A Brief Update

Hey hey. It's your favorite writer Tsiambwom(insert laughter). So what's new, what's shakin', what going down, what's pop-a-locking?

Was that lame?

I used to have a bible study teacher that said that every time I walked into the room. She was probably one of the coolest people I knew.

Anyways, this is a brief update.  A lot has happened this past month I suppose.

Well, first off, I've been keeping relatively busy with Griot Stu. To date we've released about 7 videos, including our video blogs. We have another one scheduled to be put out soon.  Promo image for the video below.                                

                         

So we've got the ball rolling quite well on that. Also, we'll be releasing original music within the next couple of months, from local artist and co-producer of Griot Stu, Tre Harris, aka Tripp Maximus.

We tend to do quite a bit. But, I feel it's for the greater good.

I've been busy with work; my schedule changed from 8 to 12, to 8 to 5. That's right people, I work a full day's worth of work now. I'm part of the working class american. On a similar note, taxes suck. You know how much money they take out of your paycheck? It's border line criminal.

What else is new you say?

Well, I now co-teach a dance class for kids. Well, a member of my dance crew and I are forming a kids dance crew, due to the number of people having asked us to teach the children how to dance.  How legit is that? I'm a dance teacher....an instructor.....a sensei of sorts.

Apart from that, not too much is going on. School starts in a few weeks, and summer is winding down. I would say it's been fun, but I spent most of it working, to then see all that money go to rent and food. It's a hard not life for a guy like me, you know?

Until next time then.

Reminisce Over Me

  Hey, and welcome to another installment of According to T. I'm your host Tsiambwom Akuchu.

You know, there comes a point in everyone's life, I think, that they begin to feel the urge, or to describe it more properly, a pull to leave home.(how cliched is that intro?)

But you know that moment people talk about, you know, when the baby bird finally learns to fly and leaves the nest? This is what I mean. It's the point where you walk into the house you grew up in and feel like a stranger; the point where you visit your old church and find that everybody has moved on. You come home for summer vacation and you're maybe lucky that you have 2 or 3 friends still in town with whom you can hangout with and talk about how things are changing.

I used to think that becoming an adult meant that you metamorphosed into this rational, independent, free thinking being, completely capable of contributing to society. How wrong am I? It seems to me that becoming an adult is not this beautiful transformation, but a cold and unfeeling realization. You don't necessarily change, but the world around you definitely does. Becoming an adult is just how you are expected to react to this change, or rather, how you choose to react. Hopefully within the 18plus years you've been alive you've learned enough about responsibility and how to be a functioning member of the 'real world' that you react the correct way.

So why is this my topic or discussion today?

Well I just so recently just went back home to Atlanta to spend fourth of July with my family. I came home to familiar sights and sounds, delicious smells and a full house. About three years ago, this was the norm.

My family consists of five children and two parents. Seven in total. Now you can imagine how hectic that gets. Well, here is that change I was talking about. The three oldest kids, including me have all graduated and moved off for college; my older sister in Texas, I at Georgia Southern, and my younger brother at Georgia Tech. This means the house has now gone from a bickering seven, to a disagreeing four. Oh how quiet it must be.

When I came back for fourth of July, everyone was there, and it all seem normal. But then I walked into my room, and change hit me. It hit me with a wave of nostalgia and faded memories. Adulthood hit me. I looked around and realized that room hasn't been used in a year or so. It has become a time capsule of my childhood. Every drawer, every cabinet, every upturned pillow, and sprawled over book was a memory from the past. It is a pensive of random memories and friends from highschool past. I spent part of my weekend my room, just reminiscing. As I flipped through yearbooks and old scripts, I came across my brothers memories. It seems the room has become his pensive as well.

On the drive back to my apartment, I couldn't help but think about this, and all I could think was, where have my childhood friends gone, where did everyone I used to know go? And of course, whenever you're thinking about your past, you always have to bring up old regrets and stupid decisions. It's a general rule.

You know, I realize that, every mile I drove further from home, is another mile between my childhood and adolescent self. I guess this is growing up....

Moving on. But you know, change is not so bad...well, at least not when you've had to grow up with it.

Until next time friends.

Sundjata Keita - The Lion King

                          This is the story of how I became a dancer.

Sundjata Keita, or as it translates to English, is The Lion King. Sundjata is an epic hero from Africa. He was a crippled child who wished to walk like the rest of the other children, but was mistreated and scorned by pretty much everybody, even his family. Everyone except his mother who always loved him. Through his own strength of will, and a drive to protect his mother, Sundjata learned to walk, and in the process gained superhuman abilities.

