Jon’s birthday is today. Check the archives for this day–or the day before, I can’t remember–last year if you didn’t see what I did last year. ‘Til the other side, my man.
Interestingly, this coincides with me walking around that substandard school yesterday.
As I’ve told you before, the nephew’s a bad, bad man. While I know most people discount the opinions people have about their families because of bias, I can assure you I ain’t that dude. Hitting the same numbers in the genetic lottery doesn’t mean I don’t know what’s up with somebody.
But really, the nephew’s a special one. How proud am I of him? I nearly bought a Morehouse uncle t-shirt. However, I then remembered my friends would beat the brakes off me for that. And since my nephew’s built slim like me, he wouldn’t be able to nothin’ to help but call 911.
Anyway, yesterday was the first time I’d walked around Clark’s campus at this time of year since I left. Made me realize how old and unfashionable I’ve become. Dude, these lil’ niggaz are sportin all kinds of shit that I hadn’t heard of. I probably couldn’t afford to hear of that stuff. Girls were accessorized to death. I’m walking around in a polo shirt and jeans, looking like I jumped out of a time machine.
But it was vicariously exciting strolling through all of that with the nephew because I remembered what it was like to see all of that for the first time. I stayed with whiplash for my first semester and a half. Straight whiplash. The week before classes started was the best because I’d never partied that much in my life. We partied cuz whythefucknot. It just all felt so new, but it was still incredibly natural and comfortable. Them good ol’ days, man.
That was when I met some of the closest friends I’ve got, that week. One of them cats owes me $200 bucks right now–yeah, you–so he’s kinda been disowned, but the rest of the freshman year squad is still in tact. We lost one to the universe, but we’re still goin’ strong.
Here’s hoping the nephew can say the same thing in eight years.
Degrees are pretty cool, but your folks are the best thing about college. Can’t wait to see how he is in four years.
11 Comments
by Star
Yeah, you would have gotten you ass tagged for wearing that damn shirt!
Our freshman year was the best!!! I never bonded with so many people in such a short time. I love the fact that in 5.5 years when it is time for our 10 year reunion, we will all be able to sit around and have a shitload of ‘Remember when..’ stories. Hell I am sitting here running bunch of them through my head right now.
Sadly, I saw a few of the protagonists of those stories registering for classes.
by Valencia
College is great. And just for the reason you stated: your people.
Yeah they didn’t grow up with you as a child, but in four or more years of close, almost everyday contact, they grew up with you.
These are the people who saw the 17, 18 or possibly younger girl or boy grow into so much more (and in some cases watched them crmble and fall).
Wild thing is, the friends you make in college tend to know you better than the friends you may have left behind. You don’t have to explain the older You to them, they know you well. They’ve seen you change and most likely had a part in many of your “Remember when…” stories.
I’ve said this before, sometimes you don’t go to college for the education, you go to find something in yourself and become the older you.
by Bol
>Anyway, yesterday was the first time I’d walked around Clark’s campus at this time of year since I left. Made me realize how old and unfashionable I’ve become.
Yeah, I’m not sweating changing my wardrobe ever again in life. That’s how an old man does it.
If t-shirts and jeans go out of style, I’ll start caring about threads again. For now, it’s variations on the Southern uniform.
by dame
Damn Bo, you should just come out and do a Phuck Morehouse Post.
Then I could digest that hatred, and move on.
Alumnus ninja.
Seriously, I hope you felt like a perv walking around “The Strip”, I’m 27 and I get that feeling no doubt. I don’t care how “big they growin’ em”.
RIP Stegalls while were at it.
I had to give up on Fevas/Center Stage Barber shop and all it’s extra perks (see perv comments above), and move it over to Off the Hook on (gentrified) Peters St.
For real, why you hate my alma ninja?
Sorry about that alumnus thing. You were too young to make an informed decision when you decided where to go to college. But I did stop by Fevas for the first time yesterday, adn they took care of me. And at 24, I felt positively ancient on the yard. Two semesters of teaching college freshmen will do that to you..
by dame
hey, i know my salad fork from the dinner fork, know not to take a doggie bag home from a corp dinner, and my DL-dar is mad strong.
seriously, a ninja had an academic scholi, and just showed up for class, no tour, no orientation, nothing.
I was the last person to know about the whole gay thing, that sort of reputation just doesn’t make it to the west coast as often as it does locally.
But speakin of ant banks, Goldie (land of the funk) was at MC for a minute, no joke! In a few of my classes.
Oh, you’re younger than me, i was going to ask if you knew Chaka Zulu, etc.. but I’m sure you know Tyree (sp?)/Drama.
holler.
by The Other Bo
Yeah,man. My short time and the AUC was the best. I remember a riot almost broke out during olive branch when the Whorehou… ahem, Morehouse niggas started the “1,2,3 One day you’ll work for me chant.” Ahh… Good times
I wish I was there for that. Now Dame, did you ask why I don’t like that place?
by dame
1st week in the Dorm (Graves: honor dorm).
Dame: “Dad, I’ve never been around so many boogie black people in my life. It’s like their parents lost their blackness and are forcing their sellout kids to go to black college to reclaim it”.
Four years later, I still held that opinion to some degree.
Well if that was 96 (the original olivebranch), I was sitting on a tree where the newest morehouse dorm is now, familiarizing myself with uh, horticulture, with homies from chi town, sac town, the D, the A Town and The Town (Oakland).
See there’s a whole nother class of morehouse dudes, that hated what it tried to stand for as much as yall did, we dated spelman and clark women in even numbers (everyone discriminated on MoBrown just based on distance alone), and probably spent some counterfeit bills at one point.
Point being, we was thuggin just like y’all.
Seriously, clark has a way higher gay male visibility thing going on these days, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
I was in court w/ a clark student, I was wondering to myself: “maybe he TRANSFERRED from Morehouse?”.
by JusDatGuy
Dame, you saying Mishani went to Morehouse? What happened to him anyway, he’s not a rapper no more?
by EP in H-Town
I never understood why Clark guys and Morehouse guys just couldn’t get along…but it didn’t bother my girls much, since that just made it easier to have some simp lined up on both campuses without one finding out about the other. Don’t trip, you know you did it, too. Yeah, no matter which campus you called home, college was that hot isht. The best friends I have in this world I made in those four years, most of them in the first one. These are the folks who will be in my wedding, at my kids’ graduation from SpelHouse (that one was just for you Bo), and cutting up like Southern Baptists at my funeral. Thank goodness for passing those classes, though, or those woulda been some expensive ass friendships, ya heard?
Why would you do that to your kids?
by **RPM**
Makes me wish I had a different college experience reading this post.
by Kendall
Memreees.
I cringe every year at Clark’s Homecoming – I go all year being reminded at work, at my son’s school, amongst my friends and fam that I’m still young …best years in front of me…
Then October rolls around and Clark seems to be getting younger and younger every year. I remember promising myself my sophomore year that I would never be that ‘ole chick’ on the yard … But at 31, I can’t help but feel like it. Hmmmph.
I can’t wait ’til homecoming … this year I’m wearing what I wore at my 1st Lower Manley party…It’s time to bring back Cross Colours y’all!!