Dear Summer,
Thank you for the moment. When people do their historical knowledge of you it will be said that it was a battle royale. A heavy weight bout of the Hot Girl Summer or Hot Boy Summer, and those of us who had a Room Temperature summer, that stand to the sidelines as observers. A true “You had to see it to believe it” moment. I didn’t learn patience with you, I didn’t learn to not be hard on myself with you, I didn’t learn to stop eating food in excess and large quantities; things I struggle with on a daily basis. However, I did learn to appreciate the moment. I’m grateful to share summer season 2019 with people I’ve known my entire life, people I’ve known for a few years, and those I’ve only known for a day. I can’t recall feeling this much freedom. Freedom that allowed me to disregard responsibilities and time constraints.. I felt that I was truly able to just be..
Living in the moment can be a bit scary though, when euphoria subsides and you’re back to thinking normal, because you realize that being this happy or free can’t be a good thing. Reality sets in that you’re a bonafide adult. Anxiety presents itself, which then caused me to question my space or purpose on earth. I’m reminded of the story of the AESOP fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper... At the beginning of the year I had an Ant like ambition, recharged and ready to take on the world. However, somewhere around May, I began to slowdown, the days became longer, and my female counterparts clothing became shorter. I began to think that I had done enough, and the work I already put in will pay off.. ultimately, I lost drive and foresight. Not surprisingly, the work I put in at the beginning of the year didn’t pan out for me, like I hoped it would. I DIDN’T get the phone call back from Nike to start working, I DIDN’T get the National Geographic grant that I applied for, I DID get back into Howard University Sociology Ph.D. program after retreating 2 years ago, thinking I’d done enough to be treated better elsewhere.. I applied for other universities, and were denied to every last single one, so I’ve been humbled to say the least……
On the other hand though Summer, with your blinding sunshine and those crisp northeast D.C. heatwaves you enticed me to get out the apartment and GO. Partly because my window A/C unit can’t produce enough “cool” for me to sit inside the house past 12pm, without thinking the Devil himself is waiting on me. It’s just too damn hot when the sun is at its peak heat. When I did “Go” I built moments in Brooklyn, Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, Portland, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Little Rock, Paris, and of course our Nations capital with familiar and unfamiliar faces. You told me live and I did.. I was truly “in the world”, as a old Black southern pimp now pastor would say, It was all worth it though, I can’t recall smiling or laughing as hard as I did on consistent basis. You helped me realize regardless of how tough life gets and all the denied entries one encounters, it’s the human interaction and relationships and time spent with people that makes for significant defining moments..
Cheers,
DM
Marvin Gaye Greening Center.
With Peace Corps Employee Resource Group called Sankofa
Preston right before he bit into a bean pie for the first time.. To his surprise it, it was delicious..
Kelvin and I breaking bread in Philadelphia..
Good brother right there.
I Won Diversity Recruiter of the year for the Peace Corps, while in Philadelphia
Tina Williams (pink dress) was a huge reason I was as successful as I was. I was accompanied by Peace Corps Director Jody Olson (silver top) and David who is our department Director of Volunteer Recruitment and Services.
