The Portfolio

Transcript

WEBVTT

00:00:19.873 --> 00:00:24.797
Hey yo, what is up everybody?

00:00:24.797 --> 00:00:25.841
What is going on?

00:00:25.841 --> 00:00:30.193
It's your girl, jay, and welcome back to the show.

00:00:30.193 --> 00:00:33.365
I hope everyone is doing well out there.

00:00:33.365 --> 00:00:36.612
I'm doing good.

00:00:36.612 --> 00:00:38.176
I don't have any complaints.

00:00:38.176 --> 00:00:38.640
Right now.

00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:40.904
Things are what they're going to be.

00:00:40.904 --> 00:00:46.093
I think the what is it called?

00:00:46.093 --> 00:00:57.804
Retrograde, something is in something, some planet is inside some other planet Sounds very, very adult.

00:00:57.804 --> 00:01:01.191
I don't know, but something, something is happening.

00:01:01.191 --> 00:01:02.734
I think it's over.

00:01:02.734 --> 00:01:10.615
Something, something is happening, I think it's over.

00:01:10.615 --> 00:01:11.338
So I'm, I'm feeling pretty okay.

00:01:11.358 --> 00:01:18.320
Um, I uh, the the solar eclipse happened.

00:01:18.320 --> 00:01:19.022
Um, what day was that?

00:01:19.022 --> 00:01:19.884
Um, last last Monday, yeah, this week.

00:01:19.884 --> 00:01:22.248
So last Monday, the Monday that just passed was the solar eclipse.

00:01:22.248 --> 00:01:33.373
So I don't know where you guys are listening from, because I have listeners I know all over the world, but where I was, I did not see anything because it was cloudy.

00:01:33.373 --> 00:01:40.951
I saw like a glimpse, like a small glimpse, right before it was totally covered.

00:01:40.951 --> 00:01:51.849
Um, right, the the clouds broke just enough for me to be able to see it, and I couldn't even use my glasses, because if you put the glasses on, I couldn't see anything.

00:01:51.849 --> 00:02:00.387
So I had to take the glasses off just so I could see that because the clouds were so thick, but some of them broke, just enough for me to see the little bit of it.

00:02:00.387 --> 00:02:01.969
Almost looked like a thumbnail.

00:02:01.969 --> 00:02:06.930
It was getting close to covering all the way up and I know I was at work, I got off.

00:02:06.930 --> 00:02:19.715
I think I was getting off at one yeah, I was getting off at one and I think the eclipse was supposed to start doing this thing at 135 or something like that.

00:02:19.715 --> 00:02:28.114
And you know, then it takes however many minutes to like close up or cover it up, and then you know, open up or whatever.

00:02:28.500 --> 00:02:42.336
So I was rushing home because people were making it seem like it was going to be this like crazy thing, like it was going to be traffic all over the place and you can't get food or water and get your gas and stuff.

00:02:42.336 --> 00:02:46.131
Now you wouldn't be able to use your phones or anything like that.

00:02:46.131 --> 00:02:54.306
So I just wanted to get off and get home Because they were like, why don't you just stay here, then you can see the eclipse and then you can leave.

00:02:54.306 --> 00:03:02.812
You know, after that and I was like, because this is work and I want to be here, so I want to get off when I'm supposed to get off and I will make it home and my boss was like, are you sure?

00:03:02.812 --> 00:03:05.895
Because it might be, you know, tough getting home.

00:03:05.895 --> 00:03:07.155
I was like I'll take my chances.

00:03:08.075 --> 00:03:17.866
So I took my chances, got home as I was driving, like it really looked like a storm was coming, because it was, the clouds were so thick and heavy and stuff.

00:03:17.866 --> 00:03:28.344
But also, as the eclipse is happening, because I live about I live about 35 minutes away from my job when there's no traffic.

00:03:28.344 --> 00:03:30.692
If there's any traffic, it gets longer and longer.

00:03:30.692 --> 00:03:39.802
So as I was driving home, I could see it getting starting to get a little dark and with the clouds it looked like it was about to storm.

00:03:39.802 --> 00:03:41.669
So I'm hurrying up trying to get home.

00:03:41.669 --> 00:03:45.941
As soon as I pull into the driveway it starts to get, you know, darker and darker.

00:03:46.603 --> 00:04:01.247
And so I jump out of my car, get my glasses, because I had bought some glasses when I get groceries the other the day before and I go outside in the front, I look, you know, as I'm driving through the neighborhood, everybody's outside and stuff like that.

00:04:01.247 --> 00:04:03.727
So get to my house, I look up, of course I can't see anything.

00:04:03.727 --> 00:04:05.519
And I look up, of course I can't see anything.

00:04:05.519 --> 00:04:10.012
And I told y'all, you know I couldn't see with the glasses, and I was able to see a little sliver.

00:04:10.012 --> 00:04:20.947
And then I went inside the house Excuse me y'all, my voice is going out Went inside the house, got my dogs because they were like you know, the animals are going to be going crazy, just be careful.

00:04:21.267 --> 00:04:25.134
And so I'm looking at my dogs and they're not caring at all what's going on.

00:04:25.134 --> 00:04:32.464
They want to go out because they've been in the house all day, so I let them out out of the backyard.

00:04:32.464 --> 00:04:38.485
I went in the backyard and then it gets not completely dark, because it was already dark because of the clouds, but it got.

00:04:38.485 --> 00:04:40.870
It got pretty dark or whatever.

00:04:40.870 --> 00:04:45.507
And so I just stood out there, kind of like wished on a star.

