such great heights.

Ive had this picture sitting on my blog as an unposted blog for quite a while, I guess I was just waiting for the right moment. But maybe this isn’t really the right moment for any of this. But we are capable of such great heights.

and I refuse to come down, compromise or give up.

There’s a quote i put on my blog for about 5 minutes before i changed it, its from the new frontiers, a band alessandra gave me and in one of their songs, the vocals sing “I burn my wings on the sun when I fly.” I personally think that quote is pretty sweet. But anyway, the aspiration to do greater things has imposed itself on my heart this week. Especially on Thursday and Friday.

I got a nice smack in the face on Thursday by Isabel about my pride, and the most obvious thing occurred to me.

I am holding me back. my fears, my frustrations are boiling away as anger, and I am wasting my capability to fly. Greater things are within reach, but as long as I let the darkness, my self perpetuated prison to continue I will never rise and face the day.

And I think if there was ever time to say it, its now. I just finished trying to salvage my parents relationship. And really to no avail, and to be honest, it hurts so much that I almost want to give up. I want to just throw in the towel at 6:59 pm and come down.

But, I know that I wasnt wired that way, I wasnt created and loved just to let the monkeys on my back dictate to me if I will fly or not.

It isnt a question of wings, its a question of effort.

And we as humans will forever have that effort hindered until we throw it all away. all of our fear, our baggage, it all needs to go out the window and fall,

and we need to jump the window and fly.

and realize such great heights.

Chicago.. bound?

It’s been 17 years and I still haven’t seen snow. I mean not counting TV or in a movie, I haven’t made a snow man, hurled snowballs or even just let specks of frozen rain dissolve on my tongue. And what makes that fact even more pressing is that I’m in the minority.

During the winter months, temperatures drop around the country, but seems only here in South Florida, that we are blessed enough to experience the full extent of the sun year-round. Not that it’s a bad thing, but it really does restrict my view and understanding of nature. In this aspect, I am in the minority. I say minority not in shame or anger, I say it with joy because ignorance is really another word for the possibility of change.

Being in the minority ethnically is very similar. Although I can’t just change my ethnicity or deracinate all racial prejudices, it’s my decision how I will react to being African-American. Though I only see a wet and dry season here in Broward County, my lack of frigid tales isn’t binding, it’s simply a matter of experience and choice. And the same applies to being in the ethnic minority. I can stay put, refuse to face the day and be trapped in the confines of dominant ideologies. Or I can rise, abandon the darkness, and see the sun rise in all four of the varying seasons. The choice to view the world differently is something I think the University of Chicago strives to do.

And for this, I am interested in the University of Chicago, because it goes above and beyond to truly attempt to accept a person; not a number, not a test score, not an ethnicity. The essays, in their intricacy and possibility, challenge me now to choose to go see what this University is all about and why it is so different. Plus, in Chicago, I might just see snow.