Stripping For Dollars

This post was inspired by the Yahoo Question: Is stripping to make money for college a bad thing? No drugs no prostitution just dancing?

     Stripping can be an extremely desirable job because of the quick and easy money as well as the confidence booster. Although stripping has many perks, there are even more downfalls to being a stripper. 

1. Although you do get payed, you don't an adequate salary.

2. Exploiting yourself.

3. and most importantly, many dangerous things could happen in a strip club late at night.

     Stripping is an awful thing to do to yourself. It doesn't matter if the money is going toward college or to a McDonald's meal. There is no excuse for a woman OR an man to exploit themselves for money with there being so many opportunities out there. There is NO excuse! I honestly can't respect people that would do that to themselves.

     People say that they won't do drugs or drink while they are stripping, but they are being dishonest. Most likely they don't know that they are at the time, but with so many temptations it would be extremely difficult to be in a bar filled with drugs and liquor and not take part in it. Overall, it's just a terrible idea to get money for college by stripping. 

Think of it this way.. 

If you're going to class during the day..

And stripping at night..

when would you have time to do homework?

You would fail in your classes before you could even pay for them.

Take A Stand

Africa

Thus she had lain

sugercane sweet

deserts her hair

golden her feet

mountains her breasts

two Niles her tears.

Thus she has lain

Black through the years.

 

Over the white seas

rime white and cold

brigands ungentled

icicle bold

took her young daughters

sold her strong sons

churched her with Jesus

bled her with guns.

Thus she has lain.

 

Now she is rising

remember her pain

remember the losses

her screams loud and vain

remember her riches

her history slain

now she is striding

although she has lain.

                -Maya Angelou

This poem makes me proud to be an African-American.

I will be performing this poem in mid-February at my school for black history month and I am extremely excited about it. 

So many people remain ignorant of other races and cultures because there are not enough people who are willing to educate people about their heritage.

They are frightened by the thought of being challenged or ridiculed. 

What people need to realize and understand is that standing up for what you believe in is standing up for what millions of others believe in as well. For a change, all that is needed is one brave person to stand up for that change.

I am proud that the ABS (Association for Black Students) at my school is initiating this celebration of black history during the month of February. Many people at this school do not know the history of black people and what we truly mean to the advancement of this society. 

One student named Courtney Kelly will make all the difference at this small isolated school. She is bringing forth the history of black people, but not in a combative way. The sole purpose of this Black History Celebration is to educate others of our struggles in the past and our continuing struggle towards equality. This attempt to educate other races and ethnicities and even our own will make the bond that we all have as SMU students stronger. We will leave the process understanding each other better and understanding is truly the key to  any place where there is a melting pot of people.

Courtney Kelly saw a change that needed to take place at her school..

So.. she's doing something about it,

and I admire her for that.

*I hope this post inspires you to make changes in your life by standing up for what you believe in.

You have the power to make a change.*

  What do I stand for?

I stand for Africa.

Why College?

Southern Methodist University Freshman

     I have been a college student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX for almost 3 1/2 months. When first beginning college I encountered many people questioning why they are here. They ask questions like:

• What am I doing here?
• What should I major in?
• Why did I choose this school?
• How is SMU going to help me succeed in my future?

     When I see students with these questions I am forced to ask, "Why ARE you here?" They rarely have an answer. The reason why so many young people drop out of school and transfer to other schools is because our society engrains it in our mind that we need to be in school. That we must always be learning and that's true but who says that our learning has to come from a textbook. There are so many things that can be learned by simply working and interacting with people in the real world. As a society, we have been brainwashed to believe that college is the only road that leads to success. Many brilliant minds who haven't gone to college have invented and created things that have been of great use to our society; why don't we see that?  

     People shouldn't be forced to go to college by their parents, relatives, church, or even the government. Going to college should be a decision. 

My father always told me that, "College is a pursuit of higher learning. You can either go to college, go to work, or go to the army. Take your pick." 

Having that choice of if and where to go to college has enlightened me and made me truly understand, acknowledge, and honor my calling. I am called to be an actor and that is why I am here. I knew when I auditioned for Southern Methodist University that SMU was the school for me. I knew that this was the school that would propel me into the world and put me on the right track towards a successful career in acting.

I am not saying that college is a bad thing. All I am saying is that a pursuit of higher learning is a choice; and that right shouldn't be taken away from us. 

Blood Is As Thick As Water

This blog post was inspired by:
Fathers Who Leave Their Children Behind

All of my life I have been battling with the concept of "family".
What is it?
What do we as people have to do to attain it?
What does it mean to truly be apart of a "family"?
  