00:04:45.507 --> 00:05:02.910
I don't know what you're supposed to do during the eclipse, but did my little wish on my star, let my dogs feel whatever solar energy they were going to feel was waiting for my superpowers.

00:05:02.910 --> 00:05:07.795
None of us got it, not me or my dogs and then we went.

00:05:07.795 --> 00:05:13.764
We went inside the house and then by the time I got back in the house it started getting lighter and then it was over.

00:05:13.863 --> 00:05:19.440
So I don't know if it was anyone that's listening that actually got to see the eclipse.

00:05:19.440 --> 00:05:24.471
I know in Dallas they got to see it pretty, pretty well.

00:05:24.471 --> 00:05:27.865
I saw it on the news as it was happening and it looked.

00:05:27.865 --> 00:05:29.451
It seemed like it looked pretty cool.

00:05:29.451 --> 00:05:30.454
I don't know if y'all have seen the.

00:05:30.454 --> 00:05:34.709
The the show heroes that I think used to come on NBC.

00:05:34.709 --> 00:05:49.365
That used to be my show, but it's about normal people having superhero powers or supernatural powers or whatever, but it was because of a eclipse somehow was involved in that, but anyway, that's what it looked like.

00:05:49.365 --> 00:05:56.151
They were showing it on TV and I was like man to see that in person probably would have been cool, but I didn't get that opportunity and it is what it is.

00:05:56.151 --> 00:05:57.483
But anyway, saw the eclipse.

00:05:57.483 --> 00:06:07.581
I hope you guys saw it, or I saw a piece of it, hope you guys saw it, and that was.

00:06:07.581 --> 00:06:08.822
That's all that I have going on this past, these past few days.

00:06:08.822 --> 00:06:10.487
So we're just going to go ahead and get started with the show.

00:06:11.048 --> 00:06:15.923
So I have been okay with my voice the whole entire day.

00:06:15.923 --> 00:06:22.254
It's only when I turn this mic on Now my throat is scratchy a little bit.

00:06:22.254 --> 00:06:24.209
I'm having to clear my throat a lot.

00:06:24.209 --> 00:06:26.682
It feels like I was drinking something and I got choked.

00:06:26.682 --> 00:06:33.646
I did get choked earlier today when I was eating, but that's been long, long past and I didn't have any issues with that.

00:06:33.646 --> 00:06:34.329
Now I'm on a mic.

00:06:34.329 --> 00:06:39.365
I'm starting to sound a little raspy, but I hope it's not too bad for you guys.

00:06:39.987 --> 00:07:05.401
So today's show I'm calling the Portfolio, and the reason I'm calling it that is because I was in my closet here in my studio where I store like everything that my mom sent me from my childhood home is in that closet and has been traveling with me since I lived in my apartments and all that other stuff.

00:07:05.401 --> 00:07:09.709
She continues to send me stuff because she's like you have a house now.

00:07:09.709 --> 00:07:12.541
I'm not the storage unit.

00:07:12.541 --> 00:07:29.865
So every chance I get I'm going to keep sending you stuff until everything that you have that was here is gone and you can have it at your house, because I want my space at your house, because I want my space and it's cool.

00:07:29.904 --> 00:07:32.454
So I have a bunch of just random boxes in my closet that I don't really have anywhere to put the stuff.

00:07:32.454 --> 00:07:36.283
It just has to stay in boxes, because what is the point of bringing them?

00:07:36.283 --> 00:07:51.802
I do have like DVDs and VCR tapes and cassette tapes and stuff like that which I could like get a little cabinet thing and put them all in.

00:07:51.802 --> 00:07:55.009
But I don't even have a VCR.

00:07:55.009 --> 00:08:16.369
I mean, I do have a VCR but I'm not going to watch VHS tapes, I'm not really going to listen to cassette tapes, unless you know, something crazy happens that most of the music I can find on a streaming service so it's no use of, like there's no use in like bringing that stuff out, so it's in a box and then I have like books and other, just other random stuff.

00:08:16.369 --> 00:08:34.289
So if you guys heard the episode Britt and I did when we we were doing SW's top 10 songs, you would have heard me talk about me and my roommates in college doing an intro on our answering machine to Rain by SWV.

00:08:38.201 --> 00:08:47.750
So I went in the closet to try to find, because I'm like I'm sure I have it because it's in the boxes of all this stuff that I had since high school and college and all this other stuff I don't throw away.

00:08:47.750 --> 00:08:56.052
So I found the tapes, but there are many tapes and I could not find the tape recorder.

00:08:56.052 --> 00:09:07.389
Like I used to have a little small hand or handheld tape recorder that I would bring to me to class when I was in college and that's how I would like record my lectures and stuff like that.

00:09:07.389 --> 00:09:09.628
Back in the day y'all we didn't really.

00:09:09.628 --> 00:09:16.908
I mean, I had a laptop, but it was not something you travel with, it wasn't something like you bring to class.

00:09:16.908 --> 00:09:27.522
Most of us had either the tape recorders or a digital recorder in class if we wanted to record the class in case we missed notes or something like that.

00:09:27.522 --> 00:09:28.485
So that's what we had.

00:09:28.485 --> 00:09:34.706
We didn't have laptops or phones that can record or anything like that back when I was in school.

00:09:34.706 --> 00:09:37.120
I know I'm dating myself, but that's just what it was.

00:09:38.001 --> 00:09:44.530
Anyway, I thought I still had that tape player somewhere in there and I'm still looking.

00:09:44.530 --> 00:09:45.111
I didn't find it.

00:09:45.111 --> 00:09:58.296
But what I did find was this book, kind of like a binder almost, and it says my first name and then it says portfolio.