I am Sundjata Keita.

Well, that's my dancer name anyways. The name my alter ego takes on when he dances. In the dancing world it is custom to have a nickname or a name that represents you. Now it can be your real name or an edited version of it, a nickname, or something completely different and abstract. People tend to choose things that represent their style, example: Liquid or Zoom. Others choose their nickname and add on their crew's name, example: Tre Lotus.

 I am a bboy, a certain type of dancer, and when referring to a bboy, you generally say Bboy "insert name here".  Unlike most bboys, I wanted my name to stand alone, like a first and last name. You wouldn't have to call me bboy sundjata all the time. You would just say that's Sundjata, or Sundjata Keita. One of my favorite bboys goes by Kid David. and I think that's just the coolest.

Anyways, why "Sundjata" you say? Well, when I first started dancing, I had the hardest time coming up with a name that suited me, my style, my personality. I believe some early drafts of my name were Trade Mark and Bboy T.M. Not overly creative(TM were my initials). Not  long after I started dancing more seriously, I realized I wanted a name that had meaning to it and represented me and where I come from. For a while, my name became Anansi, the African god of illusion and storytelling. You can see how that translates to dancing. Unfortunately, there was already a Bboy Anansi, who at the time I would say was much better than me from the videos I saw.

A few weeks or so ago, I was online. I'm not exactly sure what I was up to, but I stumbled across African Epics. I ran across the Epic of Sundiata. This vaguely tickled my memory from world history in high school, so I clicked on it and read through it. I immediately thought, this is it, my dancer name. I am Sundiata.

When I was little, I was a very sickly little child. I frail and weak, and scared of everything. And I mean everything.  I was uncoordinated and not very athletic. Then I moved this country and stayed pretty much the same. This wasn't very good considering that being a little boy in this country required you to bond with your friends over sports and outdoor games. I spent my time reading books and watching british period dramas on PBS.

 The older I grew, I eventually came to realize that I didn't have to be always scared, and avoid everybody by being book and that I can adapt and be with people. When I got to highschool, I decided that I was going to change myself. I wanted to be......better. The best me I could be. I picked up sports, became coordinated, in good shape, and all that. And then one day at summer camp, I was practicing a dance move I had picked up. A friend of mine commented saying "Hey T, that's pretty good, I didn't know you danced." That comment meant the world to me. It meant I was finally taking a step away from being that frail little weak child who was always afraid.

When I read the Epic of Sundiata, I immediatelybrealized that this was me. Through my own force of will I became who I wanted to be. Against all natural odds(believe me), I became a dancer. And a bboy at that, which if anyone knows what a bboy is, is a superpower in itself. Now your saying, "but the title of the post is Sundjata". Well, Sundjata is the natural African pronunciation of Sundiata. Keita was Sundjata's last name. I just decided to adopt the whole thing.
I am Sundjata Keita (Bboy Sundjata).

Well, that was a lot of words for one post. I hope I didn't too terribly bore you. Oh and please, keep the African and Lion King jokes to a minimum in the commentary. Yes I understand, I am an African, going by the title Lion King, whatever. Moving on.

Just One of the Girls

     Hey there friendly neighborhood bloggers. It's about that time again.In my update post a couple days ago, I talked about my summer job. Well, more correctly, I mentioned it in passing, but I did say it.

     The job I have is with the university, through the housing program. What I basically do is clean the residence halls on campus and prepare them for the incoming freshman in the fall. We also clean after various summer programs that use the residence halls on campus. Let me go on a quick tangent here for a second or two. Now, I appreciate this this job. I get paid, 8.50 an hour and the people are great, which I'll get to later in this post....BUT, college students can be....unsanitary to say it mildly. It takes a hard soul, strong mind,  an incredible force of will, and an iron stomach to clean up after college students. DISCLAIMER: what I'm about to describe might make the strongest of you uneasy. I have seen things. Things that would make a grown man cry. Things that should not have to exist but they do. Things so evil....Have you ever walked into a room and get hit in the face with a smell so disgusting it physically shakes you. It sends a chill down your spine and rocks your very core? Have you ever walked into a bathroom to find what generally would be an opaque shower curtain, black and spotted like a leopard....and find the toilet the same? I apologize but this probably is my first and last time working this job. Oh well, tangent over.

