Here We Go Again

 After a 3 year hiatus, guess who's back for season two of this blog!?

...

...Can I insert gifs in this thing?

But really, it's been a while....yeah....so how much can happen in three years you say? Let's play a quick game of catch up shall we. I'm back and about 20 times better than you last read about me

               When last we left our budding protagonist (that's me) I was in the middle of a summer job moving into my junior year of college. I had just taken a year-long break from acting, and started back up that summer, playing Orlando in As You Like It, (that was a trip). Had a brief stint as Hamlet there for a while, did a whole lot of dancing, blah blah blah, graduated college and now I'm in grad school. Don't worry the blah blah blahs will be filled in over time, as well as the whole Hamlet thing.

               So here I am, I've just finished my first year of grad school, in Acting, what what! *raises the roof like it's 2005* If you can't quite tell yet, I've changed. A lot. Oh, and also I'm in Montana. Yeah, I'll get to that later too. I feel I should have warned you, my dearest reader, of how very stream of consciousness this post was going to be...but hey, where's the fun in that? You guys have missed some major landmarks, cause I was too lazy to push the buttons on my laptop. So yeah, the last three years. There's been fun, laughter, homework, endless papers, girls ( I'll talk about some very important moments in my recaps. no worries, no real names or accounts. just pseudo-fictional stories in relation to my experiences. *imagine I just burst out into an ad-libbed song for this next sentence* It's gonna get personal.), alcohol, some interesting and frankly bizarre adventures (remind me to tell you about some hypothetical parties I've been to. Like the party I ended up at in the hills outside of town the first weekend in Montana or the one time I ended up an after after party that was fueled by some less than reputable substances.) You know I think every story I tell will be hypothetical and pseudo-fictional. It is a crazy time in my life right now, and I'm barely following it. Everything is new...kinda, and different...sorta, and very vivid. I am not the nineteen-year-old undergrad that started this blog, and who knows what I'll be by the time I graduate with my MFA. I still can't understand feelings but I feel A LOT of them and the more I live life the less I expect it to go the way I planned. Oh well. I will say this, in grad school, I have never felt simultaneously more idiotic and well-learned at the same time. I was told that was normal for grad school. It's about 3 am right now and I am writing this from behind a mountain of books I checked out from the library this semester.

               Oh did I mention that I'm going on tour this summer with a children's theatre around the country? Life is crazy. In fact, I took a break from memorizing lines (which I'm not doing so hot on right now) to write up this post. So let me wrap up. Before I wrote up this post, I looked through my previous ones. I was...a very analytical kind of guy back then. These season's posts I can tell, while still being a touch analytical, will be a lot more...in the moment. Storylike. Kinda like a diary or memoir if you will. So expect lot's of stories, and from the way my life is going, lot's of crazy ones. So join me please as we explore the human condition that is life. Life from the very singular perspective of my existence. Life according to me....get it?

one more gif so I feel well rounded: Until later blog fans

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.

Dream a little dream

          I'm still not exactly sure what to blog about. I mean, I don't know what to say or write about. So for now, I'm just gonna write about what is most on my mind at a given time.


          Well today, I'll like to talk about dreams. You know, the fall asleep and lose track of reality type of dream. I've always wondered if dreams had special qualities. Did they solve some sub-conscious problems, did they tell the future, were they a window into our true self, or are they just something to entertain our mind for eight hours a day when everything goes dark. Recently, I've had some weird dreams and I couldn't help but question them. Most of them were unnervingly realistic and the rest were flat out crazy, though I do think they would make a hell of plot to an action movie. As long as you didn't question it.

So about those dreams I've had, let me share with you a few. First off, after I wake up from a really bizarre or important dream, I do my best to try and remember it in detail. As most people know, it's really hard to remember a dream. We lose 50% of a dream about a minute after we wake up, and forget about 90%  ten minutes after we wake up, but I tried my best to remember.

My most recent dream, was disturbing. I mean it scared me. And not scared me like, oh my god a ghost, no. Scared me as in, I was scared of myself. The me in that dream. It was a very realistic version me me. And he was angry. So very angry. The circumstances to why he was angry were ridiculous, but the emotion I felt was very real. I wanted to destroy everything. I felt pure contempt, and I know I could have gone further. So much...further. When I woke up, it was still there. All that anger and rage. Then slowly it faded into the recesses of my mind. But I know it's there.