00:09:58.296 --> 00:10:03.227
So I was like, let me look in here and see what's actually in this thing.

00:10:03.227 --> 00:10:22.287
And as I began to look at it I was like this might be interesting enough to make it an episode, because I enjoy being able to look back and be nostalgic, and I got a lot of good feedback when I went through my senior book.

00:10:22.287 --> 00:10:27.201
So I decided I'm going to go through this portfolio, I think.

00:10:27.982 --> 00:10:35.806
I think this is either I believe it's 10th grade, it's either 10th or 11th grade, I don't really know, cause there's no real indication.

00:10:35.806 --> 00:10:43.125
There's a lot of older stuff in here from like when I was in the seventh and eighth grade, but it's also stuff in here from when I was in the 10th grade.

00:10:43.125 --> 00:10:48.932
So I'm not really sure what year this actually is from, but I know I was probably in high school.

00:10:48.932 --> 00:11:01.222
So I'm going to go through it so you can see what was in a young Jay Buggs mind back in high school, and I think it's cool to kind of look back.

00:11:01.222 --> 00:11:06.474
So you're going to hear the pages turn, as as Jill Scott says.

00:11:06.474 --> 00:11:08.602
So let's jump into it.

00:11:08.644 --> 00:11:15.206
So this says and I believe I did this I did this for a project, some kind of project in one of my classes.

00:11:15.206 --> 00:11:19.926
I'm sure it wasn't something that I just did by myself or like I just wanted to do.

00:11:19.926 --> 00:11:21.349
It was for for something.

00:11:21.349 --> 00:11:23.614
So this says table of contents.

00:11:23.614 --> 00:11:24.895
First thing is a resume.

00:11:24.895 --> 00:11:25.466
Next thing is a self of contents.

00:11:25.466 --> 00:11:25.780
First thing is a resume.

00:11:25.780 --> 00:11:27.347
Next thing is a self-portrait.

00:11:27.347 --> 00:11:28.706
Third thing is a parody.

00:11:28.706 --> 00:11:34.630
Fourth thing is a response on, I guess, something I had to read Thanatopis.

00:11:34.630 --> 00:11:42.889
I'm not sure, I don't even remember reading that, but okay, then it says the relationship and then it says self-assessment.

00:11:42.889 --> 00:11:45.207
The next thing is awards and honors.

00:11:45.207 --> 00:11:52.214
The next thing is reports and best current work, and then nine is the last thing is the special interest.

00:11:52.214 --> 00:11:54.807
So we're going to go through this as much as it makes sense.

00:11:54.807 --> 00:12:00.285
Some stuff I'm not going to go through because it's just random reports and stuff like that.

00:12:01.287 --> 00:12:08.576
But let's check it out, let's see what was going on in my mind back in the early 90s.

00:12:08.576 --> 00:12:13.424
All right, looking at my resume, I did not have a job.

00:12:13.424 --> 00:12:22.442
So I think my mom just had me write down what I was doing in school.

00:12:22.442 --> 00:12:33.561
I didn't have a job in high school guys, because my mom would not allow me to work, because she wanted me to put school first and not be distracted by anything.

00:12:33.561 --> 00:12:38.311
But she also didn't give me money, like she was very scarce with the money.

00:12:38.311 --> 00:12:42.006
So it was pretty, pretty tough.

00:12:42.006 --> 00:12:46.863
I'll have to ask for things and then she would decide if she really wanted to do it or not.

00:12:46.863 --> 00:12:49.269
And then I'll be like I can just get a job and get it myself.

00:12:49.269 --> 00:12:56.412
And she was like no, cause, you need to be in them, school books and not, you know, whatever else.

00:12:56.412 --> 00:12:57.433
So it was.

00:12:57.433 --> 00:13:01.346
It was a tug of war in my household as far as things like that.

00:13:01.346 --> 00:13:02.748
But anyway, the resume.

00:13:02.748 --> 00:13:08.822
It says my occupational goal is to be an electrical engineer.

00:13:09.443 --> 00:13:13.952
My education Benton Harbor High School, ninth and 10th grade.

00:13:13.952 --> 00:13:29.509
So this had to be, like I said, around 10th or 11th grade Coursework English Geometry, algebra 3, world History, biology, chemistry, algebra 1, pre-calculus U three world history, biology, chemistry, algebra one, pre-calculus, us history, physical science.

00:13:29.509 --> 00:13:35.746
I don't know why I wrote it like that and why I have algebra three before algebra one, but hey, that's what's there.

00:13:35.746 --> 00:13:53.748
Extracurricular activities is the church youth group, which makes sense it tracks because I grew up in a very, a very strict religious household and Michigan youth and government I believe I talked about that before.

00:13:53.807 --> 00:14:21.509
Michigan youth and government was an organization in high school that we had in which it taught us how the government works and every year we would get to go to the Capitol State Capitol in Lansing, michigan and while the Congress people or Congress was out on a break, we would get to spend the week in in the Capitol like performing Capitol duties.

00:14:21.509 --> 00:14:24.743
So we would pretty much you will be assigned.

00:14:24.743 --> 00:14:28.807
So it was all the, all these different schools around around Michigan.

00:14:28.807 --> 00:14:34.350
Right, we would meet up there and then we would be assigned different things.

00:14:34.350 --> 00:14:43.428
You, you would like pull like a card or something or like they would just randomly randomly assign you things and when you get your name badge you would see that you're a representative or you're a Senator.

00:14:43.428 --> 00:14:45.822
And if you get your name badge you will see that you're a representative or you're a Senator.

00:14:45.822 --> 00:14:51.173
Um, and if you were, you know what committees you were on and things like that.

