It's been a long time coming...

So, I've taken the entire summer off from blogging, and I'm not quite sure why.  Probably because I wanted to blog about something that makes me happy, yet unfortunately for me that hasn't happened.  I guess it's because the more time passes by, the more I fucking hate people.  I know I'm not supposed to say I hate people, but with every fiber of my being I'm really becoming more disgusted with this world.

A few days ago I gave my boss a copy of my resume.  He's helping me clean it up and make it look pretty because I am ready to find something else to do with my life, and I want nothing to do with a call center.  Well, anyone who has met me in the past two years knows that I have a degree in Religious Studies, and most people know that I was the President of the Religious Studies Student Organization.  Apparently, putting that on a resume is the "kiss of death" because it says "religious."  This is why people make me so fucking sick.  I really want whoever is reading this to think about this... I studied religions because it gave me a better idea of people, who they are, what they believe, and it taught me to accept people.  The irony?  Yeah, apparently because I studied religion I wouldn't be considered by most companies as worthy of hiring.  You see, as a religious studies student, I must be completely myopic - there is no way that I could understand what other people believe because studying religion means I'm a Christian, not that I understand about the Holocaust, or the difference between someone who practices Islam and someone who is Islamist, or what it means to be "Born Shinto, Die Buddhist".  No, that couldn't possibly be what I was taught.  You see, what I had to have been taught is that Christianity is the only way to Heaven, and that anyone who doesn't believe in Christian Protestant religions will surely burn in Hell as Jesus is the only Way.  At least that's what I'm led to believe by employers, except if anyone read my resume they would see my degree is from University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, not Liberty University.  There are way more people who are agnostic or atheist getting Religious Studies degrees at UWM than even I thought was imaginable.  Why is that?  Because people are looking for ways to understand questions about the supernatural, and questions about other people.  Yet everyone assumes that my degree means I want to be a minister or something.  Far from it!  If I wanted to go to a Bible college and preach, I would have done so.  But I don't have to go to college to know how to preach or what to preach about, I go to church which allows me plenty of opportunity to learn how to preach.

I guess another problem I have is people who don't want to talk about religion, or politics, or whatever sets of beliefs one might have.  I don't think debating those things is right, as I think everyone is entitled to believe whatever they choose.  But I want to hear that folks have thoughts about these things, yet this world has become too PC to talk about fun stuff.  Or maybe it's because people always want to argue instead of learning to understand another person's POV.  Yet another reason why people annoy the shit out of me.

A lot of people think they are so open minded and willing to learn about what makes people tick.  It's a fucking joke to me.  The minute a person closes their ears and eyes to hearing about other religions should be a clue for me to not want to know them.  I seriously need to take a break from everyone, because the more I get to know about people, the more I realize I should just find a dog and go off the grid.

This is it, for the most part

So the beginning of the end has happened.  I finished, for better or worse, my first final earlier today.  I have four more finals to take.  I will be completely done on Thursday at 2:00 PM.  I don't anticipate having grades like I did last semester, but I'm fine with it.  My main concern is getting across the stage next week Sunday.  I'm so happy that I didn't turn back this time.  It was easy not going to school all of those years (1993 - 2006) but something clicked for me at the end of 2006 that told me it was time to go back.  So in January 2007, I embarked upon a new chapter in my life.  I didn't think I would go more than a semester.  I certainly did not have to go back to school, as I was in what I thought was a secure and stable job.  Looking back, going to school was the best decision I could have made at that time.  I had a lot going on in my life from 2005 - 2007, and school brought some focus that I would not have had otherwise.  Of course, 2007 - 2009 were some tough years, but I was reminded that I had a working brain, and it needed some food.  I couldn't just sit back and watch people get degrees and good jobs, knowing that I had the knowledge to obtain a degree from almost any school. 
I look back at this time because I remember what I was like almost 20 years ago, when I graduated from high school.  I had no desire to go to college, but I wanted to leave Milwaukee so desperately, specifically leaving my mother's house.  Being "grown" meant that I could do what I wanted, when I wanted, and had no one to answer to.  No wonder I left college when I did! I tried to go back, but that was not going to happen. I lasted about a semester before I left for good, or so I thought.
I'm jumping around quite a bit tonight, but that's because my academic career is representative of the vicissitudes of life that I have experienced thus far... I'm at my best when I'm in school, especially when I'm doing well in school.  When I'm not in school, I waste a lot of time trying to figure out how to exercise my gray cells.  If I don't find something constructive, I become destructive.  I need to work on the next part of my academic career as soon as possible, as I don't want to lose the focus I have developed.  It's kind of funny, talking about having focus when I'm avoiding studying for finals...
I think of all the times my family and friends gave me grief and stayed on me about going back to school.  In my head, it was not going to happen because there was nothing that I could do well enough to get a bachelors degree.  Then I remembered I could read.  Seriously though, I know my degree is not useful for more than certain, specific jobs, but fact of the matter is, in this job climate the only position I could have worked towards with a guaranteed job anywhere was nurse, and sorry, but I'm not nurse material.  The minute someone told me I would have to stick someone with a needle is the minute I would walk out of the hospital doors.  So although my degree is in History and Religious Studies, two disciplines that basically scream "go into teaching" and nothing else, I'm pretty proud of having accomplished a B.A. in them.
I'm excited.  I don't know what the future will bring.  I know that it will bring student loans.  I'm hoping it will bring an awesome job.  Most importantly, I'm looking forward to adding a new title to my life story, college graduate.
Have a good week y'all...

