What does it look like? Because if you don’t know what it look like don’t expect me… People call me all the time ET I know what you been through bruh, I know you feeling me bruh. I know you from the D like I’m from the D. You dropped out like I dropped out – I know you feeling me E. E I need $5000 to get this thing off the – I said what? You need how much? Who gave me five grand when I was at Michigan State doing my program, I didn’t get a, I didn’t have no budget. But I didn’t need a budget, I HAD A DREAM! I didn’t need no help, the president never came and said to me ET we gon help your program for this institution to blow up. The president never came and I never quit. I never gave up, why? Cuz it wasn’t her dream in the first place to take care of a group of kids from the D. It was MY DREAM. It was MY GOAL. I don’t expect you to believe in my dream like I believe in my dream. And the problem with some of yall is you want someone else to support your dream. It’s yours! I don’t owe you a dime. It’s your dream, if you want it to happen get your butt up and make it happen. If you want it to happen, rise and grind. If you want it to happen, you gon have to do what I do and that’s get up at 3 o’clock in the morning. If you want it to happen that means you gon have to get home at 2:15 and get your butt up at 5 so you can get to Detroit by 6. That mean you gon have to speak to the chief and act like you got all the energy in the world. Why? Cuz it’s my time, this my moment. Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow… Ain’t no such thing as tomorrow, we only got today!.

A few months ago, I had a conversation with a close friend of mine about my decision to forgo grad school (or put it on hold) to pursue my passion for photography. Having spent over $6000 on some new gear, I was eager to take my work to the next level. Although I was confident in my decision, I was still searching for reassurance from my friends and family. That is until one of my friends took the wind out of my sails. All I heard was doubt and most surprisingly a lack of interest in my chosen path.  In was in that moment that I realized that not everyone will be as excited about your dreams as you are. Friends and family may genuinely have your best interests at heart but it’s up to you to believe in, support and most importantly defend your dream. Seeking validation about your dream is a sure way to set yourself up for disappointment. After all, it’s your dream and yours alone.

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“The Pursuit of Happyness” 2006

Christopher Gardner Jr: Hey dad, I’m going pro!

Christopher Gardner Jr: I’m going pro!

Chris Gardner: Ooh! Ok I don’t know. you know you’ll probably be as good as I was. That’s kind of the way it works. I was below average. So you’ll probably ultimately rank somewhere around there so… You’ll excel at a lot of things just not this. So I don’t want you out here shooting this ball around all day and night. All right?

Christopher Gardner Jr: All right

Chris Gardner: All right go ahead…

Chris Gardner: Hey. Don’t ever let somebody tell you you can’t do something. Not even me. All right?

Christopher Gardner Jr: All right.

Chris Gardner: You got a dream… You gotta protect it. People can’t do somethin’ themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want somethin’, go get it. Period.

In this powerful scene between a father and his son we really get a glimpse of the impact of words on a individual. In everyday life it is a lot more subtle and unlike Chris Gardner most people are never aware of the impact of their words. Chris is able to reduce the impact of his discouraging comments by offering some positive advice to his son. In all likelihood, the damage has already been done. The reality is that negative experiences have a greater impact than positive ones. Christopher’s disposition makes it quite obvious that his father’s words hit really hard. The only way to undo the negative impact would be through continuous positive reinforcement.

In my experience it is not uncommon to predict someone’s ability to complete a task based on our own abilities.

I am very guilty of this myself. Chris projects his own shortcomings as a basketball player onto his son. He uses himself as a measuring stick for his son. The result is he a he saps away all of Christopher’s enthusiasm. At this point he has very little interest in continuing shooting the basketball.

Don’t ever let somebody tell you you can’t do something.

One of most important characteristics that successful people have is that they do not accept “no” for an answer. It is their belief that anything is possible for them. Will smith teaches his son a very valuable life lesson. Sometimes those closest to us are the ones who discourage us the most. We value what they input and often take their words to heart.

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“Any Given Sunday” 1999

I don’t know what to say, really. Three minutes till the biggest battle of our professional lives all comes down to today. Now either we heal as a team or we’re gonna crumble, inch by inch, play by play, ’til we’re finished.

