It's Gone Be Alright

I believe that I am overdue for a Blog post. I think it is important for me to talk about all the recent things that have happened in the past couple of days. By this I mean that I should talk about the election of Donald Trump in the oval office. Do not worry I am not here to talk badly about America or how much I either like or dislike Trump but I just wanted to let everyone that no matter what happens it’s going to be alright. While at first I was terrified by the election I have been able to find a mental space that I am able to make actual make smart non-emotional decisions. 

After seeing the reaction that many of the other Americans were having and talking to my professor, I realized that both the Democratic and Republican sides of the congress are somehow afraid of each other, how this came about no one can really say. I truly think this is a time of reconstruction for many different things. We have become aware of the ignorance in the world and it is up to us to spread knowledge and love that needs to be spread. Many people say that we need to be united as a people but how do you do that when there are many different people attack what you believe in on both sides? I am a true believer in open dialog but we also have to be able to surround ourselves with people from different circles and walks of life. This is the only way that we will know what is going on all over. Even if we do not agree with certain things does not mean that we cannot respect their right to say or express how they feel. 

We have to learn how to see more than just our own angle of things and I am the main culprit. I have been looking for more and more opportunities to be open to other ways of solving problems. We all have to take it one situation at a time, then and only then will we be able to truly understand each other. 

The picture I have included really spoke to me, in the sense that there is a balance to everything and what ever is thrown our way we will have to be able to continue fighting the fight we have been fighting most of our history. We can do anything when we are working together and have a clear vision. 

I can start to see how I am changing as a person here and I can say that it is for the better. 

Come on London!!!!!

The GLOBE

      Last week was my debut performance at Shakespeare's Globe theater!!!!! It was truly amazing; it was also the wrap up of the course as a whole which was really cool.  I really enjoyed the whole module with all the different types of professors we had. It was an eye-opening experience that has revitalized me as a performer. I feel as if I could freely practice my craft, learn and grow from it. I didn't have to worry about the stress of exams or having to prove that I belong in my major. 

The Globe also introduced me to some new aspects of a company that as an actor I could work in, also the opportunity to hear from and meet other people who work at the Globe and who have performed on the stage before.

This picture is from the tour that we got off the stage and area, we could go through every part of the Globe stage and take pictures. It was one of the coolest things in the world, being able to hear about the history of such a historical place and learn about the different rituals done before shows. We even got to see the basement where they keep the costumes and I got the opportunity to try one something made from scratch and worn by my acting professor. If you look close you can see there is a little red spot by my left arm, it's a blood stain from an accident on the stage when Jimmy was performing. The actor opposite him stabbed him in the hand on accident and they had to rush him to the hospital. 

 It's been great performing, but with the extra time I will enjoy being able to travel to other countries and have a bit more time to do things like make blog posts and to be able to rest more. That will be fun, be expecting more post for me, stay tuned. 

Come On London!!!

Viva Italia!!! 🇮🇹

This weekend i have had the opportunity to travel out of the country......hahahah or should I say out of the UK. Even though it is the title of this post i am still going to  announce that I am in Naples Italy!!!

 
It has been such an both a void and frustrating trip.  The city itself is very beautiful and there is so much history within it, from the many Viaducts to the buildings that are extremely old to the way the city is built on a hill. Once I got off the plane i was in love. Last night was my first time getting actual Italian food and I got lasagna, which was smaller than I tought but pact a very hard punch.
   Of course with the good of the city there is bound to be a bit of bad. Not only did I feel at home getting off the plane, but I also noticed I had no Signal, data, or Wi-Fi; even though the airport said it had Wi-Fi. This was a STRUGLE not only did I get a text from our Air b&b host saying he couldn't pick us up, but we had no idea of how to get to his place. And with no wifi, data (even though or phone suppliers said we had some) and for me nothing to eat since the night before, we were sitting ducks, in a new city, with American accents and 3 useless super computers (capable of everything but connecting to the internet.)

Standing around I thought to myself what are we to do? Then it hit me this is what we all have been preparing for our whole lives.  Math,  science, social studies, leadership classes and everything else. These classes were made to give us all basic knowledge of the world and our selves. This is when I thought about what Carmen said before we left "its in those moments that you find who you are as a person." It was in that moment that I realized that we could do anything with or without a phone.  So we converted our money grabbed a cab and made our way to our Air b&b, where we walled into this gorgeous view of the city. 

In those moments we got our stuff together and got what we needed done. I think we have concurred getting lost in an Italian city without phones.  Now let's see if we can find some cool clubs and bars and stuff. 珞 Challenge accepted.

Come on........Italy. 

Darius Lee: Smizing through London.

This week I got the opportunity to read another persons blog and I have to say that I did enjoy it. Darius  Lee also wrote a post about the slave museum and he talked about how the slaves staying  together and being each others support.
This made me think about the people of today and how people of color have stuck together through history. Unity is something I think that has been a key element in survival and perseverance in our history. It seems that as we are growing up there is less of this unity in our community. This is very dangerous when there are things that need to be done in the world, like reform of systems that have been put in place to gives privilege to certain groups. This unity is something many of us strive for within different communities but then we fail when it is for our own.