I've discovered that a lot of my dreams tell me about myself. It's interesting. I've been going through a physical and emotional change lately, and it's effected the way I think. That's been reflected in my other dreams. this dream I feel reflects the fact that I've been more open, emotionally lately. Letting in happiness and hints of love here and there. But it seems that cracked a door in my mind to let in, the other emotions. Ones I've had problems with. It also didn't help that I had to play some really angry characters in a few scenes lately. I've had..issues expressing anger, because I don't usually bother with it. But having to find anger so I could play it onstage has changed things. But all this is a lot for one post.

There is one thing I believe dreams do occasionally, and that is they answer questions. They most likely won't be the one plus one equals two type questions, but the are important questions about ourselves. Questions that ask who we are, what do we believe in, and what kind of person we want to be. 

Until next time then.

My First Solo Performance

         Over the course of a year, I tend to be in a lot of performances, be it Theatre or Showchoir or with my dance crew, Euphoria. And as it turns out to be, there are no records of me doing any of this. Well, here is my most recent performance, and it happens to be my first "solo" performance, dancing anyways. But this is from a variety show that the Theatre department put on at Georgia Southern. But anyways, here it is. My dance skit, entitled 'New Shoes'.




p.s. Overlook my long lanky arms. They are quite disproportionate to my body and tend to....'flail'. I'm hoping  one more growth spurt will take care of that, and I'll look normal. Enjoy!!!

Acting vs Real World

     Everyone knows what the real world is. It's that place where everything you want to happen doesn't happen and the last thing you need to happen does. I mean, it never works the way you want. But that's ok, because  again, it's the Real World. Reality is a very exhausting place to be. And when you have to commit yourself fully to it, well sometimes it doesn't seem worth it.

     I mention in an earlier post that I was an aspiring actor/dancer. Reality is the worse place to be one of those. In all honesty, the chances of me making to the top as an actor or dancer are rather slim. but I'm banking on the chance I've got. I was talking to my roommate Greg the other about where we want to go in the future with our acting, how far would we like to take it. Of course were both want to be the best, make it to the top; beat the odds and become the greatest of the greats. But as an actor the There is a high probability that we could spend the rest of our acting careers as extras in the background, or doing commercials for erectile dysfunction pills. As unfortunate as that might sound, even the actors doing those commercials are the lucky ones. They made it doing something.

     But Greg and I were sitting on our couch and thinking, those people had dreams too. They probably wanted to be the best of the best, be the highest and brightest star in the sky. Yet, the std medication infomercial you see on late night TV  may be the highest and brightest they could be.

     I am also a little envious of those people, because they are doing what they love to do, although, I'm not sure they love being in an std infomercial, but still. They are getting paid to act. That's the dream. That's the goal. A friend of mine, Corbin, plans on moving to New York I think, after he earns his degree in Musical Theatre. His goal is Broadway. Now his hardships are the same. He knows he's probably looking at a part-time job while going to audition after audition in hopes of breaking into the business. I feel for him, I'm in the same boat. I'm thinking of joining him when the time comes to move on from college.

     So until the that day comes when we finally make it big, and get that dream job, it's just gonna be us, the actors, the performers versus the Real World.

Fate and the Artists

Fate and The Artists....

Well, as I said in my first post, I am a college student, Sophomore, 19 years old.

I attend Georgia southern University and I am a double major in Theatre and Journalism.

I am in a dance crew, Euphoria (E4a).

I am in a show choir, Academy of Peforming Arts/Men In Black.

I am what you would call, "an artist."

Now, what's weird is that, my freshman year at Georgia Southern, I was roommate matched to my current roommate,  Tre. He is in the truest sense of the word, an artist. He makes art. He paints and draws, and it is amazing. His main medium is colored pencils....have you ever seen a life-like portrait...in colored pencil? He's the secretary of the Art League, and his art just made cover page for an art magazine here. Here's his art that won:

 And that was the rough draft...
On top of that he dances as well, he is in The Lotus Crew, and he does poetry/raps. He's really good.

This year we are rooming with two other guys in an apartment.

