Dreams

I was about to go to sleep, because I am very, very sleepy, and I was flipping thru the stations to find something to fall asleep to and I came across the special for the new Diddy reality show that's about to start coming on. 13 people are competing to become his personal assistant. Apparently, after you are his personal assistant, you can pretty much write your own check. You become so sought after by other companies because they know that he is so hard to work for. They were showing his past assistants and they were explaining how crazy it is to work for him because you can not do simple things, like sleep. One of his assistants said that you can never tell Mr. C that you are tired, because what rhymes with tired? Fired! It was funny to me until I realized just how much of a genius Diddy is. I mean we can talk about his rapping or whatever, but no one can deny the man's business sense. He knows things that you will never learn in any business school, including Harvard and Yale. And it made me realize that I do not have that "go get it by any means necessary" trait. At least not now. And I wonder, what makes a person have that trait. Is it hereditary? Are you born with it? Or do you develop it? I mean, Diddy is human just like me and everyone else on this earth, but look at what he was able to accomplish in such a short time. I mean, his money is new. Not like the Rockefeller's money or the Kennedy's. He just made this money within the last 15 or so years. Now I'm thinking, I gotta develop this trait. The world is so full of opportunity and it takes all kinds to make the world go round. And while we need people to mop the floors of the office buildings, and drop fries at McDonalds, I am not one of those people, and I don't want to surround myself around people who are. When I'm at work, (and call me a conspiracy theorist) but I think it's a cult or something. How else could you get thousands of people to follow your way just because you say it is the right way. And how could you make thousands of people believe that it is something wrong with them because they don't want to work hard to make your dream come true? You must be dealing with weak-minded people. That's how. I can't live like that. I read a quote on one of my old classmate's Facebook page, crazy Clifton Dailey, that said "if you don't dream you'll spend your life working for those that do." And I swear I had never heard anything so true in my life! Isn't that what you do at your job? Aren't you working your ass off for somebody else's dream? I know I do. But, why are we raised to think that is the way to go? Why do we push our kids off to college to do just that--become complacent. Cause that's really what it is. I refuse! I have my own dreams, and I don't need to work hard to help you fulfill yours or anybody else's as long as I can dream myself. So, I said all that to say, discover your dream and work it. Cause if not, you'll be working to fulfill mine.

What it means to BE...

Yesterday, I spent the day doing two things that really interest me: doing makeup and bartending. Both of them had me tired as hell, but I must say I enjoyed them both. Now, anybody that really knows me, knows what my ultimate dream in life is. And everyday, I'm seeing that dream become more and more of a reality. Doing makeup yesterday was something like an eye-opener for me. I was at a wedding assisting a make-up artist while she did everyone's face in the bridal party. There was one other assistant there too. This older lady. Let's call her Mary. Mary, like myself, is an "aspiring" make-up artist. When we go on these events or shows, we are there just to assist, watch and learn. I soak up everything around me at these events, because my mentor is extremely good at what she does. I mean, the girl is BAD!!! And I've been truly blessed to have met her and to work with her. I hear what she asks me to do. I listen to her and I follow through. What I've found at these events is that, even though I've been introduced as "the assistant", the clients still look to me as the professional. For so long, I've never looked at myself as a "professional make-up artist". I would always tell people that I know how to do my make-up, but not others. But at the same time, I always wanted to be a make-up artist. So when I met my mentor and began to do events with her, I was sort of thrown into a professional role. The clients would come to me and ask me questions that they would ask a professional, and I'm thinking, "Lady, I am not a professional! Don't you know this!" So, between meeting my mentor for the first time and yesterday, I've been practicing on my sister and friends, so that I can become familiar with working on other people. I'm getting some of the movements down, and learning how to maneuver around my kit. My best friend, Neace, always comes to me for tips on make-up and hair, and I'm like, "Damn, am I a professional?". So yesterday, I went to the event and I felt really confident, more confident than usual. When my mentor gave orders or requests, I listened so that she would not have to repeat them. These events are high pressure, and having to do the same thing over and over can only add to these pressures. I watched my mentor and the way she moved across the clients' faces. She was a professional. Then, I watched Mary, the other assistant. And I realized, she came across as nervous. Not a trait you would see in a professional. And I decided right then: If I want to be a make-up artist, THEN I AM GOING TO BE A MAKE-UP ARTIST! I am going to talk like one. I am going to walk like one. I am going to move like one. Because I am one. How else am I going to get there unless I just do it. So, my life lesson for today is to simply be who/what you want to be. And when you've found your calling, that statement will mean everything to you. So thank you to my best friends, Neace and Sparkle and all those others for pushing me to BE.

I'm here...

Today I decided to start a blog. I decided that my blog would be dedicated to what I learn everyday. I think we all should learn something everyday. And I think I've definitely picked up a "life lesson" everyday that they Good Lord gives me, and I need to take note of them. So today, I start my blog of "Things That I Know".