Here we are. The last day of one crazy decade. The Aughts have been filled with some crazy events: terrorist attacks, natural disasters, celebrity meltdowns, Youtube. But what I most notice about the double 0's how much I, and the people around me, have changed. At midnight on Jan. 1, 2000, I was a avid church-going high school sophomore who secretly and internally let out one great sigh of relief when Y2K didn't cause the world to implode. Right now...I'm whatever I am now, but I know I am not what I was then. During the 00's, I...
Moved out of my parents' house
Seriously debated moving back in with my parents when times got really tough
Made some friends I now consider to be brothers
Got my first F in high school
Got in two auto collisions
Attended FAMU, hated it, begrudgingly took a liking to it, loved it, made friends with people completely different from myself while there
Learned you can't handle ANY kind of FAMU business over the phone
Developed a thicker skin and much higher standards
Discovered my passion
Discovered what is definitely not my passion
Began secretly judging people when they use poor grammar
Lost a little of my faith
Lost some family and friends (whether by death or drifting apart)
Became a cousin quite a few times and an uncle twice
Got a lap dance from a moderately attractive stripper who wouldn't shut the hell up
Expanded my mind and became more accepting in almost every sense possible (ALMOST)
Began to think of family's mortality
Started drinking
Smoked weed
Saw half of a Ting Tings concert
Came to the realization that I am certainly self-destructive and might be a fuck up
Forged post-high school friendships (or acquaintances) with people whom, while we were in high school, I didn't quit like
Realized the genius that is Tarantino, Lee and Burton
Got some tattoos
Saw some friends naked
Ghost-rode the whip
Almost killed a bi-racial student journalist while playing freeze tag
Learned to appreciate sports and politics
Did some dipping of the skinny
Got my niece to not be afraid of me
Became more confident, yet more self-conscious
Gave my life to The Famuan and didn't feel bad about it at all
Killed people...with laughter
Ate a candy peppermint pig on numerous occasions
Became a movie geek
Learned how to cook thanks to Food Network (Shout out to Giada, Rachel, Bobby, Paula)
Realized where my parents were coming from when they used to say "Music today just isn't the same"
Lost a tooth
Still didn't learn to swim
Stayed single while countless friends got engaged/married
Got really drunk at Colin's wedding and passed out on the way home
Fit five people in a two-door Honda Civic coup and scoured Tallahassee to find Speakerboxx/The Love Below
Voted for the first time
Voted for the first black president and cried like a baby when he won (BTW, I didn't vote for him because he was black)
Shot nude photos for a photography class...and got a B on the project
Became determined to one day take a road trip, do improv comedy, write a book/screenplay, and visit a foreign country with my homies, among other things
Embarked on a one-hour road trip JUST to visit Krystal's (Harold and Kumar will do that to you)
Bore witness to one of the worst attacks in American history
Had a great Easter 2009
Was annoyed with the bad times but absolutely loved the good time
Peed off a balcony on numerous occasions
Took part in a semi-nude chocolate pudding slip-n-slide party that evolved into breaking and entering into an apartment complex's pool where numerous people got naked and everyone turned the hot tub water brown with pudding
Wore my hair in more styles than I care to admit
Had great times with my cousins at our reunions...especially in Daytona
Was present at my first bonfire
Witness a friend vomit on himself AND my damn chair
Got kicked out of a store simply for browsing and returned three days later with my sister, cousin and their friends, gathered nearly $500 worth of merchandise, had the cashier ring it up, and "all of a sudden" decided I didn't want to pay for it. Don't fuck with the Olivers
I know I've done more with my life during the past ten years, but these times stand out to me. Even in the bad times, I was fortunate enough to be surrounded with friends and or family. The B-rand of today might seem more crass and foul than the Brandon of yesteryear, but images can be deceiving. I am more patient, more understanding and wiser than I once was.
I have a greater appreciation of people, places and experiences because I know tomorrow isn't promised. My parents might not be alive tomorrow. My big chance might not exist tomorrow. Even monuments and cities, once thought unshakable, might vanish tomorrow. So I think what I'm trying to say with all of this is that the 00's have forced me to live more in the moment. Why waist moments when our time is running out?
What stood out about your decade? Do tell?
Happy New Year
B-rand
