The Dream Dean

Thursday, April 29, 2021 (Day 119)

Meditation Music for the week: Velvet Morning: Liquid Mind (7:41) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ6yHyO2ZaA

Question: If your life were turned into a movie, what would it be called and what genre would it be?

Answer: Now that’s a fun question to answer. I’m going to start with the genre, since that’s the easiest of the two to start with. I think it would be a drama, with a little bit of dark humor added to it. And now that I think about it, I would name it, “A Black Man’s Journey from Transition to Transformation: Still Under Construction.” I was just think about this on my walk/run this morning – that I have been residing on a college campus since August, 1981, almost 40 years! To think that more than two-thirds of my life have been spent on a college campus! And I have undergone some tremendous change in those 40 years, as a student from 1981 to 1989, then as a professional from 1989 to now. And still undergoing another transformation as I’m writing this! I’ve of the mindset that you never stop growing, so this next transformation is just another chapter in life, another step on the journey. This time, instead of thinking that I have to do it all by myself, I have some fabulous partners that I believe will help during this next transition period. Here’s a picture of my high school photo ID card – and never did I imagine that I would be engaged in what I’m doing today. As far as I was concerned, my goal was to be involved in something related to sports, since that’s all I ever cared about. Although I wasn’t a high school athlete, I couldn’t think about anything else other than sports – not even girls were on my radar back then. I guess you could tell because I had several hundred thousands sports cards in our attic, and I must have memorized the information on almost all of them! Anyway, did I EVER think I would have stayed in higher education – and worked in higher education? Especially when I was basically a “C” student throughout my undergraduate career? My first year GPA was a 1.696 – and graduated with a 2.204. How about that? And yet, still was able to get into a Master’s Program, and then a Doctoral Program, both on Assistantships. It’s amazing that people saw in me things that I didn’t see in myself.

Anyway, it’s a journey that has a lot of funny points – at least funny looking back! At the time, I can honestly saw that it was some of the most gut-wrenching times in my life. But everything happens for a reason, right? Let just say that I appreciate everything that I’ve gone through over time; I also know that there are more adventures in store for me over the next 30+ years, so I guess the best advice is to “keep moving forward and enjoy the ride.”

Other Stuff

It’s always fun to read articles from younger people about living. Even though I’m an “older” guy – if you believe 58 is older, I always find nuggets in just about everything that I read. Here’s another one that I found interesting and valuable; if you have a few minutes, check it out:

• 32 Life Rules From 32 Years of Life – https://byrslf.co/32-life-rules-from-32-years-of-life-c49eba157c19

If you’re into self-development/self-improvement, it’s a good read.