We’re in hell right now, gentlemen, believe me. And, we can stay here — get the shit kicked out of us — or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb outta hell one inch at a time.

Now, I can’t do it for you. I’m too old. I look around. I see these young faces, and I think — I mean — I made every wrong choice a middle-aged man can make. I, uh, I pissed away all my money, believe it or not. I chased off anyone who’s ever loved me. And lately, I can’t even stand the face I see in the mirror.

You know, when you get old in life things get taken from you. I mean that’s…part of life. But, you only learn that when you start losing stuff. You find out life’s this game of inches. So is football. Because in either game, life or football, the margin for error is so small — I mean one-half a step too late, or too early, and you don’t quite make it. One-half second too slow, too fast, you don’t quite catch it.

The inches we need are everywhere around us.

They’re in every break of the game, every minute, every second.

On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch, because we know when we add up all those inches that’s gonna make the fuckin’ difference between winning and losing! Between livin’ and dyin’!

I’ll tell you this: In any fight, it’s the guy who’s willing to die who’s gonna win that inch. And I know if I’m gonna have any life anymore, it’s because I’m still willin’ to fight and die for that inch. Because that’s what livin’ is! The six inches in front of your face!!

Now I can’t make you do it. You got to look at the guy next to you. Look into his eyes! Now I think you’re gonna see a guy who will go that inch with you. You’re gonna see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team because he knows, when it comes down to it, you’re gonna do the same for him!

That’s a team, gentleman!

And, either we heal, now, as a team, or we will die as individuals.

That’s football guys.

That’s all it is.

Now, what are you gonna do?

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When I look back on my childhood, there are a few moments that suggest I had some semblance of artistic juices flowing through my veins then. I loved writing when I was in primary school. We had so many essays to write but I loved every minute of imagining fictitious characters and giving them life. At another phase of my life I was into poetry, I was somewhat of a voracious reader back then. Poetry led me to spoken word and to this day I still have an affinity for it. I can spend hours on YouTube watching performers. I have the utmost respect for performers, not just in poetry but all artistic forms of expression. The last indicator to me was an interest in sketching. Like most kids, I watched a lot of cartoons growing up. One of my favorites was Dragon Ball Z. I remember how excited my classmates and I were talking about the episodes and comparing our drawings. I had a knack for being able to draw certain characters quite well. It is one of the more disappointing things in my life to date that I have not taken a class and dived deeper into my interest for it.

The problem I believe is that I never saw myself as an artist. Where I grew up, art was as not as glamorized as being a scientist, a doctor, a politician, a teacher. If you were considered “smart” art was an afterthought. With that said I was 3 years removed from graduation working at a job that had nothing to do with my skillset and promised me no room for professional growth. The one perk the job provided was the opportunity for me to think. I admit I have done more thinking about my life trying to find perspective than actually performing work duties. For 3 years running, on the anniversary of my graduation I would go into a funk. The feeling that failure was getting closer to me terrified me. As I would sit and think about my lack of accomplishments to date, and the idea that I did not know what I wanted to pursue in life and I would feel so overwhelmed.

While working on my website I came across Gratisography by Ryan McGuire (amazing artist… CHECK OUT HIS WORK!) and I was intrigued by the beautiful imagery. In fact my background image http://www.gratisography.com/pictures/113_1.jpg was found on this site. Here was a guy who found the time to indulge in his passion while working on other projects simultaneously. From that moment on, I took a keen interest in all things photography. I realized how important communication skills, organization skills, independence and self-expression were to photography (areas of my life where I was very average). Photography would challenge me to go outside of my comfort zone. I would be forced to sharpen my people skills while also being able to communicate my thoughts articulately. I would need some organization to avoid clutter, to be able to make a schedule and adhere to it. Most importantly, I would have to take initiative. I could get as much out of photography as I was willing to work for.

I never imagined however, how photography would inspire my creativity. From the jump I was able to think in ways that I never did before. I have been overwhelmed at times with so many thoughts in my mind at once. I understand that one does not become a great photographer overnight. I am on this journey to partake in the process – to find my purpose and to share what I learn along the way. So to conclude I chose photography for the sake of art… and for the sake of becoming a better man.

