lessons in thirty.
they say your twenties are your wild years. your curious years. the years in which you find yourself & lose yourself all in one decade. i have to say that my twenties really defined who i am: as a writer, a creative, an educator, an artist, a Christian a brother & a friend; in the last decade i’ve travelled to countless cities, danced with strangers in late-night dive bars, served in a number of leadership capacities, became a deacon, bought a house & surrounded myself with the most incredible tribe of people. i’ve ran barefoot across a soggy beach in san francisco, taught high-school english to over five-hundred students, graduated with my doctorate, ran a creative ecosystem for seven years, fell in love with education & collectively have seen almost a thousand students graduate.
the past ten years have been some of the most wild & beautiful & formative years of my life — i’ve grown as a writer, as a creative, as an educator, an activist, a Christian, a brother & a friend; i’m grateful for every laugh i’ve shared, every story i’ve, every memory created, every goal i’ve accomplished & every ceiling i’ve shattered. i’m grateful for every board i’ve served on, every protest i’ve marched in, every student i’ve influenced & every opportunity i’ve had to serve my community.
to the members of my tribe, thank you for the love & support you’ve given me during my twenties, to my students, past & current, thank you for helping me find my passion & my why. to my faith community, thank you for providing me with a space to yield & rest & ponder. and to the folks who only had a small chapter during my twenties, thank you for the influence you had, whether it was a kind smile or a lesson learned — here’s to another decade of curiosity, adventure, creativity, advocacy & so much more.
in honor of the new decade, here are thirty things i truly grew to appreciate in my twenties:
saying no.
living in the south.
falling in love with education.
choosing solitude.
travelling as much as possible.
read & write daily.
advocating for black & brown boys.
appreciating my body.
realizing food is good & good for you.
overall health is more important than a number on a scale.
m o v i n g s l o w l y
create terrible content & then delete it.
art is an addictive lifestyle; pursue it.
being overly kind.
standing on boundaries.
creating space for others.
chasing music.
thinking about the next generation.
deepening & expanding my faith journey.
being student & relationship driven.
practicing minimalism.
becoming a deacon.
protesting & adopting grassroots activism.
completing therapy.
celebrating my tribe.
knowing when to end a chapter.
anticipating fatherhood.
developing my leadership skills.
the art of conversation & serving others.
learning how to inhale & exhale.