This unity is achievable for everyone but you have to start with yourself and then work a bit at a time. This, I think, is how we create a sense of unity within the world and our communities. Of course there is more work to this unity, but if we can start within then we would be able to work.

Leadership and London

         Its been an interesting few weeks here adjusting to everything that has been going on. During my stay here I have been reading for my Long Vanderburgh scholars  class, we are looking at the life of one of the most famous leaders; Nelson Mandela. Reading this autobiography has been very interesting, within it Mandela gives lessons about how leadership should be and traits that a leader should have when leading.

I have been forced to think about what leadership means to me as I read the book which has been changed by some of the things I have read. For example the most recent chapter we read was about  leading from behind and I thought to myself who in the world could you do that. Of course as I was reading the material I understood more about how Mandela would make others feel as if they made decisions themselves. Author Richard Stengel talks about how Mandela would rarely share what his views were on certain subjects but he would rather summarize what everyone else would mold the opinion and gear it towards action. 

Reading this I thought to myself that he was the most effective Resident Assistant that there was. All joking aside he really proved himself to be a great man and leader, which is something that many people strive but never achieve at that level. Does that make them less of a leader? No it doesn't. 

Everyone has their own way of leading and Mandela's might not work for everyone, but it is good to know about other ways of leading, to see see which is most effective for you. During my time here and being the RA I have noticed that it is easy want to tell people what to do and how to do it and being part of everything that people are doing, but it's more difficult letting people do them while you are doing something completely different.

Looking through my phone I was able to find a picture that I took with a statue of Mandela. I did not realize that I had this but I thought it would be fitting for this post. The statue I think captures who he was as a person in the since that he was always open and the power he radiates it very visible in the picture. I can say that when I saw the statue I was surprised to see it, but I thought why not he did meet the queen and the presence of his leadership was felt over all of the world. So far so good.

Come on London!!

Lights, Make-up, and Jazz squares.

      Being in London has really opened my eyes to the uses of theater and how I have interacted with it in my recent years. I have had many conversations with the other people here and them talking about how the shows that we are seeing are stimulating the creative juices in them. I am not sure if that is true for me.

     I have definitely enjoyed seeing all the shows we have gone to, in a way I think it has done the opposite to me. I came here thinking to myself that there was all this theater that hasn't been created and how we needed to start creating so that more and more people are being seen on stage. After the shows I have seen I am not sure it that is true anymore. Being in the UK has made me aware of all the shows that are doable by different types of people round the world. Sitting listening to representatives come and talk about the work they do at the Globe Theater really impresses me. To see that it is very expansive to more than just one audience and type of person really makes theater a universal language in a way to me.

    They use theater to reach out to their communities and get them involved more and see the importance of it, which is amazing to me. This makes sense why people respect and appreciate the actor more here. They are also more flexible with casting here. Never in a million years would I have expected to see so much representation on the stage of a theater. Here I feel so removed from many  of the issues of the America and the American stage. This then makes me think is this all a distraction or is this a possible reality of what theater could and should be?

   I think that in America it is possible to have such a diverse theater and for it to mean something more than just for the entertainment of the people. I think that if American theater can take anything from British Theater it is that the ticket prices don't need to start at $300 in order for the theater to make a profit. They could also loosen up a bit when it comes to casting and take a chance with a person that is unknown or make a statement with cast a woman in a man's part or racially different casting. This way that stage would represent the world that we are living in.

 I have been entertained and pushed as an audience member and I think that the shows that we have seen are a great reflection of what London is in the present time.

After seeing the show that was Imogen which was another show well done, all I could say was

Come one London!!!

Mindset and Set Minds

     It has been interesting to be in London and learn about their history, specifically their history with slavery and what was to come after it. Through our classes we have read two books that have been our new introduction to a mechanical system used to build the wealth and prosperity of many countries.

     Slavery has already been taught to us as children in Grade, or as some may call it Grammar, school; but as we grow up we are taught many different things about why it really was created and why it took so long for it to be abolished. While reading the books Oroonoko and The History of Mary Prince, both the authors pain a very clear visual of what slavery was used for and how it effected both the white and the black community. 