About that job thing...

I'm not lying when I say I need a new job.  I know a lot of you call in to customer service call centers, and perhaps you're having a shitty day when you all of a sudden remember you have to pay a credit card bill.  Well, let me give you a little insight on what my day is like -

Sometime between 6:30 or 7:30, I'm waking up.  Now this may seem normal to the majority of you, but for me, since I often don't get off of work until 12:15 AM or later this means I'm not getting the 7 to 8 hours of sleep that my body craves every night.

I'm okay when I get out of bed.  My mother usually has something awesome in the kitchen, I throw on some clothes, typical morning stuff.  Sometimes I tell my mother about the previous night at work, or we discuss anything that happened in the news recently.  Whatever, it's good, and with that I'm out the door...

So driving to school is always an adventure, because people in Milwaukee drive like their wheels are stuck in molasses.  Freaking ridiculous if you ask me, but then again, I'm still a California driver.  I'm trying to reform myself, but why do 30 when you can do 35?  Why do 35 when you can do 40?  Just a thought...

I get to school, chat with friends, try and make it through the day without sleeping (I'm usually pretty unsuccessful at that.)  All in all though, I'm usually pretty cool with the day up to this point because besides shitty driving, life's been good.  After this, I head home to eat something, pack up dinner, and head out the door...

So I get to work.  I start praying about people in the car.  I know some of you don't believe in the power of prayer, but I have to do something to keep my sanity.  I continue to pray as I walk through the doors, and usually I can sit at my desk.  But there are times when I have to find a seat and I'm not happy about that.  Seriously?  You're a multi - billion dollar company and you can't afford to set us all up with our own desks?  Stupid.

I get on the phone and most of the time my first call is normal.  But then there are times where one of my first calls of the day will go a little something like this...

Caller: "I'm calling about the late fee on my account."

Me: "Ok, let's take a look at your account and see what we can do about that late fee... May I have your name please?"

Caller: "Mary Smith"

Me: "Thank you for that information Mrs. Smith.  For verification purposes, may I have the last 4 digits of your social security number?"

Caller: "1234"

Me: "Thank you for that information.  For further verification purposes, may I have your telephone number please?" (at this point I have already removed the late fee, but I can't say anything because I'm not done verifying her information)

Caller: "Why do I have to give you that information?  I already gave you the last four digits of my social security number!  Why can't you just remove the late fee?"

Me: "Mrs. Smith, I just need to verify that we have the most current number on file in case we need to contact you about your account.  If you could just give me that number, I'll be glad to see what we can do about the late fee."

Caller: "Well, I'm not giving you that number so you can just close my account!"

Me: "Ma'am, if I close your account, you will still owe the late fee on the account" (yes, I have it put back on because I'm not removing a late fee for someone who's closing their account.  That's counterproductive.)

Caller: "I'm aware of that.  Close my account."

In my head, all I can think is "you crazy bitch."  I'm looking at her phone number!  All she has to do is say it.  At one point, I actually told her that if she could give me any phone number that would be acceptable.  I just wanted to remove her fee and go on to the next call.  She wants to argue and act as if closing her account is going to make this company go out of business.  She must have drunk a pitcher of crazy if she thought that was going to happen!

Throughout the rest of the night, I get more crazy calls from more stupid people.  However, I'm supposed to sit there and take it because that's what we do, we "take care of people."  How about taking care of the people that work for your company?  In doing this, you make it impossible for people to feel as if they are a valued part of your corporation.  I know that they are convinced that customers are the reason why we're in business, but I can guarantee that if you do not take care of your employees, you will lose quality people.   If you lose quality people, you will lose business.