00:14:51.173 --> 00:14:57.240
So pretty much we would literally go through a whole week of what, uh what a government session would be.

00:14:57.240 --> 00:15:13.532
We would vote for a governor, we would vote for the Lieutenant governor, we would vote for the Sergeant at arms like all the people that like run, run the the house and sit in, and stuff like that, and then we would perform these duties.

00:15:13.893 --> 00:15:28.503
I remember I was on the Department of Transportation Committee, so it was my job to pretty much come up with different bills and things that we wanted to present, because I was also a representative.

00:15:28.503 --> 00:15:31.429
I remember I think both years I was a representative.

00:15:31.429 --> 00:15:39.812
I don't think I ever was a senator, but either way, one year I was on a department of transportation.

00:15:39.812 --> 00:15:47.793
So it was our job to come up with like different bills that hopefully would turn into laws, like is dealing in, dealing with, like public safety or something like that.

00:15:47.793 --> 00:16:04.083
And you would literally have people come in that were lobbyists to try to get their points across, to get you to you know, vote or make a bill based off what, what they're, what they were trying to get you to do as a lobbyist.

00:16:04.083 --> 00:16:19.897
So I did that and then, once we made, once we figured out what we were going to present to be bills, of course we would go to the chambers, bring that up, talk like anything.

00:16:19.897 --> 00:16:23.496
So pretty much the way the government is supposed to work.

00:16:23.496 --> 00:16:25.424
That's what we did for the whole week or whatever.

00:16:25.424 --> 00:16:29.934
But outside of that we would get to meet other high school kids from all over.

00:16:29.934 --> 00:16:30.817
Most of the time.

00:16:30.817 --> 00:16:33.562
Side of that we would get to meet other high school kids from all over.

00:16:33.562 --> 00:16:38.929
Most of the time we kind of navigated to the kids from Detroit.

00:16:38.929 --> 00:16:40.798
We became friends with a lot of them, we would hang out, you know different things, whatever.

00:16:40.798 --> 00:16:41.181
It was a good time.

00:16:41.181 --> 00:16:41.965
But that was Michigan Youth Government.

00:16:41.965 --> 00:16:50.412
I really, really enjoyed that class and I thought that was dope to teach young kids about laws and how things are made, and I wish they kind of had something.

00:16:50.412 --> 00:16:56.397
I don't know if they still have anything like that these days, but I don't think they do.

00:16:56.397 --> 00:17:02.695
I think civics is probably as close as you're gonna get, but I thought it was a dope thing to be a part of.

00:17:02.764 --> 00:17:07.170
Anyway, my hobbies on here are writing, music and computer works.

00:17:07.170 --> 00:17:08.690
What are computer works?

00:17:08.690 --> 00:17:09.166
I don't know.

00:17:09.166 --> 00:17:10.311
My mom made me write that.

00:17:10.311 --> 00:17:23.194
And then my work experience the summer of 1990, I was a bookkeeper at Christ Construction Company, which is my dad's former construction company.

00:17:23.194 --> 00:17:25.960
He owned it and that was my resume.

00:17:27.086 --> 00:17:28.933
So my self portrait.

00:17:28.933 --> 00:17:41.936
So I believe from reading this prior, I believe it was like a fill in the blank type of thing, like they gave you how they wanted you to start, different sentences and then you just fill in the blank, but then you take that whole thing and you type it up.

00:17:41.936 --> 00:17:45.751
So this is what my self-portrait is.

00:17:45.751 --> 00:17:50.871
It says hi, my name is what my name is.

00:17:50.871 --> 00:17:53.565
And here is a self-portrait of myself.

00:17:53.565 --> 00:17:55.772
My favorite color is blue.

00:17:55.772 --> 00:17:58.294
The darker the blue, the better it is.

00:17:58.294 --> 00:18:04.423
I love any kind of food, but if I had to pick one food it would have to be pepperoni pizza.

00:18:05.451 --> 00:18:07.484
My favorite musical instrument is the keyboard.

00:18:07.484 --> 00:18:13.336
There are many things I can do, but I think I have a hidden talent that has yet to be found.

00:18:13.336 --> 00:18:15.961
My favorite sport is basketball.

00:18:15.961 --> 00:18:22.424
I cannot write or sing very well and by right I mean like handwrite, because my handwriting is horrible.

00:18:22.424 --> 00:18:25.132
But I cannot write or sing very well.

00:18:25.132 --> 00:18:25.933
But I'm working on them.

00:18:25.933 --> 00:18:30.828
Most people like to tease me about my musical interests, like music artists or different music.

00:18:30.828 --> 00:18:36.175
One of my unique mannerisms is that I have a nice laid back attitude.

00:18:36.175 --> 00:18:42.105
My pet peeves are people who are fake and people who don't show or give respect that is due.

00:18:42.105 --> 00:18:48.894
I plan to pursue a career in electrical engineering, recording engineering or acting, because I feel like that.

00:18:48.894 --> 00:18:53.201
These are awesome careers that I can be successful in.

00:18:53.201 --> 00:18:56.049
Spoiler alert I did not do either.

00:18:56.049 --> 00:18:57.935
I didn't do any of those.

00:18:58.917 --> 00:19:00.603
I did go to college.

00:19:00.603 --> 00:19:13.141
I started college as an electrical engineering major and the math was not mathing and I decided that was not going to be my you know my forte.

00:19:13.141 --> 00:19:20.480
So I switched it to business and then also I was going to go to.

00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:32.122
After I graduated college I started to have interest in this school called Full Sail, which is in Florida, right outside of where Disney World is sale, which is in Florida, right outside of where Disney World is.