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Hello everyone. To Dr. Haysbert the provost and acting president, to Dr. Harvey the commencement speaker, to the distinguished platform guests, administration, faculty, staff, students, loved ones, friends, family members, siblings, parents, especially mothers, I am Tim Lee. That is two names first and last. T I M L E E, Tim Lee and I am the president of the fifth generation of Quintessence, the purest most concentrated essence under the sun, Hampton University’s senior class of 2004. Before I begin, I would like to set aside a moment to thank God for the many people who have helped pay and pray that we might accomplish this goal, Amen. I also acknowledge God and his role in our graduation for it is he who has brought u this far and not we ourselves. Dr. Harvey, we accept the challenge with which you have charged us and we will use the education of the hand, the head and the heart that we have received here for life.

To my peers and beloved members of Q T 5, I speak in agreement with Dr. Harvey when I say don’t get too comfortable. Indeed we are approaching the end of what may be some of the most memorable years of our lives. And anytime we come to the end of one of life’s many stages there’s a possibility of becoming complacent. While we are in the stage, struggling through the stage, we’re in a striving position reaching for what the apostle Paul describes as the prize for the, excuse me the mark for the prize of the high calling. Many of us sitting here, however, because we have taken our last test, turned in our last paper and paid our last bill have already gotten comfortable getting out of this position. Sitting here in these black robes draped with cords soon to be dorned with hoods accessorized by a black flat cap with a tassel, we may think there’s no more work to be done. And in our comfortable complacency we may effortlessly forget some of the realities of life: That some of us will walk on stage as college graduates and walk off stage unemployed. Some of us will walk on stage as honor students in our fields of study and off stage confused about the next step in our lives.

So, I say to you today my friends we still face difficult days ahead. We still have work to do, mountains to climb and obstacles to overcome. We cannot stop striving yet. They won’t get easier, life’s challenges. But they will become more intricate, tricky. But when life’s complexities confuse us, when the paradoxical ironies of existence surprise us and when we are troubled by the uncontrollable external entities both spiritual and physical, we must remember our abc’s. No not the alphabet- English majors of reading and writing. But the abc’s of life. And once we’ve learned them, we should take them with us as we let our lives do the singing.

Take the A-and accept the challenge
The B-and believe in ourselves
The C-convert our thoughts into hopes
The D-the determination to convert our hopes into dreams
We should E-expect some obstacles on the way up
And F-fight while being faithful and finish the course
We should G-get God on our side
And H-have a Harvey model of leadership
We should I-inspire someone else
And J-take Jesus on our journey
We should K-keep on keeping on
And L-be a leader
We should M-make everyday count
And N-never give up!
We must O-overcome our obstacles
And P-put our best foot forward
We must Q-quit quitting
And R-run the race with patience
We must S-strive on
While T-trusting in The Lord
We should U-use our talents
And V-value our time
We should W-wait for understanding
And X x-ray our own lifestyles
We should Y-yearn to achieve all that we seek
And Z-be zealous when reaching the top!

Yes! Yes we can reach the top! QT5 We must reach the top! We must understand that there is a plan for our lives, a greater plan and will. And if we ask God, he will reveal it. If we pray to God, he will reveal it. If we wait on God he will deliver it. And if we go with God, we will achieve it. Thank you and congratulations!

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Take the A – and accept the challenge

The B – and believe in ourselves

The C – convert our thoughts into hopes

The D – the determination to convert our hopes into dreams

We should E – expect some obstacles on the way up

And F – fight while we’re faithful and finish the course

We should G – get God on our side

And H – have a Harvey model of leadership

We should I – inspire someone else

And J – take Jesus on our journey

We should K – keep on keeping on

And L – be a leader

We should M – make everyday count

And N – never give up!

We must O – overcome our obstacles

And P – put our best foot forward

We must Q – quit quitting

And R – run the race with patience

We must S – strive on

While T – trusting in The Lord

We should U – use our talents

And V – value our time

We should W – wait for understanding

And X – x-ray our own lifestyles

We should Y – yearn to achieve all that we seek

And Z – be zealous when reaching the top!

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