     Whenever I think of family I think of my cousin Jasmine Patterson. Jasmine was born into the arms of a drug addict and a prostitute. When she was only 2 years old, her mother (Sara Ross) would leave her in the house alone to fulfill her desire of being sexually used. Her dad (Michael Patterson) would smoke weed and inject heroine in his veins with his young daughter sitting directly next to him. When my grandmother (Sue Patterson) found out about this, she immediately removed Jasmine from that house to live with her; this infuriated Sara. Many years later, during an argument between Sue and Sara a secret was unveiled: "Jasmine is not your granddaughter. Michael isn't the father." Anytime my grandmother would talk about this moment she would sob for hours. In my grandmother's opinion,"Jasmine for many years lived a lie. She lived in an alternate reality."

     This mindset confused me because it made me wonder what a "family" truly was. Is a family a group of people that care about themselves and aren't willing to give up bad habits? I know who my family is. Yes, I am fortunate to have a strong mother and father who love and care for me. But I also have other groups of "family". I have my many friends, my close teachers, and all the people around the world who truly care for me. That is what a family is.

Blood is as thick as water.
Sue is Jasmine's grandmother and they are connected by LOVE.

Beauty. Describe It.

Beauty.

Describe it.

Can you?

Probably not.

....and it is okay.

  

                                                                                                                                  


What do you consider to be beautiful?
     This is a question of the ages. It is really sad that our world's perception of beauty often refers back to race, but it is true. I was sitting at lunch with a few of my friends, and they all began to discuss beauty and if they were seen as beautiful in our society.

One of my friends looks a little like the girl in the picture to the right:
Brown Skin
Full Lips
Deep Brown Eyes
Smooth Skin
Pearly White Teeth
...I see this as beauty.

     I believe my friend is stunning, but she does not believe so. She said, "When I watch movies and drive pass billboards, and look at Vogue magazine covers, I don't see people who look like me.  I see the idea of a 'perfect' woman".  "What is the perfect woman?", I inquired. She then looked embarrassed and described a woman that was similar to the woman pictured on the left. When she described a Caucasian woman as being the epitome of beauty, my stomach dropped to my knees. What lead her to believe that the beauty that she possessed was not worth having? Who made her feel ugly?

     When I was younger people ridiculed me for my dark skin. I remember praying to God that one day he would lighten my skin; make me attractive. Now, I love my skin. I love me. I love what my deep, chocolate skin represents. My skin represents my past; it represents the  strength, and perseverance of my people. I now wear my skin as a badge of honor, and I dare anyone to say that I am not beautiful. I am proud to be African-American. I wish everyone could understand that there is beauty within everything and everyone. Everyone has something beautiful to offer this world.

Beauty doesn't have a definition. It is one of the most abstract things about our world.

I have one question to ask you:

Am I Beautiful?

  

My Artistic Statement

    I am apart of the Meadows School of the Arts at SMU. I am a theatre major at SMU with an emphasis in acting. Today we had a writing exercise that we had to complete in class that basically outlined what my art means to me, and why I do what I do. When I first began to write my artistic statement I didn't have a clue as to what I was going to say. I then realized that people often lose their purpose in life. People get so caught up in the action of achieving or reaching their purpose that they forget the reasons why they do it. They forget why they love it so much. I sat and contemplated for a long ten minutes until suddenly my feelings and perceptions of how acting has affected and changed my life began to pour out unto the page.
This is an excerpt of what I wrote that day:



An Artistic Statement


"I really don’t know what to say. I just do it. I run on impulses. My art revolves around doing what I feel; the impulses of my heart. Many times it may make no sense to the outside world, and other times it makes perfect sense. But I don’t act for the audience, I act for myself. The audience may be affected by it.. But I don’t perform to make an audience happy. I aim to make myself happy through my art. I love using my voice and my body to get my point across. I believe that every piece has a purpose, and it is our  job as the artist to bring that purpose to life.  Basically, that’s all I can say. Some people try to imitate when they’re acting, and some people try to melt into their characters. I just say, “I am ____”. And that’s what I am. Many people believe that an actors job is to lie. I don’t lie onstage. Never have and never will. Lying onstage isn’t attractive… The reason why actors are so important and why people come see us is because we’re the most honest people in the world. We bleed the truth. We have to. We are a reflection of the world. We were created  to make the world a better place. We showcase the successes and failures of the world, and it is the world’s obligation to make a difference. We are just the beginning; the root. I love what I do. I believe that acting is a rhythm.. And apart of being a good actor is being able to adapt to the many rhythms and themes that playwrights put out in the world.  I like classical pieces a lot more than contemporary pieces."


Summary: “I live and breathe a representation of the world as it is seen through MY eyes.”




