn't jump into other people fights, we let them fight fairly. No guns, knives, razor blades or any other weapons. Once we saw it was getting out of control, we had to stop it. But NOT anymore!
Our youth is not being taught by our familes and commuity but by the streets. The streets have always been there but since the 80's and early 90's the streets had mentors, programs and the community to come in to help raise our children. Hence, I was a product of those times. I'm a true 80's baby and proud of it. My community and elders also helped raised me. Whenever I said or did something that was inappropriate, my parents was immediately told. They hardly had any problems with me becasue I never followed crowds but I did go through a phase where I hung around the "in crowd." Thank God I realized that I didn't feel comfortable around that particular crowd because if I was the one to follow it, maybe I would have been one of those kids that I'm blogging about now. Funny.......
The children today are more focused on cars, clothes and the opposite/same sex. They're always trying to live in life in the fast lane, wear the flyiest clothes, feel welcomed so they'll try something new sexually. Word of advice, it's not cute to keep up with fashion, thats why this economy is so F'ed up now. We're so busy trying to keep up with other contries that we can't even pay our debts to other countries, feed our poor, get the homeless off the street and most importantly give every US citizen free health insurance. Like Malcolm X father told his mother, "Credit is the first step into debt and back into slavery." People didn't see it as that until the numbers fell last year. You are now a slave to your own debt. Stop letting money control you and you control money! How do you think the rich get rich and stay rich? Think about. Cars are a good thing but not when you treat your car better than your family or friends. I know someone who washes, cleans, get check up's on their car more than they do for their own health. Ask yourself this once the car is gone, who/what do you have now? Nobody but Jesus...LOL. Lastly, the fade of trying another sexual lifestyle is your business BUT remember it's your true prefence. Don't try it just because your friends are doing it. This isn't a game to be played. The LTGB lifestyle is a lifestyle that they didn't choose. They are who they are. They don't have to go out and flaunt what they already know. If you are the person that God has put forth among this Earth, than be who he made you to be. Don't follow crowds, be a square and don't fit into cirlces. You end up dying inside.....
I simply don't want to children to be raised around such ingorance. I don't want them to experience the harshness of the blind. I want my children to have the oppurtunity to life well beyond their peers in their ambitions. I want them to of course have a life better than what I lived. I have the choice in my hand how to raise my children properly because I wasn't a product of being raised by a child. My parents were adults when they had me. They taught me right and wrong ways of doing things, speak your mind and love your family more but secondly under God. I appreciate the time that I have spent here being a Washingtonian but I want my children to have a better outlook on life. I know I will be stern, non judgemental and loving to them. I don't want them to ever have to want to be like the most "prettiest" girl in school or the flyiest guy in his class. I will teach them how to love and respect, enjoy life to the fullest and love God above all things. I want my kids to become the next Langston Hughes, W.E.B Dubois, Marian Anderson, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. and now Barack Obama. I want my children to be leaders in their own class! Lead one, teach one. Heal one, help one. Make their mama proud!
What happened to the historic Nation's Capitol?
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