Today I’m appreciative of my father giving me the space to follow where my heart takes me…

I got an unexpected phone call asking if I would be interested in being part of a panel talking about (black) cinema.  I said I’d be flattered and I would be.  Movies are one of my passions (sports, music, and ‘the cycle of life’ are probably the other three topics I could still talk about all night now in the same way I could as a teenager).  Anyway it wasn’t all that long ago that I told my father that my future and my past don’t seem connected anymore (what most adults refer to as ‘life’).  And his response as usual was along the lines of, “Well let me know where you’re going.”  And that might not seem to be that great of an anecdote but I’ve reached a point in life where it means a lot to me.  It’s having a choice, it’s freedom from being judged. It’s knowing someone gives a damn. I took that for granted as a kid but I recognize now that for some all the hard work in the world can be made meaningless without any type of encouragement.

Today I’m appreciative of ‘the Fellas’ for a lifetime of hilarious stories, not all of them mine…

I was driving home and I got a call from one of my college buddies who’s here in L.A.  And somehow he ended up telling me about the night some drunk chick literally trapped him and his roommates in their dorm room.  2 in the morning on a Saturday night, and those three fools all ended up staying inside all night because they could hear her (literally) laid out in front of the door, yelling “I know you’re in there!” at least once an hour!  I’m still chuckling as I type that out.  I may be wrong but I think this is the first time all of us are in serious relationships, at minimum.  College days swiftly pass but the memories are forever.

Today I appreciate my sister for reminding me to be a little more ‘self-conscious’…

I seemed to have learned how to ‘tune people out’ before I knew what the phrase meant.  It’s a great quality to have I think because you’re staying inside of the moment of what’s in front of you.  You don’t get big headed over every compliment, you don’t feel destroyed over every negative remark.  But there is a downside.  I’ve spent more time talking to my sister as of late, and even though we’re both adults it’s weird to me in a way to hear how she ‘looked up’ to me.  It certainly wasn’t me ‘trying’ to set an example or being anything other than myself, but there were two of us and I was older so…there it is.  Anyway it’s a reminder to me that just as I tend to quietly go about my business, there are probably others who quietly watch me or read me or study me as an example of some kind.  And maybe I should grow some rabbit ears once in a while even though it’s against my nature.  Because sometimes you really have no idea how highly someone thinks of you.

Tonight I go to bed rich with the experience of life.  Tomorrow I add to the riches.