     Now, to my main point of this post. My co-workers. At work we the student workers are put into teams of workers to clean the dorms and apartments, and our teams are supervised by team leaders, the permanent work staff at Southern. I had started work a few days late, and when I got there, I was randomly assigned a team. As it turns out I was assigned to a group of all girls. Which mind you, I don't mind. In the past month and half of work our team has grown from 3 workers, not including our supervisor, also a woman to 6. All girls. Only team like mine.

     I have spent this summer learning the intricacies of a girls mind....a black girl's mind. All my coworkers are very strong, independent and free thinking black women. I have come to discover that there are very few differences between a guy and a girl, despite the anatomical. I have found out that girls can be just as vulgar, lewd, and twisted as a guys. They are also funny, and smart, and quite frankly better than guys....sometimes. And after listening to my team members talk, I really don't understand what girls see in guys. The amount of....crap girls put up with from guys is ridiculous. I don't don't even think we're worth it.

     It also seems that I've been readily accepted as one of the girls...well considering I am outnumbered 6 to 1. But, for the most part, whether I like it or not, I'm one of the girls. I'm privy to the details of girls lives that many guys don't get to experience. From talking about shopping and getting hair and nails done, to personal problems about guys and health. It's an interesting world. Sometimes I don't even think they realize I'm there. Just the other day, they were discussing skin tones and tans and talking about how light their skin gets on the parts of their body that stays covered up. I almost thought that they were gonna lift up their shirts and show each other what they were talking about, and I was quite flustered and kinda just sank into the corner. I mean....I guess that's just the way it is.

      If by this summer I have learned anything, I would like to think that I learned a little something about girls. Well, women. Anyways, I'll finish out this post for now. Tomorrow is another day of work. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned.

A Griot is an African Storyteller

                           

Ladies and Gentlemen, Griot Studios

 Hey everyone. This is Griot Studios. That's our logo up top. I mentioned in the prior post the origins of Griot Stu and it's purpose for the most part. Griot Stu is a collaborative effort with my roommate Tre, the artist. It was born out of the need to do more professional work within our field of interests, and seeing how they were so closely related, we decided to join forces.  The name Griot Stu comes from me and Tre. Griot is the part I came up with. A griot is an african storyteller, and that's basically what we are trying to do, tell a story, our story, someone else's, a fictional character. Anybody. Plus, I'm african. Stu comes from the abbreviated version Tre likes to say studios. Whenever he came back from art class or from doing the project he'd always say, "Just came back from the stu guys." We think it's clever, but what do we know. We're not that cool.

As of right now Griot Stu operates as a name brand of sorts. We sorta kinda just stick the label on whatever work we do, but our main main function is producing videos for youtube. The videos are anything and everything, from short films, to dance videos, to comedic shorts. Our other productions include visual art, blogs, and music, although the art and music will take a little time to set up. Tre is working on his first mixtape now and is almost done with it. He goes by the rap name Tripp Maximus, so be on the lookout for that. Also, this blog is now under the production of Griot Stu. It's post are now promoted by the studios. Which is also why I will be blogging more heavily now. Gotta produce material for the team. 

Right now, there are four main facets to Griot Stu: GriotMusic, GriotArt, GriotFilms, and GriotWorks, which includes blogging and other social media. We launched with our first video about a week ago and will be keeping updates between our main videos with a video blog.

I personally think we have something amazing on our hands. I mean, not many people put in this kind of work for something they love to do, or I guess they do, since they love it. Anyways, I feel like it's a step in the right direction. The videos we make are something that I want to put on my personal portfolios as an actor. It's something I want to leave college saying I did, that will help further my career. 

I don't know, sometimes it feels like a dream, and I am always half a step from waking up and other times it feels like I'm about to fall asleep.....I think that makes sense. I don't speak cryptically often, but I am pretty good with my analogies, haha.

                     Well, time for some selfless promoting. Check out our first production: Mobbin

and subscribe to our youtube channel. It's a dance short film. I know you have one if you're on blogger. And also like our Facebook page: Griot Stu

You know, when boils down down to the core of why we made Griot Stu, it's just that we are just two artist trying to make it in the world. We understand that our road is longer and harder than most, yet, we still persevere to trying and make it. And not just because we seek fame or fortune or the superficial things, but because we can't imagine our lives without doing what we do. So, give us a chance to tell our story, show you our work. We promise you won't be disappointed.

What Else is New

Hey there blogosphere. It's been.....too long. I know a few posts back I promised to be a more wholehearted blogger. Here we are, more than a couple months later and I have nothing to show for that promise. Well, this time, it's going to be different.