I count the minutes before I can leave.  I get home and I'm exhausted, but I can't go to sleep so I watch whatever is on my DVR.  I replay calls over in my head, not to see where I went wrong or what I could do to make the next calls better, but because I want to remember to tell people about the stupid shit folks say to me.

I know you all have bad days.  For whatever reason, when someone calls customer service, they think that being mean and disrespectful to the person on the other line will accomplish whatever goal they had.  Just asking for what you want and answering my questions is just as likely to get you what you want.  You don't have to be upset with my company because you don't have your life together.  I'm here to help, not hurt. 

Regarding the company where I work, I have lost some great co-workers because of your policies.  You have got to do better.  I'm not sure why companies stopped treasuring their employees.  Maybe it's because unemployment is so high.  Maybe they stopped because turnover means you can pay the next person less than you were paying the last person that worked there.  I don't know.  All I know is when people realize they can do better, they will leave.  Your goal should be to keep people who are good at what they do, but I see that you couldn't give a shit. 

I really need to find another job.  I'm too old to get an ideal job as a movie/restaurant/hotel/airline critic.  I would love to get a job as a trainer somewhere.  I just can't continue down this current path.  I'm far too old to put up with people's bullshit.  Of course, I'm thankful that I have a job, so I guess I should just shut up.  I can't see that happening though...

Tell me what it takes...

So earlier tonight I was leaving the movies with my friend Jules.  She announced to me that bin Laden was killed based on orders from President Obama.  This week, my President has proven that he is, in fact, from Hawaii and NOT Kenya, he came close to killing Gaddafi, he showed his sense of humor by gently ribbing Trump (who, might I add, does not take kindly to people picking on him... wow!) and proved he could laugh at himself after Seth Meyers said some pretty funny stuff about him.  Now, he announces to the world that he ordered the killing of the most wanted terrorist in the world and our troops successfully accomplished the goal he set for them... Yet he still can't get a fucking break?!!?  People amaze me.  I am not kidding, people truly amaze me.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still plenty pissed about Obama not raising taxes on the rich/ continuing the Bush tax cuts.  I'm also not a fan of his school policy, and as long as he continues to be against cleaning up public education in favor of setting up more charter schools, he and I will continue to be at odds about that.  But I don't care what anyone says, the quagmire we were in just a few years ago under Bush had me thinking we would never recover, yet somehow under Obama we're getting on the right track.  Yes, there are some 25 million plus people out of work, and gas is too high (as is rent) but at the same time, I guess I was always one of those people that knew Obama wouldn't be able clean up everything in a few years.  So while it remains to be seen if he will go down as one of the best presidents ever, what I can say for Obama is I'm praying to my God for you.  Of course, according to some dumbasses my God isn't the same as Obama's God because he's a Muslim.  As a religious studies scholar I can say with authority that the God that my brothers and sisters in the Middle East call Allah is the same that my Hebrew brothers and sisters call Adonai, and the one they call Adonai is the one we call God the Father.  Also, I'm pretty comfortable with referring to Obama as a Christian, since he has said on multiple occasions that Jesus Christ is his Lord and Savior. 
I'm writing this while listening to Rage Against the Machine... "Killing In The Name" and I want to stop writing from an angry place.  I can't help it though, because people get on my last fucking nerve.  Between the dipshit in Oklahoma that thinks I don't want to work because I'm black and Donald Trump (I hope you're still enjoying your relationship with "the Blacks") I just don't even want to deal with people that have no common sense anymore.  I don't give a flying rats ass what you say in front of your family and friends about people of other races, but if I can't say shit about yours, then I'll be damned if you think it's okay to say shit about mine.  I know I'm not supposed to let it get under my skin, but if I keep trying to brush my shoulders off, people won't know that I don't like them.  I told my friend Danielle at work this week people continue to make the mistake of thinking I need them.  I need my mother, everyone else in my life is a nice extra.  Don't get me wrong, I appreciate you all, and I love you too, but I can guaran-fucking-tee you that as easily as you came in my world, I can walk away with great memories of days gone by.  I've bitten my tongue and now it's bleeding.  I've been going through some real shit in the past year, and I mean "real drama could be on a talk show shit", but that's all about to change.  I graduate in three weeks.  After that, if people can't demonstrate they are for me, then they are against me.  If they are against me, I'm erasing them from more than Facebook.  I'm tired.
Y'all have a good week.

