Ripped Page #2

“That’s how I knew that I was different.”

– Nipsey Hussle

To start, I just want to say I feel like everyone is born to be great. We are all made and created to be so different, and to stand out with our unique qualities that God has given us. Living in this world you meet many different types of people, some quiet, some shy, some are nice, and some are straight up assholes. ( I think I fit that category.) But the two type of people that stand out the most to me are the “go-getters” and the people on “cruise-control.”

The process of finding yourself and what you are meant to do plays a role into determining which type of person you are. Before I became a tattoo artist I went to college, as everyone else does, in search of finding a career that could potentially land me a decent job so I could provide for my future family. At first it was engineering, then I ran into calculus and that changed real quick. During this time I was slowly becoming a lover of art so I thought maybe I should find a field of work within that industry. I ended up choosing graphic design. Many of you may not know, but I have my associates degree in that field. After obtaining my degree, one of my professors said he could give me a recommendation for a job with this company. The company was nationally credited, and made trophies and awards for NCAA bowl games, Nascar, etc. At the moment I just needed a job because I had just lost mine not too long before and I still had bills coming in. So I decided to take him up on his offer, and he was able to get me on.

No lie, I was kind of excited to be starting my new job. Many of you know the feeling after college and you get your first (real/adult) job. I was married at the time so I thought every thing was going how it should. (nigga what? married? Yes, I’ll explain that in another blog.) My first thought after my first day was that the job was alright. It really wasn’t what I thought it was going to be, but I thought maybe it would grow on me, maybe I could grow within the company over time and become one of the higher ups. Right there showed me where my mind was. I knew that I wanted more for myself, that I was created to do more.

As time went on at this job I met a lot of different people. Many were older than me and had been working there for years. I’m talking 20 plus years. By then you would think, damn they should be running the company? NOPE! They still basically had the same job title as me. This shit hit me and had me thinking on another level. “Will this be me?” How many years until I get fed up and leave? The biggest question I had was.. “Why are they still here?”

This question hit me like someone blowing cigarette smoke in your face. It was toxic like morning breathe. That’s when I knew I wanted; I had to be different. That’s when I realized that some people get so comfortable with just making it and getting by in life that they forget all about their dreams. The dreams they always dreamed about, the goals they made for themselves, all of of this was out the window. I understand that sometimes we as people are put into situations to where you have to make a sacrifice. Maybe you have a child you have to provide for, maybe you’re taking care of a family member, or whatever the case; but when you have a dream or a goal, nothing should stop you from reaching that. This is where the “CRUISE-CONTROL” people get up and walk out.

I remember one day at work going to the bathroom and just crying in one of the stalls. Asking myself how did I get myself into this position. That day was the day I said nothing is going to stop me from reaching my dreams, no job, nobody’s opinion, not shit. I was going to work hard for mine no matter how many hours I had to work, no matter how long it took, I was going to make it happen!

And just like that, I started the pursuit to my dream..