One of them is Greg.
Greg, doesn't do art, but Greg, is an actor. He's like a budding Robert Deniro (his favorite actor), and he lives in my apartment. He was just nominated for the Irene-Ryan College acting competition based off his acting in a play we just did.

The judges nominated him. That guy, front and center in the newspaper. Greg dances as well, but not as much as me, or Tre. But you know what, Greg sings. When I say Greg sings, he can sing.

The fourth roommate, Stephen, is actually an engineering major...but he is one of the best dancers I've ever seen. Though he claims to have given up, and retired. Check him in his "glory days".

Did I mention Stephen created the Lotus Crew, well Super Lotus is the name.

So there you have it; the artist, the actor, the dancer and me, the intermediary, doing a little bit of all of it. I don't know if fate is real, or the concept that we are all on a pre-destined path.Who knows if we were supposed to meet each other. But the fact that four random guys can find their way to each other, at one random school, with somewhat the same goals in life amazes me. How does that happen? What pulls us there?

When we are all in the apartment together, we don't talk about any of that. It's all mentioned in passing and celebrated with cupcakes Tre brings from work. Tre is a decorator at a Bakery. But when we are all there, we are just four dudes hanging out. Talking about the real world, talking about how getting a full time job is gonna suck, how paying rent, and taxes and all that is gonna suck. We watch movies and eat Chinese food. We talk about girls, and girlfriends, and how no one understands them. We talk about farts and poop and time travel. But that's just how it is.

Quit frankly, I don't know what brought us together in that apartment, fate or coincidence, whatever. But I feel that we control what happens next. We can be as great as we want. I think they all feel that way too.

Commitment

     It's been a while since I've posted something. Roughly 3 plus months or so. Now I only have about 2 posts to begin with, and my blog is fairly new. The weight of the neglect is slightly overwhelming. I guess that's why I'm talking about commitment. It is a very powerful thing, and the reason why I haven't been writing as much. I guess it's also the reason I'm writing now. A personal rule of mine is to always finish what you start, meaning that when I do something, I do it all out. I am a bit of a perfectionist as well so it takes a while for me to finish things. As I speak I have about 4 or 5 rough drafts worth of posts that I am still tweaking, making it's perfect for public viewing. But I digress. I've been committed to a lot of things lately, voluntarily and involuntarily, and I've been the busiest I've ever been in my life. I suppose it's good for me.

     Commitment is hard though. It takes a lot of work, will power, dedication and perseverance.  I mean take school as an example. You may not see it this way, but you are committed to school (if you go to school). You wake up early in the morning for what seems like a never-ending period of time and prepare yourself to go to school. That takes will power. That takes dedication like no other. That takes you, willing push yourself to go to class and sit through boring lecture after boring lecture. That's commitment if I ever saw it. For me, it's not only school. I am in four or five organizations which I am highly active with, and even on the leadership. Finding time to do all of it is hard, and it barely fits in my schedule. But I've committed to them, and I will pursue them whole heatedly. 

     But why? Why do all these things, commit yourself, take up your time with these commitments. 

     In my opinions, it's the rewards. I suppose I believe that the rewards far outweigh the costs. Its similar to a relationship. You put in work to get to know someone, stick with them through thick and thin, and all because the rewards of being with that person far outweighs the cost of being with them. The reward for a relationship is love, for school it's knowledge and a better opportunity in life. Unfortunately, I'm no good at relationships. I'm good at doing...stuff, and I don't quite know what the rewards for all I do is, but I believe it's gonna be great.

You know what, I'll let you know when I get them.

p.s. I'll try to have 3 to 5 posts a week from now on.

500 words or less

          Hello blogosphere.

          Like I said earlier in my first post, I am a college student. A rising sophomore to be precise. And like any other college student, I have quite a bit of writing ahead of me, although, I do like to write. Its one of my better qualities, something I think I'm decent at. And when Journalism is one of your majors, it helps a little.Well I was filling out some essays for scholarships and I'd figured I'd post them. The one I am posting now was a short one. The rules were: 500 words or less, and the topic was a prompt they gave. Its unaltered from when I submitted it, but I think it could be a lot better. Anyways, here it is:

What is Principle and How are principles important in your life?
 