Looking for winning lottery numbers...

So as I sit here, in my den, preparing for another week of 40 hours or more of being cussed out, I realize it is time to find a new job.  For the past few years, I wanted to teach.  I am convinced that my calling is to stand in front of a classroom and tell teenagers about things that happened in the past, and helped us get to where we are today.  I also realize that I will not have the opportunity to do this, as there are a lot more history teachers out there than there are positions available.  Besides, even if I want to do this, I would either have to get a teachers certificate or get a Masters Degree.  I can't imagine trying to get a Masters in history right now, as that is just money that I don't have.  Also, I barely had the time to get a Bachelors Degree, I can't take off of work to get a Masters Degree.  Worse yet, if I plan to live in Wisconsin, I do not want to teach as long as Scott Walker is governor.  All I see is the further deterioration of urban public schools, and no money available to improve them as Walker and his buddies withdraw funds from those schools.  I do have a lot of goals set in my head, however, regarding education.  I am excited about the plans we have at my church to help kids every weekend with tutoring sessions, based on an idea that came to me from after school programs we had at my church in Sacramento.  I also hope there are training positions available at a company, preferably Kohl's, as I would like to continue working there.  But the more I think about that, the more I wonder if I will be doing what I know I was called to do... 

So my question for you, my friends, is what is your calling?  Are you doing it?  If there is something else you could do in life, what would it be?  Hypothetically speaking, if you won the lottery today, but you still had to work (for free) what would you do? Think about it and feel free to post...

Ready to start someting new

I'm sitting here, getting ready for my favorite part of the week (writing to and for you all) and listening to the new Foo Fighters CD.  I'm thinking about how I bought some new stuff today in hopes of changing some stuff about myself, perhaps work on reflecting my age for once.  I can't help but think about how there's an old adage, "a leopard never changes its spots" but at the same time, if we do not evolve, we die.  One cannot remain the same person for their entire life.  But what does that say about people who are stubborn?  Is it that they can't change their positions at all, or is it that they can't change their positions because of their pride?  I do believe in "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" but at the same time, sometimes things are broke and we're just not willing to let them go.  I guess what I'm getting at is I don't understand people that can't embrace any form of change.  I understand ordering the same meal at different restaurants, some people need that consistency, especially those who travel a lot (Billy Crystal's character in "Forget Paris" comes to mind... I wonder how many times did he order veal parmigiana in that movie?).  I, for one, love to order jambalaya every chance I get.  Every once in a while, however, I recognize that jambalaya is not going to be on the menu.  Sometimes I look at that as an opportunity.  It forces me to think about options that I would not have thought about before, which can lead to finding something even more delicious, like the angel hair pasta dish at the hotel I stayed at in Riverside.  It had capers on it, and immediately I fell in love.  Maybe what I'm getting at is I think people should remember to remain open to the possibilities.  For instance, we are all here because of someone taking a chance in life.  Think about it, you would not be here if your parents had not met, it's just that simple.  If one of them had not gotten up the gumption to say, hey, let's get together at some point and do some things (whatever those things were),  the night you were conceived would not have happened.  They took a chance on hanging out with a person they had not previously known, or maybe they knew each other but were afraid to take it to the next level.  But because someone said, okay, this is stupid, let's move forward and change our status quo, you showed up in their lives.  Maybe those exact words weren't used, but you get the gist of what I'm saying.  Perhaps I am just excited because of the change I'm about to experience.  Even five years ago, no one could have told me that I would be walking across a stage in a cap and gown getting a degree in history and religious studies.  Five years ago I was content living in California and working as an account manager for USBank.  But sometimes things happen that force you to change.  Apparently John Lennon said something about "life is what happens while your planning for it" but I prefer to tell people "if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans."  Either way, you can have an idea of what you think should happen in your life, but it's not what always happens.  I have to laugh, because as I finish this, the song that came on my cousin Lynne's station is "Never Never Land" by Lyfe Jennings.  The song talks about this very subject... I'm not sayin' I'm prophetic, but perhaps I have an undeveloped gift...

So, have you embraced change in your life?  Will you do it now? 

So the heart wants what it wants, eh?