List of Elements
God; the heavens
Movement
Energy
Voice
Passion
Determination
Heart
Love
Unity
Open Mind
Experiences
Intelligence
Physical Appearance
Endurance
Timing
Emotion
Direction
Street Smarts
Being a chameleon 
Inner Light
Colors
Harmony
Spirit
Impulses
Earth
Communication Skills
Focus

     Do you see that long list of elements? All that it takes to be an actor? That list is only the beginning of what an actor needs, to be considered an artist. Many times in my life people have questioned what venues would I want to perform in (theatre, film, television, etc.). When I am approached with this question my immediate response is, "Well.. to me it doesn't really matter." The real question is, in my career, do I want to be considered an actor or an artist. If you asked that question to me, I would immediately answer by saying, "Being an artist is what guarantees a lifelong career of success and happiness.. so I choose being an artist" 

The Beauty In Imperfections

This blog was inspired by the article:
New York Times Article: Single, and Singular, Women Become Her

                                                         Cherry Jones

     You will learn from my blog posts that I have an enormous obsession with theatre; I just do. There is something about dressing in your finest clothing on a Friday night and going out to the theatre.  Every week I read a few articles from the theatre section of The New York Times. One of last weeks articles was based on the acclaimed broadway actress; Cherry Jones. If you are a huge "broadway buff" like me, you may have seen her in the award winning show, "Doubt". You may have also seen her on the small screen in "24". Because of the article I gained more respect for Ms. Jones. The article basically gives the reader an insight into the mind of an artist, and Cherry Jones' many dreams, and imperfections.

     In the article Cherry Jones says, "I'm really not a very good actress. Let me explain. I don't have a very analytical mind, though I have a good imagination. I'm also not facile with language, and I don't have much irony. I'm a good Tennessee girl with a fairly literal mind. I stress too much. I pose too much. I desperately need a good director, someone like Doug, to break me down and just get me to say it- to stop acting and let these great minds that I'm fortunate enough to play have their say."

     Cherry Jones' words are so inspirational for me and for any artist, I believe. By this quote, Ms. Jones is letting all aspiring artists know that she is not perfect, and that no one should expect to be. Acting is a process that will never reach the perfection that an artist longs for. Once people realize that, that is when true growth will take place. If one were to become a perfect actor, there would be no need to act. Cherry Jones lives a representation of our world, as every actor should. She lives and breathes the situations and outcomes of our world. How could she or any artist be perfect when the world we are set out to represent is not perfect? Imperfections are beautiful; that is what Cherry Jones lives by, and everyone should. A world without imperfections is a world without progress.

Acting is the art and expression of imperfections.

     I would like to leave you all with this quote:

"The ability to play the clarinet is the ability to overcome the imperfections of the instrument. There's no such thing as a perfect clarinet, never was and never will be."

-Jack Brymer

Response to the reading "Zeitoun"

    "The waste of plenty is the resource of scarcity."
                                         - Thomas Peacock



      In the narrative “Zeitoun”, Zeitoun didn’t want his daughters to be the average teenager when it came to being wasteful. So many people in this country take for granted the things that are given to them. I truly believe the quote that says, “If you don’t pay for it, your heart won’t hurt for it.” I find it to be true in everyday life. Here at SMU, so many students walk around campus on their expensive cell phones and designer clothes and don't think about where all these material things come from.

     When I’m at Umphrey Lee (the school's cafeteria) at SMU I see so much food being wasted. What was prepared for the students of SMU could be taken over to third-world countries and given to the starving or malnourished.  We eat every day! There has to be something we can do. I hate sitting helplessly and not dong anything. Our country has spent so much money on a pointless war, and now we have no money to aid people that are in need of our help.

     “Zeitoun” made me think about how much we actually do waste and don’t appreciate things; it’s sickening. It’s sickening that people don’t value the small things in this world. I believe that if God gives you something, and you don’t appreciate it wholly he’ll take it away from you to teach you a lesson. I honestly believe that that is what he did with Hurricane Katrina. I believe that the people who resided in New Orleans didn't appreciate what God provided for them, so he took it away. I know this is a generalization, but there is no other reason why a hurricane so humongous would hit a city and completely DESTROY it like Hurrican Katrina did to New Orleans.

     When I think about Americans being wasteful, I think about the way Americans are raised. Which raised question. Should parents allow their children to waste when they're young? Old habits are hard to break and this sense of not valuing anything is ingrained in our generation.It is a part of our culture to receive things easily with ease. Is this necessarily a bad thing?

     All I know is, I can’t live any longer in this world of waste. I also can’t sit around and allow others to do the same. If this cycle of waste continues the world will be eradicated. The world cannot stand much more waste before it starts depleting. Let's take a stand. Let's make a difference in our community.