00:19:32.122 --> 00:19:39.188
I think it's Winter Park, florida, and actually it's a really notable school.

00:19:39.188 --> 00:19:46.887
A lot of people that work on Disney movies and stuff went there and got their degrees and stuff to work on the animation or the production or whatever.

00:19:46.887 --> 00:19:49.092
It's a big time thing.

00:19:49.692 --> 00:19:51.195
I applied to go there.

00:19:51.195 --> 00:20:02.950
I got invited to come out to tour the school, went out there, um, I wanted to go for recording engineering shocking right and um, I don't know why did I not go.

00:20:02.950 --> 00:20:09.450
I ended up I don't remember it might've been cause I couldn't afford it, cause my mom was not going to.

00:20:09.450 --> 00:20:18.832
They weren't going to pay for any more school for me once I graduated, um, and I had actually my by the time my junior year rolled around.

00:20:18.832 --> 00:20:20.075
I was not.

00:20:20.075 --> 00:20:22.179
They weren't paying for school for me.

00:20:22.179 --> 00:20:28.555
I had, um, enough scholarships and I had become an in-state student.

00:20:28.555 --> 00:20:40.614
So with my scholarships and work, study and stuff like that, I actually was paying for school and they didn't owe anything outside of that Like they were done, other than my school loans or whatever.

00:20:40.614 --> 00:20:42.871
But I still had that that.

00:20:42.871 --> 00:20:45.250
I wanted to try to do it, but I just didn't end up doing it.

00:20:45.250 --> 00:20:48.684
But that's pretty cool to look back to see.

00:20:48.684 --> 00:20:51.419
I didn't realize that I wanted to be an actor or actress, but yeah, that's pretty cool to look back to see.

00:20:51.419 --> 00:20:54.907
I didn't realize that I wanted to be an actor or actress, but yeah, that's pretty cool to look back.

00:20:54.968 --> 00:21:01.159
Anyway, my strongest character trait is the ability to stay determined and not let anybody change my mind.

00:21:01.159 --> 00:21:06.625
I admire Rosa Parks because she was determined to fight for what she thought was right.

00:21:06.625 --> 00:21:12.438
My biggest fear is not being able to achieve any goals I have set for myself.

00:21:12.438 --> 00:21:13.787
That's pretty.

00:21:13.787 --> 00:21:15.549
That's pretty accurate.

00:21:15.549 --> 00:21:17.954
My eyes are brown like iced tea.

00:21:17.954 --> 00:21:19.978
My hair is dark.

00:21:19.978 --> 00:21:21.866
My eyes are dark brown like iced tea.

00:21:21.866 --> 00:21:25.792
My hair is dark brown like cherry, oak, wood, what?

00:21:25.792 --> 00:21:30.579
My skin is brown like sand.

00:21:30.579 --> 00:21:39.634
I can compare myself to a VCR, because if anyone missed anything on TV, they could ask me and I could give them a playback.

00:21:39.634 --> 00:21:43.214
I am most like a fly, because I'm always bugging somebody.

00:21:43.905 --> 00:21:45.865
I would describe my walk as different.

00:21:45.865 --> 00:21:51.790
I don't know why they asked about our walk, but okay, I would describe my walk as different but normal.

00:21:51.790 --> 00:21:57.875
What If I would create a nickname for myself?

00:21:57.875 --> 00:22:01.291
I would call myself Crazy Jay because everyone calls me crazy.

00:22:01.291 --> 00:22:04.109
Everyone did call me crazy, not crazy in a bad way.

00:22:04.109 --> 00:22:06.453
They'd be like girl, you're so crazy, that type of crazy.

00:22:06.453 --> 00:22:09.433
And actually people did call me Crazy Jay.

00:22:09.433 --> 00:22:11.852
Some people wrote that in my yearbook.

00:22:11.852 --> 00:22:19.618
Most, most of the people that call me that was, I think I get that name in like seventh or eighth grade.

00:22:19.618 --> 00:22:21.932
Don't nobody call me that, please don't do that.

00:22:21.932 --> 00:22:27.448
But um, that was like an old, old, old nickname, um, from back in the day, um.

00:22:27.448 --> 00:22:32.855
So the next, the next portion of this is a parody.

00:22:32.855 --> 00:22:35.559
I wrote several of these.

00:22:35.940 --> 00:22:45.809
Just growing up, I used to spend time in my room trying to make music, trying to write short stories or books or whatever.

00:22:45.809 --> 00:22:49.805
I like to write, I like to read, I like to make music, I like to write music.

00:22:49.805 --> 00:22:58.273
Those were some of my hobbies and one of my favorite things to do, which I got this from Russ Parr, the Russ Parr radio show.

00:22:58.273 --> 00:23:06.102
I don't know if y'all know who Russ Parr is, but when I was growing up we listened to WGCI, which was a Chicago station.

00:23:06.102 --> 00:23:23.778
Even though I'm from Michigan, I live very, very close to Chicago and because we were very small town, we usually got Chicago stations on TV and the Chicago radio stations will come through on the radio, and so, anyway, russ Parr would come on.

00:23:23.778 --> 00:23:25.040
I want to say Saturdays.

00:23:25.040 --> 00:23:30.394
We got Wendy Williams at a certain time and then it was either before or after that.

00:23:30.394 --> 00:23:32.446
Russ Parr and Alfreda's would come on.

00:23:32.928 --> 00:23:39.739
Alfreda's, every week she would do a parody song of whatever.

00:23:39.739 --> 00:23:50.090
So she would take like a popular song like that's the way love goes and I actually might if I can find it and I keep saying this, if I can find it, cause it's just in boxes in my closet.

