The root of many problems is communication.
Things may not be communicated properly or not at all.
Even a personal problem could be due to a lack of communication with oneself.
Good communication takes honesty and trust. A good communicator is an honest person.
The thing about growth spurts is that you never know when they are going to come, but they are always a pleasant surprise.
The thing about growth spurts is that you never have to stop having them.
You might eventually stop growing height-wise, but with the right actions and intentions, you can keep growing in other ways throughout life.
The other week, I said, “I haven’t had a bad day since my daughter was born.” That’s still how I feel.
Every day with her is a blessing and full of adventures. I think another underlying reason I haven’t had a bad day since she’s been born is because she (and all kids) brings good traits out of me like positive affirmations, a positive attitude, motivation, and even consoling.
All day, I use positive affirmations with my baby. I tell her what she can do and good things about her. I encourage her daily, I do things to make her happy, I console her when she isn’t. I help her learn and do new things daily.
I think me doing those things daily naturally has a positive impact on me and even my subconscious. She brings out traits that I shouldn’t just have towards just her, but everyone, including myself. So that’s exactly what I’ll do.
A lot of things that happen in our lives are out of our control.
I know there are things that will affect me in life that I have no power over. That’s fine. I can’t worry about all the things I can’t control; that’s just adding more stress to my life.
I can always control my thoughts, though, as well as my attitude. If I keep both of those positive and focused on the right things, I know that even when uncontrollable things come my way, I will be prepared.
I believe that while we are all born sinners, it doesn’t necessarily mean we are born as inherently bad people.
The perception of someone being “bad” is often subjective. My perspective on people was shaped early in my childhood when we used to visit my dad in prison.
Those visits were enjoyable, and I had the opportunity to interact with other prisoners in the visiting room. None of them seemed scary or intimidating; none of them appeared to be bad people. They were all in good spirits, spending time with their families. Perhaps a single bad decision led them to jail.
It’s difficult to comprehend the experiences of others and understand why they are the way they are. That’s why I try not to be judgmental. Everyone faces challenges in life, some more severe than others, and we all cope with these challenges in different ways.
Therefore, regardless of who the person is, I attempt to see the best in them and treat them accordingly. I believe that empathy and compassion are more impactful than judgment.
Birthdays were the worst days…just kidding, birthdays were always the best days.
Growing up, I knew I’d have at least one more present after Christmas. I always liked having my birthday on the second day of the year. It always felt like I was starting the year off on a positive note.
As a kid, I used to love going ice skating for my birthday. We’d go to the indoor skating rink and skate all day, taking breaks to play on the air hockey table and drink hot cocoa. That’s when I knew I was a little different. We’d be the only Black people at the skating rink. I used to love inviting my friends and watching them struggle to ice skate for the first time. I’ve always loved thinking outside the box and trying new experiences.
Birthdays are still the best days. My wife makes me feel so special every year. There was a period when I’d tell myself that birthdays were just another day, but once I started dating my wife, she changed my mind. We all deserve a day to be celebrated.
This birthday is even more special because it’s my first one spent with my daughter. I write this blog as I walk in the park with her, and just seeing her subtle smiles at me makes this day even better.
I used to not want to get old, or not say how old I am, but now I’m grateful for every year. I’m now 31 years old. I’m now at the age my mom, aunts, and uncles were when I was a kid. It gives me a new look and understanding of them during those years. They weren’t as old as I thought, lol.
I appreciate this birthday and the ones that come after this. I’ll appreciate every birthday I’m blessed with. They say the more you have, the longer you live.
Human error is generally inevitable in various aspects of life, including jobs, sports, and other areas, despite efforts to minimize and mitigate mistakes.
That’s something to be mindful of when interacting with people. Someone’s words or actions that seem negative or hurtful could potentially stem from a lack of awareness or understanding rather than intentional malice.
We should have a sense of understanding and patience—know that we all make errors, regardless of the situation. Give others grace and don’t be too hard on them for mistakes or perceived wrongdoings.
Perhaps that McDonald’s worker is a great employee who accidentally messed up your order; there’s no need to get overly upset about it. In football, players are evaluated every play, and sometimes missed assignments are explainable or simply human errors. A good coach understands this and keeps it in mind when coaching players.
While there are certain things we should not tolerate as “fatal errors,” which may be irreparable, many times it’s just simple human errors that occur in various situations, tasks, or relationships.
