25x25

"Fear not when, fear not why

Fear not much while we're alive

Life is for living not living uptight

See ya somewhere up in the sky,

Fear not die, I'll be alive for a million years, 

bye bye

So not for legends, I'm forever young

My name shall survive"

- Jay Z, Forever Young

The day has finally arrived when I can officially say I am in the midst of a Quarter- Life Crisis. It's a milestone year for some, the middle of your twenties, the halfway point to fifty, the third of a way to seventy five, oh my! It is like watching a loading screen and seeing that 25% of your life movie has downloaded. While it may feel like twenty five is still an acceptable point to cancel your movie (as the average age of suicide is 15-24), there is still so much to look forward to while we are alive.

In a previous post I shared a bit about my sobriety which I would think has suggested already that I have lived a somewhat hardy life. Though reflecting on my trials and tribulations has made me a better person, so has many of my triumphs and joys. So I came up with a list of twenty five accomplishments/ experiences I had by twenty five.

When my parents were still wise with only four children 1992

1. Flown in a helicopter around a Hawaiian Volcano
2. Elected President of a National Organization 

   

   MAC and I in our first Chicago meeting 2009

3. Given an official greeting at Churchwide Assembly
4. Played a DI college sport 

   

   NEC Spring Finals throwers faking injuries 2010

5. Was a guetspeaker at a regional youth gathering
6. Watched my niece enter the world

   

   Nya Shey and Nicolette Marie (a few minutes old) 1/16/11

7. GLAAD published a blog post by me. 
8. Met the Angela Davis 

   

   Angela Davis was the keynote speaker at Black Solidarity Conference at Yale University circa Feb. 2012

9. Caused a serious car accident
10. Been to jail
11. Curated a marketing photoshoot for a small business
12. Completed my BA 

    

    Living my best life 5/24/13 BA graduation

13. Published in a tattoo magazine 

    

    Photo by Meshae Studios

14. Visited 26 out of 50 states in the country
15. Completed my MBA 

    

    5/23/14 MBA Graduation on bestfriend and mother's birthday

16. Finally moved out of New York
17. Publicly protested for something I believe in
18. Adopted my first pet 

    

    The Penne Pablo

19. Worked in 4 different states
20. Traveled to 4 different continents 

    

    Congress meeting room in El Salvador Jan 2015

21. Moved to a different country 
22. Preached and teached in a different language
23. Made it to more than four years of sobriety 

    

    Photo taken 10/25/16

24. Traveled to over 20 countries and territories

    

    Flight from Caracus to Bogota Memorial Day Weekend 2016

     
25. Started my last semester of seminary before Spring 2017 graduation. 

    

    Face swapped with Richard Allen during Methodist tour
    
    

    
    

    For me this is a reminder as to why I keep going. This tends to be the age where a lot of us wonder what the heck we have been doing the past few years. We question whether or not we are on the right track or if we have anything worth being proud over. I know I start getting that feeling when I see some of my friends from college settling down and flourishing in their careers. Or even when I am watching a movie and find out the lead is younger than me. Personally I can't help but wonder what I have been doing with my life or if this track is worth it. Sometimes you just gotta take a seat and count your blessings. Victories come in all shapes and sizes, we just need to be willing to see them for what they are. Hopefully twenty five is as good to me as the first twenty four.

This is twenty five

#ReclaimMissionary