     I sound just like a regular guy huh. Making promises, but failing to follow through. These are traits that I generally try to stifle but every once in awhile, I'm T, just another guy who can't live up to his promise. Well, anyways, I'm here now. A lot has happened in my few months of hiatus. It didn't even hit me that I wasn't blogging until about a few weeks ago, my friends asked me if I had posted anything new. I felt so bad realizing I hadn't, and even worse when i realized somebody somewhere reads my stuff. Well, this post is dedicated to all those that looked at my blog whilst I was away.

An Update:

In the now,
- It's summertime- (awesome, what else is new)

- I have a job, part time, but a job nonetheless. It's with the university I go to, Georgia Southern, so I stayed in Statesboro for the summer instead of going home to Atlanta (a semi-regrettable decision). *btw* I clean the dorm rooms for after the freshman have left for summer....it's terrible, just terrible.

-I got my first lead in a play for the summer theatre at Georgia Southern. Lead as in, I am one of the main characters the story is about. How awesome is that? It was shakespeare too. As You Like It. I played Orlando, the love interest, which was new....I've never really played the main love interest.

- Griot Studios. My roommate Tre, I have mentioned in an earlier post, have created a team, a production team of sorts, and have come up with a name brand. Griot Stu, aka Griot Studios. It's an idea sparked by one of my good friends Amy. She and I had big dreams freshman year of college and even wanted to start our own Theatre Company. Well she no longer goes to school here, and is now trying to make it in Atlanta, which is awesome!! Well, I have been feeling the urge to do something with my life already, you know start preparing for the future and begin to build my career in acting. One of my professors once said, "If you can't find work, make work." Basically, if you can't find a theatre to work in or can't find auditions, do your own stuff, put on your own plays, make your own films. And thus, Griot Stu. It my proactive step towards the future. More on Griot Stu in another post. In the meantime, check out the Facebook Page, like it if you will: Griot Stu

- Oh and I'm also auditioning for a talent agency in Savannah in a few weeks. More on that later too.

In the past,

-I was voted Co-President f the student organization for theatre, Theatre South, at my school (whaaaat!?!). Apparently I'm a pretty good leader.

- My friends and I formed a new crew...2 new crews actually, a breakdance crew - Bridge Breakers, and a krumping crew - Euphorian Monsters. We will be making a lot of videos this summer. Produced by Griot Stu.

Well, that's all for this post. Keeps your eyes and ears open everybody, there's a lot more coming your way.

To Feel or Not To Feel, I choose the first

My friends tell me I tend to be closed off, not open up, or keep things merely topical. In fact it's what's come to be expected of me. It's not that I try to do that, but that it's my default state of being. For that matter I know I come off as cold, or very uninterested sometimes. that's not the case. From a rather young age, I taught my self to keep emotions down. You don't need them to interact with the real world, just the basics would suffice. A smile here, a frown there, an inquisitive look for when I was confused.. I can even remember the very moment at which this became a solid decision.

 It was a car ride with my parents. They were dropping me off for my first ever summer camp. A week with  out them. I was excited to tell them something about it., and all I wanted was for them to give me their attention for just a few minutes. I tried to tell them and I can just remember them getting really angry, and telling me to shut up. Now, I already had the mentality of a shy quiet kid, but when my parents yelled at me to shut up, I just...I took it hard. This was the first and last time they would do that.

 It also seems to be a family trait which I have unintentionally mastered because I picked it up earlier. This also had the side effect of limiting my ability to pick up emotions in other. I take everybody, everything at face value. what you give me is what I understand. 

If you put all this into account, you must wonder how I got through school, or anything for that matter. Friendships, relationships, family...how did I handle it. When I look back on it, I acted. being the introverted quiet kid I was, I spent a lot of time observing people, especially in different emotional states. I learned to judge a situation and the people in it, and the act out accordingly. I suppose that's how I gained the initial skill to act. 

What's ironic now is that acting, has taught my how to "feel" again, for lack of a better way of phrasing it. Well not acting alone, my friends and several people have had this effect. What I recently learned was that, to act something with the truest of emotion, you have to feel it, actually feel it. Draw from life experience and funnel it into what you are doing. I came to the realization that there is very little I have "felt" in my life. And thus, I intend to fix it, to correct what ever it is that barricades my emotions. 

You know what, emotions are conflicting, but they are also exciting, incredible, exhilarating.  I have begun to allow myself to accept what I feel. To accept how I feel about people, and not just push it away and hope it doesn't stay long. And of course, I have begun o realize many things. Mostly, that I'm an idiot but also that this is for the better. Maybe my friends will see that now, who knows. I may just not be good at expresses emotions, but I'm working on that too.