Greatness is a Process

"We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it"
-Rick Warren

Fun Fact: I am a 3rd generation Washingtonian!! I've lived everywhere in DC except SW (i believe) and although I've grown to enjoy a more subtle less urban life; I haven't forgot where I came from. It's actually quite interesting as my memory is horrible yet childhood memories can be triggered by something as small as an old song or just looking back at pics. My parents graduated from Dunbar High which prolly been tore down and reconstructed 4 times over since the 80's. My roots start in DC, mostly Southern Ave. I lived there for 13 yrs. Ever since I left I've always had dreams of this place and wanted to go back. I used to pass by it and reminisce of my childhood here. I was being spontaneous one afternoon with Mason in the car and finally decided to stop there. It had been 22 years since walking those grounds and what once seemed so huge felt small. Like dmn did the neighborhood shrink? 

"A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots"
-Marcus Garvey

I parked right behind the building of where we lived. It's exactly how I remembered it besides a few updates around the windows (we had the crank method to open it vs sliding it) but I stood in the parking lot looking around and taking it all in. I was in the very spot where my mom's car was repeatedly broken into and vandalized. I was in the spot near the trash where someone was fatally shot. I was in the spot where I would race back in forth from one playground to the next with my friends. I was home! As I gave Mason a tour and marvaled at changes throughout the grounds, I opened the door to my building and walked up the steps...

Aaaah I remember when my mom fell up these steps holding my baby brother, Kash (lol) and as bad as I would've loved to knock on my old apartment door to walk through, I realized ummm...these aren't the days where celebrities knock on the door wit the camera crew talking bout "Oh hey I used to live here can I invade ur space and look around ur home to compare to the good ol' days-thanx" lol yea naw!! 

 

I really pondered on this post for a minute and archived it for a while (Sept to be exact n my hair has grown a lot since then yet cut all over again haha) but I guess speaking on where and how I grew up is personal. Like REALLY personal. Sometimes you can meet a person and judge them off what's in ur face or what they have now without truly knowing their background or what they've gone through to get to where they are today. We come through so many different walks of life yet nobody really talks about it-the good ol' days I guess. We are shaped from our childhood and upbringings. I try to teach Mason to be appreciative of what he has because our kids grow up with more luxuries than we did. He will never know what it's like to go without AC. He will never know how to live wit roaches. He will never know what it's like to eat cereal with water. He will never know what it's like to live in the hood which makes my job that much harder for him to learn street smarts. I look at these kids now and days who lack street smarts (common sense) that would be so lost in the world I grew up in. I officially feel like an old head watching my younger siblings and family grow up now. How unfair it is that kids won't know what it's like to drive a bucket **eye roll** I mean hell in 5 yrs, Mason will surely be driving and if I decide to pass down my car **pause to think** his first car will have all the bells n whistles >:< eeeehhhh lemme ponder on that...

So while visiting I found it so cute and innocent for Mason to see random kids playing and joining in. This kid makes friends anywhere. When I was growing up there wasn't many kids near my complex but when they slowly trickled in, I went outside by the swings and we all gravitated towards each other until the gang grew. I used to be so press to throw my book bag down n head straight outside. Other kids from other complexes always came to our side to hang wit us. My friends taught me how to ride a bike, hop out a swing, and double dutch. We hated rainy days but mainly retreated to loitering the hallways or somebody house. 

This post isn't a prelude to a book of my life but just to briefly give a glimpse of where I'm from. My life is far from where I used to be and I'm blessed to have better circumstances within my life and provide a better opportunity for Mason. Although I do have an air about me (a manner of behaving that conveys an impression) I am still an around the way girl ;)

smooches

 

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