The Breaks Pt. 2: Michelle Obama Punching The Air

Phew. Um, okay let's get this started,

I, Jon Boy, of sound body and Jonny, hereby decree Michelle Obama's lunch program was and is straight nasty. And didn't even reduce the rumbly in my kidd's tummies. I swore one had 3 pieces of tiny, soggy broccoli, 5 saltines, and half of a tangelo. I love you FLOTUS, but you gotta' go harder than that. Just constructive criticism, please don't send Black Twitter after me.

The past two or so months, I've had the luxury to sit down and think in a neutral space while swapping ideas about what to do professionally. Program coordinator, going back to school for a degree, going back to school to teach, full-time yoga instructor, etc. As some may know, I elected to put a halt to my teaching career early this year to get it together. Long story short, almost all of the pieces of me fell down a drain and I was blindly trying to pick up everything as Pennywise was lurking below. That's what it felt like for the 2.5 years of teaching. every day.

But making the abrupt decision to come back to the south and talk to dozens to people who helped me grow from 18-25 aided me a lot. It was why I was sucessful as a worker, student, and overall Jonathan. It helped me conclude that I am ready to teach again and pursue my MAT in June. You see? Only took me 15 or so jobs from literal ditch digging to creating raps for kids to remember the periodic table over 8 years of adult life. But let me stop you right there Jon:

When I was 17 years of age and chose Georgia College with an intention to get an Environmental Science degree, I did not have the desire to be a scientist or a teacher. Huge shot in the dark that landed appropriately. Science was by far my worse subject in grade school and I was the quiet kid in group projects. Big ups to the Thomas Dale Book Club,

And there were a lot of kids like me (beautiful and confident but perplexed and multi-talented) who needed to gain life experience and didn't have a set plan going into college. Not everyone is going to have a right out passion like dental school or hotdog-eating. If you take away one thing from someone like me, I got about 6 other trades. Sometimes your passion is that you want to do everything. Don't take my cornbread though, please.

 My degree was so broad, it made sense to me. I felt like Baby Yoda in Mandalorian except I had like a team of 50 bounty hunters to help me wobble along my own way. Even after getting my B.S. at the age of 22, I been knew that being a lab tech or geologist was completely out of the question. Luckily I got (fell) into substitute teaching after school and the rest was history. Good pun Jon, B- for you.

So 4 years after a roller coaster of a teaching career, it became priority that I prioritize the propriety of molding myself to be the best educator, and to get my MAT at mt old school. But even within those 4 years, I had tried to be a geologist, tour guide, gym teacher, yoga instructor, dog runner, program coordinator, and tried getting a Masters in Urban Policy. Getting a Masters became a social thing with black people; "go ahead and get it now while you're young" people do not understand how stupid I am. Get a Masters because I am young? Please, I barely knew the differences between they're, their, and there when I was 24. Shoot, I may wait until I am 48, quit playing with ne.

I do think about those two first years of college a lot; sometimes I backtrack and think they are a waste. Heck, I didn't even party that much those first two years. I wanted to leave, all of the time. Didn't wanna' go home but did not want to stay. What if I did Americorp and got to gain perspective? What if I stayed home and went to Savannah Tech? It's important to keep the mind as open as possible for however long as humanly possible. Being 15 and having to support an entire family comes up and then your peripherals start to disappear. But I totally put experience and education on the same playing field, balanced, as all things should be. Fortunate enough to have people tossing my precise alley-oops over and over again. So Michelle over here jamming college down someone's throat when this kid literally just wants to be the best carpenter in the world. Probably doesn't need 50k in debt with an Art History degree. #thanksObama

Okay, I asked Black Twitter for that one. 

Definitely not going to sit down with a kid and tell them not go to school or to go to school. That shouldn't be anyone's way to mentor the youth. I will definitely give them an appetizer sample from Applebee's of venues they can purse. There's military, college, trade school, volunteering, straight work, etc. But education in any form has to remain priority. If you can't read or write or communicate properly upon graduating high school, life is going to be really hard for anyone.

I know, I am privileged and I don't always have that mindset "do what you gotta' do to survive" I've had the luxury of people doing that for me. No one was going to sit around and see me fail unless talking my ear off about it or sending me some gentrified cornbread in support. Everything that I say or do is backed by my ancestors and immediate family. Whether it be for better or for worse,