School.

As far as music goes, Hip Hop in Particular I like to consider myself "Middle School" There is no actual definition of what this is but there is one that me and my fellow Middle schoolers decided on. Its pretty much anyone who is a devout student oh Hip Hop that was created between 1985 and 1995. In other Words LL Cool J"s "Radio" to about Biggie`s "Ready to die"


We are a very selective group, we have been called amongst other things Purists , Snobs, Old, Haters, Old school etc. Either way you look at it the underlying theme of the labels has been one that involves a life lived or "experience" if you will. I recently walked into a music store and purchased a *CD (which is what us Middle Schoolers still do by the way) and while having that sacred feeling of listening to the first few songs for the first time. You know that feeling that you wish you could duplicate like the first time you tasted a new flavor. The feeling that you know you will remember years from now. It feels less like the present and more like you are in the future thinking about the past.


The album I was listening to was an artist that would be considered by me and my snooty Middle schoolers as"new school. We usually categorize these artist as coming from a confused, spoiled, winy generation who has still a lot of "life" to experience. Then it hit me. If you could go into the past and give yourself advice what would you tell yourself. And it hit me because what this particular artist was talking about sounded amazingly similar to some of what I was going through at that age and stage of life. Maybe not at that particular scale but relative. It sounded like a younger brother, cousin, nephew or godson for example telling me things that were going on in their lives and all I could do was shake my head gently and laugh a little, not because it was outrageous but because I knew exactly what they and in this case he was talking about. Ive had the opportunity and privilege of being able to pass on advice which I hope has been useful to many of younger my family members and friends over the years but never to someone whose situation seemed so similar to what I myself had been through. I was taken aback by the similarities.

Now going back to the question what would you tell yourself if you could give yourself advice? In trying to answer this I was faced with a conundrum. In order to give myself advice I would have had to have gained experience from what it was I was going through, battle scars if you will. That means live through it, learn from it, fight through it. If I told myself to avoid those situations I learned from I wouldnt be able to be in a position to give myself advice. Leaving me with only one possible solution. Say nothing. Watch myself make the mistakes in essence change nothing. I was OK with this decision, it made sense. Having realized this I sat back and enjoyed the rest of the album and continue to. New school isnt so bad I mean after all thats where middle and old originated from.


A new piece of advice came to me for anyone younger and also for myself now for later. Whatever you are going through in your life right now you have to realize two things
1. nothing worth it is ever easy.
2. Going through it is not altogether a bad thing, it may feel like it at the time but you will Thank You Later.




*A small optical disk on which data such as music, text, or graphic images is digitally encoded. Audio CDs have been commercially available since October 1982. In 2010, they remain the standard physical storage medium for audio.