Not on Monday?

I meant to post this on Monday.... actually, two Mondays in a row.... but I haven't. Being in California, I tend to push things around in my mind, so it's just one of those things to be sitting here and realize that it's now Tuesday. And I thought about not typing again until NEXT Monday, but this has been on the mind.


First, I wanna direct you to this link:
http://lanier3000.blogspot.com/

That is my personal blog, where I've been writing a bit more. It's not an even schedule, but I wanna get on one. Mondays are key for me at the moment, but I may switch it to Tuesdays once I get back into school. If anyone wants to go check it out, click the link above.

Now, for the main point.

I created this "group blog" with a group of friends I'm rather close to. And, well, as you can read, the notion of people posting kinda fell down by the wayside. People may forget, people may just not want to, I really don't know. But I guess the feeling is that I don't wanna feel like I have to remind anyone all the time to post something if what I get is basically "I don't know what to type about." The common notion is that when I open this -- except for this one -- I never know what I'm going to say. And as I start, things come to my mind, and well, it transpires onto paper.

I didn't post anything for two weeks, because I wanted to see if someone else would. And I believe, only one entry's been posted. And to me, it's a sign that, well, I'm the only one interested. Now, I know people don't share the same interest with me all the time. I know that. I'm not saying it's absolutely necessary. I just thought it would be something fun and interesting to do over the summer.

There's a lot of reasons behind my mindset too..... Jacob's getting ready to go into the Navy, and well, I know once Boot Camp starts he'll be at a lack of time really to post. Deanna's planning a wedding, and given her schedule for the next few months, it's gonna be hectic. Chris, Michell, and I are in school for basically 10 months, and with them being in Music Education, it takes a lot of time. Jenissa's got school too, and understandably with Band, it takes a lot of time.

Maybe I just came up with the idea at the wrong time in life, I dunno. There's a multitude of reasons that someone could come up with. I guess it can be looked as me not wanting to create a ruckus over something, being my reason to just pull the plug and shut it down.

So that's probably what I'm going to do. Unless my mind changes, or at least another person or two wants to post along with me, this short-lived group blog may just fall by the wayside, I don't know.

It was cool while it lasted though, and I got really excited about it. It added a new purpose to serve while in California.

One a day keeps the doctors away.

- Alfred

Happy Monday!

OK, so maybe the term "One a Day" may not be taken literally..... who knows?

I don't have much to talk about today, so let's talk about people.
It's my back-up topic, and maybe if I can put something out there, you'll see someone other than me type tomorrow - Saturday. : )

I'm JUST saying.



I grew up in a diverse environment. Being a kid in a city, like Berkeley (California), you can walk the span of about 3 blocks, and in those 3 blocks, at least for me, there's a varied amount of people around me. Some kids, like I was, but mostly what I called "adults", that being anyone significantly taller than me. And, well, I was a short little kid growing up, so you can imagine.

I went to an high-end elementary school in the Berkeley Hills for 3 years, where everyday there was this wonderful color-filled checkerboard of students. White, Black, Asian, Native Americans, Mexican / Spanish.... a massive blob of everyone. And you know what? Those differences never seemed to exist to us. And I was rather fortunate to have the exact same class of students from the time I started going to Emerson Elementary until I graduated from there in 5th Grade.

Moving to Georgia definitely changed that outlook for me, even slightly. From mainstream CA to rural Southeast GA, where, even if no one talks about it, racism kinda reigns a bit. Add to that notion that I definitely don't fit the Black stereotype -- rap music, baggy clothes, that one -- and I kinda stuck out. I wasn't picked on, but I didn't fit in very much.

10 years down the road things are better. I've gotten a large portion of that diverse-ness about me back, but it's a bit different now. In the last couple of years, I've come into my own as a person, to where I'm more confident in who I am and what I possess as a member of society. And while I sometimes doubt myself, people as a whole don't disappoint me as much as they use to.


Keep in mind, though, that the world we live in is always ever-changing. You have to maintain who you are because it's what you want, not just to please others. It's simple to sit here and say that you'll do ________ because it'll make __________ happy, but if you aren't behind it, all it does is remain in the interim. Society in general will take one glance at you and keep on walking, no matter what you do or say.

I have a high outlook on society, and life in general. I'm looked at as an optimist, I try to find the best in situations..... kinda like a "half full" kind of mentality. Sometimes you just gotta keep on truckin' and move on to the next adventure.

People are always going to be critical of what you do, unless provoked and change is necessary. But if you're doing what you're suppose to be doing, and you have people who feel the need to consistently be critical of your actions, then... well... don't let it bother you. because you're always going to have that ONE person who always feels the need to tell you what you shouldn't be doing and remind you of what you should be doing. You're never gonna make EVERYONE happy, but work on the ones that matter to you. From there, it'll help you. Greatly.



SO, my question for the week is:
What do you think about society as a whole? Are you letting them influence you as a person, or are you staying true to yourself?

[so that's two questions. Judge me if you wanna.]


OH, and hopefully this week we'll see the debut of someone else to One a Day. Not sure what day yet, but we'll figure it out. And hopefully, the above question will get this blog started.

That's all for me this week. Talk to you peeps later! And remember.....

One a day keeps the doctors away. : )

See ya later,
- Alfred