You think you know, but you have no idea…

Multi-facets has it’s benefits and costs. Although it can make you well versed and varied in a multitude of styles, voices, and abilities; it can all tend to isolate and undermine who you are. In many instances, aspects that you think others would appreciate more and score you a few brownie points in their eyes actually hide the parts of you that can shine brighter than chromed out rims. In your head, you know you shouldn’t give a shit about what they think… but in the back of your mind, that negativity just stews. Case in point, I went to a youth conference a few weeks ago, because SFSU is starting a Colleges Against Cancer chapter at our site. We were paired up with some Berkeley folks, which is cool, cuz I work on a grant associated with the college, and it’s my alma mater. Anywho, one of the Berkeley folks kept referring to us as “kids”. Mind you that I got a good few years on him, I’ve been through the UCB system back and again, I’m in grad school and coordinate a program… but that didn’t matter. Sometimes I think when I tell people I go to SFSU, it translates to she was too stupid to get into a real college. A couple of other Cal alum feel the same, and get similar reactions. It’s weird. What’s funny, I find that I enjoy my experience at SFSU much more than I did serving my time at UCB. Can you imagine my amazement when I was walking across the San Fran campus and someone actually spoke and smiled for no reason?!?! That never happened at UCB. If they did, they were trying to get you to vote for them at elections, or join Environmental California or something. But I digress. But do you feel where I’m coming from? The sense of knowing that you can offer a lot more than another person may give you credit for, but you get shut down? How do you react? Respond?
I’ve been watching that show “So you Think You Can Dance?” because I know some folks that were quite successful on it, but I do wonder what this show undermines about each participant. Or what it says about being a good “dancer”. I often think that it has to come from the soul… that you have to have a passion and drive that pushes you to put your body and emotions to the limits, so that you can be the best that you can be. I give props to the folks that have never had a dance class in their lives, but religiously watched videos, hung out in the parks dancing with their home boys or home girls until they nailed that freeze pose just right. I can’t really feel the ones that are just doing it cuz they want people to fawn at how fast they can shake their ass or do a Shakira boobie pop. It has to be much more. I remember this one guy at UCB was in a dance group on campus and he thought he was the shit, cuz he went to all these master hip-hop classes down in LA. The funny thing though, he didn’t like Black people. Hmmm… Black people and hip-hop, kinda go hand in hand ya think… not being stereotypical or anything, but it is what it is. I couldn’t, nor wanted to bother getting below the surface that he presented to me… would have been like talking to a brick wall. But I’m curious… how do you or do you even promote your talents, abilities and wisdoms to other people? And when they give you a fat blocked punt, how do you respond?