     What is a principle, and how are they important in my life. Well, principles, by definition are the basic truths, rules, and standards by which a person forms his or her character off of. In truth, they are a little more complex than that. I personally consider principles to be more related to a persons morals. They almost work hand in hand. Like morals they give us substance to justify our actions by. They are the hidden rules books buried deep within our subconscious, only truthfully surfacing when we are face with a great dilemma.

     Let's say you found a twenty dollar bill on the ground.  The problem that challenges our principles, and morals, would be either to look for the bill's owner or pocket the money and be about your merry way. Now this situation isn't a "great dilemma" of sorts, but it is a simplified way of looking at principles without getting into some hot topics. Now, back to the question. What is a principle, it can't just be your morals and your own personal rules to life. Adding to my polygonal concept of principles, they are also one of the barriers separating right from wrong. I think that one thing most people consider principles to be, are set facts. Rules and laws that cannot be changed, like the principle of jet propulsion. But when dealing with the human condition, things are never set stone like that. This is why  principles are one of the barriers separating, and often determining right from wrong. They are flexible and sometimes fickle things that allow us to judge...everything. This is what also allows us to be rather biased in certain situations.

     Now you might be thinking, this is a rather lengthy report on morals, principles, right and wrong e.t.c. Well, to me, those are the things that make up principles, and vice versa. I cannot talk about principle with out morals and all the others, nor can I talk about them with out talking about principles. What may help understand my view point is changing the perspective on it. The same way principles can be applied to life changing situations, can be applied to opening the car door for a lady to enter, or pulling out the seat for her at the dinner table. The reason I didn't start simple with those analogies is because they are not set. You don't always remember to pull the seat out for the girl, or open the car door. But I suppose you would you would always choose to either keep that twenty or try and find the owner.

     Principle are also always important. In my life, they guide my decisions, and lead me to the best course action. Its a little synonymous with Moses, in the bible, climbing the mountain to receive the ten commandments. In the same way, our conscious mind scales the peaks and valleys of our brain to retrieve its commandments, its rules, from our subconscious and true self.

In The Beginning

          They say in the beginning was the word, and the word is knowledge. Now, I don't consider myself  to particularly knowledgeable, but I feel like I know enough. Enough to hopefully leave people with a little more than they had before. Advice and Entertainment are my main goals, so don't hold me to anything, well maybe my advice. Like the title of my blog refers, everything I write will be according to me. Not like "oh hey, here's what wrong with society and how I can make it better and blah, blah, blah." I offer no cure to society. Its simply how I view the world, it's Life, my life for the most part. Anyways,  formal introduction; "Hi, my name is Tsiambwom Mbeh Akuchu. My friends call me T, hence the title of my blog. (Fun Fact: I am the only person in the world...so far...with my name. It's transferred through the bloodline of my family.When a person dies, the next child born gets the name. Its like a...family inheritance.)

      Now for some reasons why my take on Life is bloggable. A little background is in order I suppose. I was born in Yaounde, the capital city of Cameroon. Its a little country off the coast of central west Africa. I moved to the United States when I was about eight and a half years old and since then, Life has had its ups and downs. Living the American dream is much harder than it looks in the movies. You know, when I think about Cameroon, it wasn't too bad there. Actually, sometimes I think Life was a little better. There. Out in the village, my life was simple. I'd wake up with the sun, take the animals out to feed, stop by the farm and did what I could to help, and then spend the day walking the village with my cousins Later, we'd stop by the sugar cane farm for a treat, and walk the lands of my tribe. Sundown, we went home and prepared to do it all over the next day. It wasn't much, but I loved it. Now of course America has its perks, electricity being one of the major ones. But here, I know that I won't ever really have what I had back then. Simplicity and Happiness. It won't be the same. Now I'm being just a little depressing, but this is my home I'm talking about. I'll save the childhood memories for another post. Now as most people reading this know, America has its own brand of happiness, one I'm still trying to figure out. Ok then, moving on.

      Into the now. Here is the other half of my introduction. I'm T. Currently I am a college student at Georgia Southern. A small-ish university in South Georgia. Statesboro to be precise. I am a double major in Journalism and Theatre. I sing, I dance, I act. Not much else to say past that. Most of the time that's what I'll blog about. Like I said earlier, this blog is about...Life. My Life. Life according to T.