00:23:50.090 --> 00:23:56.200
It's just a matter of me like going to dig through them If I can find one of the parodies that she did.

00:23:56.200 --> 00:23:59.093
I remember her doing one on that's the way love goes.

00:23:59.093 --> 00:24:04.309
I forget what the parody was, but she would do those every week and so I became inspired.

00:24:04.309 --> 00:24:09.738
So I would listen to songs and then make parodies of them, kind of like Weird Al Yankovic.

00:24:09.738 --> 00:24:14.074
Young kids y'all don't even know who that is, but people my age y'all know who that is.

00:24:14.074 --> 00:24:16.362
He was a parody singer.

00:24:16.362 --> 00:24:19.126
He took a lot of popular songs and also made them into parody.

00:24:19.126 --> 00:24:21.648
So I became very inspired by that.

00:24:21.709 --> 00:24:56.048
So I did a parody of At your Best, you Are Love, performed by Aaliyah, written and remixed by you know who, and I'm not going to read it out of respect, because I was young y'all we already know like the whole story of Aaliyah and Robert, and looking back at it now, that was not cool.

00:24:56.048 --> 00:25:01.266
But as a young kid I don't think I really knew the magnitude of what was going on.

00:25:01.266 --> 00:25:04.113
So because of that I will not read this parody.

00:25:04.113 --> 00:25:17.894
But those of you that are cool with me, if y'all want to know what the parody says, I will let you know, but I'm not going to read it because it's just, it's not in good taste per se.

00:25:17.894 --> 00:25:28.150
There's another piece that I am going to read that probably isn't in the best taste, but I feel like it's a little lighter than what I did for At your Best, but I did.

00:25:28.150 --> 00:25:29.432
It is in there.

00:25:29.432 --> 00:25:33.700
So the next one is the relationship.

00:25:33.700 --> 00:25:36.951
So this is what I wrote.

00:25:36.951 --> 00:25:45.470
So again, y'all disclaimer I am not, in no way am I excusing or making fun of domestic violence.

00:25:45.470 --> 00:25:55.675
I was 15, 14, 16, somewhere around there Again, did not really realize the magnitude of things.

00:25:55.675 --> 00:26:01.009
So just take this as this is a young kid writing this back in the early 90s.

00:26:01.009 --> 00:26:02.434
Times have changed, okay.

00:26:02.434 --> 00:26:08.351
So don't send me no angry feedback or anything like that, just go with it.

00:26:08.351 --> 00:26:11.971
I just want y'all to see kind of how my mind was working back then.

00:26:11.971 --> 00:26:17.115
All right, the relationship by me.

00:26:18.306 --> 00:26:21.255
There is this female by the name of Lisa.

00:26:21.255 --> 00:26:25.872
She burned her man's house up because he just couldn't please her.

00:26:25.872 --> 00:26:30.611
She slapped him in the face, he punched her in the eye.

00:26:30.611 --> 00:26:36.385
She also cussed him out.

00:26:36.385 --> 00:26:37.027
Then she began to cry.

00:26:37.027 --> 00:26:40.011
All this happened because he came home too late.

00:26:40.011 --> 00:26:45.365
When he came home, she didn't hesitate to tell him how she felt.

00:26:45.365 --> 00:26:47.169
You know what was up.

00:26:47.348 --> 00:26:50.473
But to her misfortune, some more bad luck.

00:26:50.473 --> 00:26:52.757
She couldn't control him.

00:26:52.757 --> 00:26:59.334
He went into rage and probably hit her as many times as her age.

00:26:59.334 --> 00:27:02.239
Y'all, please, I'm sorry, just go with it.

00:27:02.239 --> 00:27:06.890
He stormed out of the house for a 20 mile walk.

00:27:06.890 --> 00:27:10.315
What is going on is what she thought.

00:27:11.336 --> 00:27:19.394
So she pulled herself together and tried to let it ride, but with the bruises and pain she couldn't let it slide.

00:27:19.394 --> 00:27:25.990
So she took some matches and burnable things, started a fire.

00:27:25.990 --> 00:27:28.452
Quick, nice and clean.

00:27:28.452 --> 00:27:32.817
It didn't take long before it started to blaze.

00:27:32.817 --> 00:27:37.489
The smoke came out like a thick black haze.

00:27:37.489 --> 00:27:46.185
She gathered her things and went on her way, thinking to herself he won't forget this day.

00:27:46.185 --> 00:27:49.489
She went outside to watch it a while.

00:27:49.489 --> 00:27:53.311
On her face was a mysterious smile.

00:27:53.311 --> 00:27:55.633
But she was not satisfied.

00:27:55.633 --> 00:27:57.494
Oh no, not by far.

00:27:57.494 --> 00:28:01.657
So she went and vandalized his expensive cars.

00:28:01.657 --> 00:28:17.145
By this time she felt she was done and got in her bins and went on the run bins and went on the run.

00:28:17.145 --> 00:28:25.866
Where she went then and what she did after, no one knows, but it filled me with laughter, see, because when Andre came back he thought he was jamming, but when he saw the house, his heart he was grabbing.

00:28:25.866 --> 00:28:30.596
The house was totally burned, nothing more, nothing less.

00:28:31.356 --> 00:28:32.679
Left Eye turned herself in.

00:28:32.679 --> 00:28:34.767
Andre became homeless.

00:28:34.767 --> 00:28:39.776
They were both on the news every hour all the time.

00:28:39.776 --> 00:28:44.069
Andre told the press that something was wrong with Left Eye's mind.

00:28:44.069 --> 00:28:47.637
It didn't take long before Lefty was released.