I've been thinking about tonight's potential post a lot this week, as I have had some interesting conversations recently about this topic.  The other night, we were all at work discussing how everyone in the office, with the exception of one person, was in an interracial relationship.  That one person sits behind me at work.  With that being said, some of you know this already, I've been seeing a man who is not the same race that I am.  Because of the sensitive nature of this issue, along with other reasons, we have not divulged this information to his family.  There are a number of people in my family that know about him, but I haven't even told all of them about us.  Not because of his race, but because for once in my life I might actually be serious about someone (and I don't want to mess it up), that has yet to be seen for sure.  But I digress...

I really just wanted to talk about the changes I've seen in my lifetime regarding interracial dating.  Although I grew up on the north side of Milwaukee, I spent a lot of time in the suburbs, particularly Whitefish Bay.  There is a reason why this area is nicknamed "White Folks Bay."  It's not a bad thing, it is what it is.  However, this also exposed me to a lot of white people that I may not have known otherwise.  Of course, this probably played a role in my attraction to men who aren't the same race that I am, and by probably I meant it did.  It's not that I never liked any black guys, because God knows there was one in particular that stole my heart for a long time in grade school, but we won't talk about him right now.  What I do notice is it was a big deal for me to go to Homecoming with a white guy sophomore year and Sadie Hawkins/ Winter Formal junior year because that wasn't done at WFB, yet if it happened at the same school today, I would guess that it would not be as big of a deal.  There's something different about this generation, and I like it.

Unfortunately for the rest of us, the only changes that are taking place are within the younger generations.  I don't understand why people still care today who is dating people outside of their race.  I think I may be a little more sensitive to this because I've always hung out with lots of different people, often times realizing I was the ONLY black person in the room (that will happen when you spend the majority of your life in the Midwest).  Maybe I'm thinking about this because of the comments I've heard all of my life, or the names I was called (Oreo? Seriously? I hate the filling in the middle of Oreo cookies! They taste like lard mixed with sugar! Yecch).  Or maybe I'm thinking about this because of the man I'm seeing.  I like him.  I'm thinking race will become an issue with us though, as it is a major concern for him, but not so much for me.  I wish everyone would get where the rest of this younger generation is, because there has got to come a time when people realize that color doesn't matter when you find a good person...

Before you all go trying to bash my special friend for the way he has chosen to handle this situation, I want you to ask yourselves, and be honest, what would you do if you were in the same situation?  Do you think you could bring someone that wasn't the same race as yourself home to meet your parents?  Don't give me that "we're all the same race" bullshit either, because that's not the case... Be totally real with yourself when you answer this question, maybe you will find out something that you didn't realize about yourself or your family and friends.  Do you think your family could accept your significant other if that person was not the same race as you?  Would the racial jokes stop?  How much would have to change about how your family conducts themselves? Take a second, think about it.

I would also like to take this time to think about the parallels between myself and Carrie Bradshaw... I used to pride myself on being anyone but Carrie in Sex and the City, but I'm feeling a lot like that chick lately. Poo. I hope I'm smarter than she is, but I have a feeling I'm not.

Have a good week, my people. 

And in other news...

Tomorrow marks the 43rd anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King.  Tonight marks the 43rd anniversary of his speech to support the unionized Memphis sanitation workers.  I'm thinking about this because Jesse Jackson has spent quite a bit of time in Milwaukee recently, even on a Sunday afternoon radio show today, in order to convince people to go out and vote on April 5th.  I continue to think of the debacle that Wisconsin is experiencing because of the elections from last November.  I'm still amazed because I think back to how so many people said "I'm not voting because neither one of the candidates represent my interests..."  Let me assure you, although I do not think of any one as perfect, no one can convince me that it made sense to stay at home that first Tuesday in November and allow an idiot to go to Madison.  Unfortunately for me and a lot of other people, certain dumbasses did not have the foresight to get out of the house, fill in a ballot, slip it in the poll box, and head to work.  I was so inspired when I voted for Obama, because the last time I stood in a long line to vote was while I lived in Minneapolis.  I'm always afraid when the lines at the polls do not exist, because that means that the people I want in office will not get in there, because those who live around me usually have the same circumstances as I do.  Those who have my same circumstances tend to vote similar to the way I vote.  When my fellow voters stay home, people like Scott Walker get in office.  Here we are, barely five months after that fateful day of voting, and union workers are getting the shaft, Wisconsin lost out on federal aid to build a high speed rail, and the idiot in the Governor's mansion reminds us daily that he doesn't give a shit about the people that voted for him, just the ones who gave lots and lots of money to his campaign (yeah, I know who you are and I won't be purchasing any of your products for a long time, fucktards).  Will I go out and vote on April 5th?  You can bet your bottom dollar I will.  Will I vote for Democrats?  Yessir!  Do I give a fuck who my friends vote for?  Nope, as long as they vote, they can write in Mickey Mouse for all I care.  Will I remain friends with people in Wisconsin who don't take the time to vote on April 5th? Probably not.  By not voting, it shows me that you don't care what happens to my state.  It also shows me that you don't learn from history...

