Skip to main content

life in j minor (an introduction)


hello my name is jehrod alain and welcome to my world.




since this is the first post, a clear and concise, yet thorough introduction is needed. first of all, you should know that i'm a Mississippi boy who has rich roots in the city and branches over the country. i am not caught up on my identity because i know who i am and do not need other people's opinions, judgements, or definitions for my life. at the end of the day, i must do what's best for me.


i was born 22 years ago to the late Rosemary and the living Dolphus . I was always a weird child. in school, i was quite loquacious but still the introvert. i was picked on but that never bothered me. i guess the things i went through when i was younger made me internally and spiritually strong. i've always had a strong spirit and though there has been many attempts to break that, I never cracked too badly.




i was a terrible student in school after i flunked the 6th grade. well, i actually passed the 6th grade, I just didn't past that stupid exit test. this is when i began to be mediocre. i did just enough to get by or as i like to think of it, to survive. speaking of survival, my friend, inspiration, and former math teacher, Dave Molina, taught me that intelligence is about survival. no matter what situation you're put in, if you can survive, you're intelligent. i'm currently reading The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier and that same sentiment was echoed there. i have survived; that makes me stronger and ultimately wiser.
so here i am at twenty-two with plenty of courage and gratitude. i have many flaws and i love that about myself. i allow myself to cry and i love that about myself. i listen to all genres of music, but jazz is my favorite and i love that about myself. i love to read and nothing makes me happier than post its and yellow highlighters and i love that about myself. i do yoga 6 days a week and i work out 3 and i love that about myself. i'm practicing being a vegetarian and i love that about myself. i'm an English major and i love that about myself. i'm a good friend, brother, and uncle and i love that about myself.




what i mean to say, by saying all of that is... i love me unconditionally. i don't judge because i don't want others to judge me. i believe in doing the right thing because it just feels damn good to me. i love the shoes God has given me for this journey and I wouldn't have it any other way.




XOXOXO


jehrod

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

who are we when we love? Honoring Nelson Mandela

I remember very vividly the summer I first read Nelson Mandela's A LONG WALK TO FREEDOM. I was living at my grandmother's house then. At nineteen years old, it was the longest book I had ever attempted to read. But I felt my soul leaping and growing and telling me that I had to live courageously. I could not afford to not fight for justice. I could not afford to not dedicate my life to love's purposes.  By reading Mandela's story, I saw what the best of humanity looked like. I saw that no matter how much oppression and humiliation others may inflict upon us, we can rise above it. We can choose to not let their evil define us.  Nelson Mandela is my hero. He was a giant of a man who had the unique ability to make others feel even larger than he was. You see, that is what great people do. They remind us that the light they have is inside all of us as well. We only need to let it shine, fearlessly and with the intent of eradicating evil by the power of love....

i am grateful for OPRAH

Yesterday, my "Angel Mother" as i like to call her, Ms. Oprah G. Winfrey received the highest honor in the land-- The Presidential Medal of Freedom. President Obama applauded her for... "reaching the pinnacle of the entertainment universe." For twenty-five years, The Oprah Winfrey Show helped to extend the conversation about topics that were taboo; from sexual abuse to cellulite, she made it okay to tell the truth. She created a safe space for people to come and leave their shame and the secrets that blocked their light. Because of this, millions of others were liberated by the knowledge that they were not alone in their suffering. I started watching the Oprah show when I was around eight or nine years old. Her voice was soothing. Her insights were as wise and profound as those of my own mother. I saw the same light in her eyes that I saw in my mother's eyes. I believe it was because of this that she would go on to mean even more to me after my mother lost ...

your life is sacred: honoring every moment

on this day, exactly eleven years ago today, my mother entered the Baptist for her second mastectomy. the cancer was vicious, relentless, and evidently insatiably hungry for the life of my mother. She had already had the other breast removed and she went into this surgery confident that it would be best.  i remember her strength and her faith most vividly during this week. i also remember her strongly rejecting my request for funds to purchase a new shirt for the pastor's appreciation that was coming up that Friday. i'm not sure if my mother knew this was her last week on earth. there were no "final conversations" or any discussion of what was next for our lives without her.  she would leave behind her four children, her dreams, and ultimately, a life well-lived that same night of the pastor's appreciation, which also happened to be All Saints Day. my mother's life, her struggle with breast cancer, and her early demise at thirty-three helps def...