00:28:47.637 --> 00:28:52.836
She volunteered for AA so some of her pain could be eased.

00:28:52.836 --> 00:28:57.553
Now she's back with her group and a new album and video are out.

00:28:57.553 --> 00:29:02.736
She's trying to leave her troubles behind, but they always seem to come about.

00:29:02.736 --> 00:29:08.510
Meanwhile Andre is getting into the music business himself and the outcome looks shady.

00:29:08.510 --> 00:29:16.053
I hope they both go on with their lives and work something out, because this relationship is crazy.

00:29:18.758 --> 00:29:31.478
So that was the relationship by me written, obviously, about the situation with Lisa and Andre.

00:29:31.478 --> 00:29:37.650
And again, I understand that there was some domestic violence going on.

00:29:37.650 --> 00:29:46.912
I was a teenager, didn't really get the magnitude of what's going on, so if anyone was triggered by that I do apologize.

00:29:46.912 --> 00:29:50.919
But again, this is the 90s, I was a kid.

00:29:50.919 --> 00:30:06.551
But I have to say, outside of that, y'all have to give it to me, like I this, like the poem, the creativity, like I wrote all this by myself, so I have to give myself some snaps for that.

00:30:06.551 --> 00:30:17.696
So now the self assessment, it says I think this was just why I did this, or whatever it says, the occasion of my self-portrait is to allow other people to know more about me.

00:30:17.696 --> 00:30:21.557
I didn't use any particular process to write my self-portrait.

00:30:21.557 --> 00:30:24.347
I learned that I can see myself in a different way.

00:30:24.347 --> 00:30:30.166
I like the self-portrait because it gives you a chance to describe yourself the way you see yourself.

00:30:30.166 --> 00:30:32.431
Okay, I selected this piece because it is you a chance to describe yourself the way you see yourself.

00:30:32.431 --> 00:30:37.919
Okay, I selected this piece because it is a good opportunity to let others know about you.

00:30:38.900 --> 00:30:44.643
The reason I chose to do At your Best for my parody is to make people laugh and bring them up on a certain event.

00:30:44.643 --> 00:30:48.875
I wrote a song with the first and third lines rhyming.

00:30:48.875 --> 00:30:54.076
I learned that I can turn any event into a song and make it sound just like the song itself.

00:30:54.076 --> 00:30:58.476
I liked writing my parody because it allowed me to use my mind in a fun way.

00:30:58.476 --> 00:31:03.155
I selected this piece because I feel that it shows some of my writing skills.

00:31:03.155 --> 00:31:10.699
The reason I decided to do the relationship was to inform people of a strong feeling within myself in a comical way.

00:31:10.699 --> 00:31:13.991
I wrote this piece in poetry form.

00:31:13.991 --> 00:31:19.411
I learned that when you have a strong feeling of something, it's easy to put into words.

00:31:19.411 --> 00:31:25.588
I selected this piece because it was my favorite piece of writing that I wrote myself completely from scratch.

00:31:25.588 --> 00:31:33.667
I like this piece because it makes me feel good to be able to look at other people reading my work and enjoying it also.

00:31:33.667 --> 00:31:36.071
So that was it.

00:31:36.231 --> 00:31:41.768
That was it of that, and then the rest of this is just some certificates.

00:31:41.768 --> 00:31:50.526
So I see that I was awarded this doesn't say what year, but it had to be seventh or eighth grade.

00:31:50.526 --> 00:32:02.480
I was awarded a scholarship to study at Michigan Tech, which was a technical school that taught you I think it was like engineering, because I was wanting to be an engineer back then.

00:32:02.480 --> 00:32:04.321
So it was like robotics or something like that.

00:32:04.321 --> 00:32:14.185
Have an award.

00:32:14.185 --> 00:32:14.406
Oh, this is.

00:32:14.406 --> 00:32:15.249
This is freshman year of high school.

00:32:15.249 --> 00:32:18.656
I was awarded a certificate for my badminton tournament that I got second place in me and my friend Tonette.

00:32:18.656 --> 00:32:24.257
Shout out to Tonette we got second place in the badminton tournament.

00:32:24.257 --> 00:32:26.365
Y'all don't want to see me on on on badminton.

00:32:26.365 --> 00:32:27.105
Y'all want to see me?

00:32:27.105 --> 00:32:32.837
Um, I also got an award for school service.

00:32:32.837 --> 00:32:39.150
What, and that was before high school, I don't know what that was for.

00:32:39.150 --> 00:32:44.076
Okay, I have another award here, for.

00:32:44.577 --> 00:32:53.689
This is to certify that I have maintained an exceptional standard of scholarship and has duly earned this honor academic achievement.

00:32:53.689 --> 00:32:56.701
It must've been like my grades or whatever, for seventh grade.

00:32:56.701 --> 00:33:00.212
Here's another one for my school.

00:33:00.212 --> 00:33:02.798
My junior high was called McCord Renaissance Center.

00:33:02.798 --> 00:33:12.018
I went to Stern Brunson for kindergarten through first second grade, which is no longer a school.

00:33:12.018 --> 00:33:25.415
Then I went to Gifted and Talented Academy for the gifted and the talented for until sixth grade and I went to McCord seventh and eighth grade and then I went to just our regular high school.

00:33:25.415 --> 00:33:28.730
We only had one, and from a small town for high school, anyway.

00:33:28.730 --> 00:33:31.076
So this says this is my diploma.

00:33:31.076 --> 00:33:50.096
Hereby, let it be known, upon the recommendation of faculty of McCord Renaissance Center, an eighth grade diploma has been conferred upon me in recognition of the satisfactory completion of the academic requirements of the Benton Harbor Area High School Board of Education.