“The one-eyed man is king in the land of the blind.”
Even someone with limited knowledge or abilities can appear superior or be in a position of power when surrounded by others who have even less knowledge or ability.
There are times when we are the blind and do not even realize it. There are also times when we are the one-eyed person with limited expertise or understanding, yet we falsely believe or are considered highly knowledgeable or skilled. Sometimes, we are unaware of our own blindness because we have never known or experienced anything different.
As I grow in life, experience new things, travel, and learn, I realize how “blind” I was in certain areas. I also understand that I am still blind in certain aspects. The key is to understand that and be willing to grow and “see.” It also takes a person with vision to point out someone else’s blindness, or even one-eyed perspective.
Moreover, even if you have the vision, it requires a certain type of communication and trust to help the blind understand their blindness and to follow your lead.
Obviously, it’s a metaphor, but such is life.
Dear D. Reed,
We still miss you down here, Moe. I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since you’ve been gone. I’ll never forget the day we lost you. I hadn’t cried for 10 years, but the day you passed, I cried like a baby. That went on for a few days.
It was hard to have you gone so suddenly. As teammates, we did everything together, from morning workouts, school, practice, training table, to study table. It felt like anything I did was just a constant reminder that you weren’t here anymore. We lost you the day before our game. I didn’t think we’d play the next day, but we did. That was the toughest game I ever played in.
Every time we huddled up on offense, it was just another reminder that you weren’t here anymore. I still had to honor you in the best way that I could, and the best way that you’d appreciate. I put up 250 rushing yards and a TD on Ohio. That was all for you. We still lost by 28 points, though LOL.
You were always a leader and had a big impact on our team, but it wasn’t until you passed that it was really shown. We were all heartbroken, bro. You were really loved and admired. Some took your loss tougher than others. That was hard to see but understandable.
I’ll never forget first meeting you and D. Scott. Y’all were me and TA’s suite mates. I figured they put us all together because we were from Grand Rapids and Lansing, and y’all were from Chicago. Like anybody else from Chicago, all y’all talked about a lot was Chicago LOL. You showed TA and me the rappers y’all liked at the time. Y’all were big on King Louie back then. And Lil Durk before he blew up. Can’t forget about Chief Keef.
Y’all pretty much turned Eastern into a Chicago football team LOL. We all talked like you, we started to use your slang, and in some ways, we even started to act like you. We still do. That just shows the impact you had on our lives and how much influence you have.
You were a dog on the field too. You had the most confidence, and you backed it up. As a freshman, you would always tell us, “I ain’t gonna be here for 4 years. I’m going to the league after Junior year.” That was crazy to say, coming out of Eastern Michigan, but you really believed it, and I did too. One of our last conversations was during the season, Junior year. I had a good sophomore season, and the junior season was going alright for me too. I was really considering entering the NFL draft after the season. I said to you, “We still going to the league after this season?” You told me, “Nah, I’m staying. I promised my mom I would get my degree.” That was one of the realest things you said to me and was a big reason why I decided to come back my senior year. I was sad after losing you and really just wanted to spend another year with the guys. I knew I had to get that degree for my mom too.
I understand that all blessings are temporary, so instead of being sad about you being gone, I appreciate all the time that we did get to spend together. I wish you didn’t have to leave us at such a young age, but they say once we serve our purpose on earth, God calls us home. You definitely served, bro. You left a permanent impact on all of our lives. You even left a permanent impact on the university we attended.
You were a true leader. You inspired, motivated, competed, and had a lot of charisma. You were a God-fearing man and always professed your faith in Him. I pray you continue to rest in peace and that we continue to grow, succeed, and make you proud down here. Keep watching over us.
Love always,
B. Hill
The 10,000-hour rule suggests that it takes approximately 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to achieve a high level of mastery in a specific field or skill.
However, I believe this notion is no longer entirely accurate due to the availability of resources like YouTube tutorials, AI-powered tools, and other modern learning aids, which allow individuals to expedite their learning and skill development, potentially requiring fewer than 10,000 hours to attain a considerable level of proficiency in certain areas.
There was a time when it was believed that running a mile in under 5 minutes was physically impossible for humans; however, nowadays, there are high schoolers who can accomplish this feat.
FLY, BLACK BOY 