Tonight's blog was supposed to be about people who could kiss my black ass, as I discussed with Amy on Tuesday night.  I didn't talk about some of those people (L. Ron Hubbard and his randy band of scientologists) but I did talk about people who can (specifically those who don't vote, and Scott Walker).  I'll put a picture up of my black ass for those who are ready to kiss it...

Y'all have a good week!!!

My thoughts on celebrities, comedians and things people say.

Most of my friends have no idea how sensitive I really am.  I'm really serious when I say this too, because I've been repeatedly told that I put on this great strong facade with 90 foot walls to protect myself.  Well, it doesn't mean that things don't get to me.  However, I had to say after watching what happened this week while watching George Lopez vs. Kirstie Alley, maybe my skin is thicker than most.  Since when is it wrong to say someone is fat after that person has made money on being fat?  I'm not saying it was nice, nor am I saying it was polite (although the way he said he was pretty polite if you ask me), but I did take it as a joke.  For years, every late night comedian joked about Kirstie Alley's weight.  Now, when George Lopez (who's no stranger to being extra large himself) says something that some consider insulting, she calls him a wolf and threatens to put him in a pot of boiling vodka.  Seriously?  I mean, yeah, he called her a little piggy.  Now, don't get me wrong, when Alec Baldwin said it about his daughter Ireland, that was pretty douchebaggy because 1) she's not fat and 2) he was actually saying it to hurt her.  But when George Lopez insinuates that Kirstie Alley is one, she wants to boil him?  It's a freaking joke.  Wow.  Really?  I guess I'm saying this because I know what it's like to be fat.  I also know what it's like to be a grown up that can take a joke.  I suppose no one ever made fun of Kirstie Alley as a teenager, so maybe she didn't realize there are some things one should be offended by (like things you cannot change about yourself) and things you should just brush off (someone calling you fat).  I know she is working hard to lose weight, but that's why it makes sense to retaliate with "I can lose weight, but your idiocy is forever..."  Threatening violence for something that was goofy?  Too much.  Well, apologies have been issued and accepted, so I guess I should be over it, but I'm just thinking, if you can't take a flippin' joke, then maybe you shouldn't be in show business...

Alright folks, in light of my recent post, my question to you is this... Is there a topic that should be off limits for the sake of not hurting people's feelings?

Also, if you haven't voted for your favorite type of wine, you have until March 31st to do so...

Here we go!

It's been on my mind for a while to start a blog.  Not because I have anything in particular that I need to share with the world, nor do I think of myself as the wisest person I know (I reserve that title for my mother...) I've just had some things on my mind now.  I have some stuff that I think about, some observations... Just some things that I hope will make people think or emote.  I like Facebook, but it's not always the best forum to use for sharing.  First of all, the amount of characters are pretty limited after a while.  Secondly, I'm really into free flowing thoughts right now.  I don't want to feel like things have to be controlled and measured at every turn, and with some people, that's the face I have to put on.  I guess what I'm trying to say is this blog will not necessarily be for the faint-of-heart or goody-two-shoes types.  If you want to see that, you may want to spend time reading something else.  This is just me being me, and I'm keeping it real.  I have every intention of updating this weekly, sometimes more, sometimes less.  I welcome all schools of thought and I encourage people to comment and share, but I will not tolerate anyone saying anything against other people's race, age or religious affiliation (or lack thereof).  If you want to slam someone's political beliefs, I can't stop you, but just know that it's kind of in bad taste considering in my mind, we all are allowed to have a difference of opinion, no matter how wrong yours may be.  Also be aware that I will share my opinion, and because it's my blog, I will say whatever I damn well please.  If you don't like it, don't read it.  FYI, I know this doesn't have real sentence structure or it may not be completely grammatically correct, but I finished English classes in 2008, so since this isn't for a grade, feel free to suck it if you can't handle my writing.  Okay, enough with the tough talk...
Now that I've laid out the ground rules, I just want to know what you guys are thinking about.  So, my question for this post is (wait for it...)

How old were you when you realized it was okay to be yourself and not live for someone else?