00:33:50.096 --> 00:33:51.018
Blah blah, blah, blah blah.

00:33:51.018 --> 00:33:57.916
Then I also have an honor roll certificate for the first semester, I wanna say, of eighth grade.

00:33:57.916 --> 00:34:00.954
I have another certificate.

00:34:00.954 --> 00:34:07.776
This is a scholarship that I was awarded in junior high to study at Dance Arts Academy.

00:34:08.605 --> 00:34:12.052
I used to dance, dance like tap dance.

00:34:12.052 --> 00:34:19.398
Well, I got, I got the scholarship for tap to go to the Dance Art Academy to learn tap, for I think it was two years.

00:34:19.398 --> 00:34:29.094
I did that in the summer, so I took dance during school and in the summertime I would go to dance dance art and take a tap.

00:34:29.094 --> 00:34:43.048
So I danced for, I mean, two years and some change total, but it was like two full years, because I took two semesters of it in school and then I took it during the summer for both years or whatever.

00:34:43.048 --> 00:34:44.152
So that was cool.

00:34:44.152 --> 00:34:53.987
Then I have let me see this is my National Junior Honor Society certificate the Hazel May chapter and my little card.

00:34:53.987 --> 00:35:01.427
I also got an honorable mention for mathematics and science had to be for science because it couldn't have been for mathematics.

00:35:01.427 --> 00:35:05.010
Then okay, here we go.

00:35:05.010 --> 00:35:09.414
Then here is a report card that I got.

00:35:09.474 --> 00:35:15.822
This was 10th grade, 10th grade, the first semester of 10th grade.

00:35:15.822 --> 00:35:32.619
So on one side they have the course description, then they have the teacher and it is how many credits you get per class, and then it has on the other side the grade and then it has a spot for comments and then a spot for absences.

00:35:32.619 --> 00:35:39.878
So let's see, let's see what was popping with me in the 10th grade, first semester.

00:35:39.878 --> 00:35:46.909
So I had honors English, 10th grade English with Miss Chambers I got a B.

00:35:46.909 --> 00:35:49.556
Spanish one.

00:35:49.556 --> 00:35:58.268
With Mr Ollers I got a B Spanish one.

00:35:58.268 --> 00:35:59.431
With Mr Ollers I got an A.

00:35:59.431 --> 00:36:02.195
Multicultural history with Ms Churchwell I got an A.

00:36:02.195 --> 00:36:04.778
Algebra three with Mr Woods I got a B.

00:36:04.778 --> 00:36:19.891
Honors biology I don't remember this name, ms Chenault's, I know it was a lady, I think I got a C and in computer literature, ms Sunblad, I got a B minus.

00:36:19.891 --> 00:36:26.639
So my GPA that semester was a 3.5.

00:36:26.639 --> 00:36:36.726
A 3.5.

00:36:36.726 --> 00:36:37.788
And let's see what these some of the.

00:36:37.788 --> 00:36:38.309
They left some comments.

00:36:38.309 --> 00:36:43.659
So under honors English that I got to be in the comment is a number one, and number one says should ask for extra help.

00:36:43.659 --> 00:36:45.246
That makes sense.

00:36:45.246 --> 00:36:46.048
That makes sense.

00:36:46.128 --> 00:36:49.295
I did struggle in English with writing.

00:36:49.295 --> 00:36:59.980
Although I really liked to write it was I don't know I found it hard to like get out what I wanted to say and make it make sense and like have all the right punctuation and all that other stuff.

00:36:59.980 --> 00:37:12.786
So I struggled in that, even though I had a B, it wasn't until I got with two of my teachers, miss Holmes and Miss Richburg, that they actually took the time with me after school.

00:37:12.786 --> 00:37:18.708
I would stay after school and they would literally like tutor me and just like help me write.

00:37:18.708 --> 00:37:20.858
They would make me like write a bunch of different things.

00:37:20.858 --> 00:37:29.925
I had like extra homework every day to try to get me you know good at, you know writing and understanding all that stuff.

00:37:29.925 --> 00:37:31.268
Anyway, they did great.

00:37:31.268 --> 00:37:34.112
Shout out to Miss Richburg and Miss Holmes.

00:37:34.112 --> 00:37:36.882
Um, so yeah, needed extra help.

00:37:37.054 --> 00:37:38.501
Spanish one alers.

00:37:38.501 --> 00:37:39.940
I got an A right.

00:37:39.940 --> 00:37:47.039
When you look at the communication, though cause I did not go to that class, it says zero.

00:37:47.039 --> 00:37:50.387
Often absent or tardy is the comment.

00:37:50.387 --> 00:37:52.882
I literally did not go to that class.

00:37:52.882 --> 00:37:54.260
I don't even know how I got an A.

00:37:54.735 --> 00:37:57.244
I was very, very charming in high school.

00:37:57.244 --> 00:38:03.920
For the most part I did my work, but like Spanish, I'm not.

00:38:03.920 --> 00:38:04.762
What do you want me to do?

00:38:04.762 --> 00:38:06.286
What do you want me to do, mr Allers?

00:38:06.286 --> 00:38:10.320
I would show up, pass the test and then I would leave class.

00:38:10.320 --> 00:38:24.221
I would go find something else to do A lot of times I would ask him we had like a viewing room across the hall from his class, like where you would go to watch film or whatever.

00:38:24.541 --> 00:38:27.050

The Portfolio

Listen On

Featured Episodes

Recent Episodes

music Episodes

J Chats Episodes

Browse episodes by category

New here?