Blog

Map Something Out

/ Psal121 / Leave a comment

When you are going somewhere, map something out so that you will have a sense of where you are going. A map will give you a landscape of what you will encounter on the way so that there are no big surprises.  It will also tell you how you will travel and how much ground you will cover.

When I start fleshing out an idea, I map it out. Since I am a visual person, there are little shapes here that hold small ideas and big shapes there that hold big ideas. The whole thing will become my response to the journey that I am on.

Your map doesn’t have to look like everyone else. It just has to tell you the information you need when you need it. It can be a representation of items to remind you what you need to do.

It can show where you start and how far you have gone.   It will give you a visual representation of your journey also reminding you of what you have been through. Sometimes at the end of the year, we review our progress and it doesn’t seem like we have done much.  It may seem like we stay in the same place for a long time, but we forget about the times we go up high mountains or down to deep valleys. We should account for those times and think about what we learned in the process.

Map 2

Where You Like to Go

/ Psal121 / Leave a comment

One of my favorite places has more than 100 museums which are free to visit.  It reminds me of what we have accomplished as a nation and some things we need to do better. It is one of the most powerful cities on the planet but it is still open to visitors.

It can majestic, beautiful and inspiring. It can be scary, unfriendly and confusing. Washington DC is lots of things to lots of people.

According to Fodor, don’t rent a car or grab a taxi. The travel site suggests you use public transit, like the Metro. I am a fan of the Metro and use it whenever I am in town.  But don’t get so attached to the transit system that you forget to look at a map.

One time my friends left an hour before me to get to the museum by train.  My ten-minute walk across the Mall got me there when they exited the train station.  It is a great city to experience on foot. DC

When you go make sure you plan a visit to the White House.  This is something you have to do in advance, but it is worth it.  There are many rules and high security, but to walk through history is the result. One year we went during Christmas which they allowed us to take our phones and take photos.  It was an amazing experience.

There are lots of places to visit in this city and you will not get to most in one visit.  Yet for me, the historical points keep me coming back.  A visit to Ben’s Chili Bowl or to walk through the campus of Howard University inspires me.

For me, DC is like a good book with chapter after chapter. It never ends.  There is always something more interesting to see.

 

 

Where You Come From?

/ Psal121 / Leave a comment

Always remember. Honor it. It made you.

Fort WorthHonestly, there are some days I don’t get me. But when I visit home it becomes clear. Crystal.

My hometown is Fort Worth, Texas where the west begins, but still stuck in the old south. It had great chicken fried steak and sweet tea. There are good schools that pass out fine educations.  I went to school with some of the best and brightest.

In high school, I got to interview Alan Bean, Astronaut from the Apollo 12 mission for the school newspaper because he was a graduate from the same school. I remember this moment because he made all of the other media wait and gave me the first few minutes of his time.  It made a lasting impression.

For many years the city was gerrymandered so that Republicans could maintain control of government positions.  I lived in an African American neighborhood south of downtown Fort Worth, and my congressional representative was a physician who lived in South Lake, one of the richest neighborhoods in the state.  There were no town halls with him but I did learn that I lived in a food desert, which is an urban area where it is difficult to buy affordable or fresh food. This neglect made a lasting impression.

It is still a city plagued with racist ideas because the current leadership does not appreciate what marginalized voices bring to the table.  The majority still believe that electing a sheriff that kicks out immigrants is the way to fix our problems. The majority believes electing officials who cover up abusive police officers is the way to handle problems. It is making a national impression.

Knowing that I come from this type of environment makes me cautious because some things I might think are normal, are probably racist. Some of the things I have learned to live with, I probably should not have.

So look at where you come from because it will definitely affect where you are going.