    The use of slaves has been implemented countless civilizations, but the Trans-Atlantic slave trade was a different beast.  This was not only about free labor but in a way the eradication of a race of people.
  The enslavement of the, what we now know as the, African people has had a certain affect on the people of the time and generations to come.
   The dominance of one culture over another that took place and set the course for many of the issues that we are dealing with today. In the minds of whites during slavery there was this power that came with their position in the newly created world. While reading the book The History of Mary Prince it was easy to see this in the many different masters that Mary had. The wife of one of her masters named Capetian I, was very cruel to her. This had me think about why this would be useful to anyone; as a slaver owner there has always been this feeling of the slaves would try to over throw you. So then the whites had to go out of their way to make sure that blacks knew their place. This meant that they had to show their dominance over the slaves. Mary recalled a time when her masters wife whipped her because she told her one of the jars had broken and the wife whipped her for relaying the information. One of her first masters beat her almost every day to make sure she knew who was in charge. Once he even made his son watch, after reading this I thought to myself that this is how the idea of slavery kept on through the generations. Acts like this are what teach children that they are more than the slaves and give them privilege.
     Slavery was the creation of white privilege and the starting steps for all it will be used for in the creation of new countries. This is what is being passed down to each generation of children and teaching how to keep their control over slaves.

   The slaves on the other hand are being taught the opposite. In the book Oroonoko, the main character tells a story of the African slave that was A prince of a nation. This prince was tricked into slavery and in the book you see his transformation from nobleman to slave. He and Mary Prince both in a way loose their humanity towards themselves. In Mary Prince when she refers to either herself or other slaves she compares them to animals or property that is meant to be bought and sold at the drop of a dime. When Oroonoko's rebellion was stopped and he was captured he was butchered like a cow. Shopping his arms and legs off, bleeding him out and decapitating him. Mary Prince tells us the story of her family being split apart and separated at the auction block. This forces the people to start to form extended families to care and nurture for each other. They were mentally and physically abused and bound. They were shackled and treated harshly, many a times the slaves were even humiliated in public while being sold. They were stripped of clothes and showcased for all the men at auctions to see. This treatment has taken such a tole that remnants of it all are felt today. You have people that are bound by the government and who think that where they are is the only place they will go. The minds of blacks was broken, it had to be that was the only way to keep slavery on going. 

The Warrior Within: a trip to the International slavery Mueseum

Going to the International Slaver Museum was an Eye opening experience. There was so much history in those rooms that there were many times when I had to sit and think everything that was in the museum and how it all has led to me being where I was. I have nothing but gratefulness after visiting, In this assignment I will be reflecting on the trip in a story. for the class. 

The Warrior Within

As I walked through the museum I couldn't hep but think what story would be told of, if it were the future and the it was stumbled upon this exhibit. It came to me that they would see the different objects that caught my eye and think to themselves that the people that were enslaved were a strong people. From the women to the men to the children the first thing they will see is their culture. The art work that was created in the time before they were treated like cattle. These Strangers will look at their craftsmanship and know that these were very skilled people. The doors were carved from trees and stone each of the designs that was a representation of the status of the family. The more intricate the better the status of the family. The culture is deeply rooted within in the ground that surrounded them and just like the door is deeply carved in the wood, the culture of the people is carved deep within them. Their true nature was not to be captive people, not to be treated as cargo, property, or animals. They were warriors, princes, mothers, daughters, queens and kings and this does not change even if you are put into captivity.  

The warrior spirit was so strong that there had to be a way in order to break that soul. We talked about how when enslaving a people it is common practice to hold power over them in every way possible and in order to break the warrior spirit they had to show that they held power over the African slaves. One way that they did that was through the art work. On the vase below there is a picture of a slave that is serving the master. Having pictures, scriptures and a society built upon white supremacy is one of the ways the masters kept the slaves in the slave mentality. This repetition of how the master is better than the slave is how they broke the warrior spirit within the slaves and they were able to have control over them. Of course there were other ways they broke the spirits of the slaves like beating them into submission and embarrassment in front of other slaves.  

Even within captivity their warrior spirit was not completely broken  or gone. They learned to preserve it and to keep it within themselves. Through the hard times they drew from the strength of the warrior to help them fight on when it seemed like they could not fight anymore. This replenished their being giving them hope and a fighting spirit that they used to get their freedom later in history. The guest will come across the video section and they will hear the stories of the slaves trying to escape. This will be a testament of their strength at the end of the video they will hear the lady say "We were Africa in the beginning, we will be Africa in the end."  This phrase means that no matter what they go through they will always be true to who they are. This is a key phrase to the whole exhibit, this shows the warrior spirit to the fullest. They will fight to preserve their identity.
  This is even seen in modern times through the people that are not inhabitants of America. They hold close to the traditions and the the history of their people to show honor to the ancestors that have come before. They keep the warrior spirit going and living within themselves and the history of their lives. This is key for moving forward, staying true to the culture that many have tried to strip away and change.
This is the story that any visitor will gain from visiting the museum a story of survival, strength, and courage. They will truly find the Warrior within.

Extroverts worst nightmare

   There are many differences between American and European culture, but the one I want to focus on is the difference in social life. This country is truly an introverts dream land. If you're the type of person who hates it when people talk to you on the street or a person who doesn't like talking to people on the train, then London is the place for you. Even when clubing people are not very loud or chaotic.
   Last night I got the opportunity to go to a Beyoncé party and while there I walked in to a club of people sitting around, including Kevin, just having simple conversation. To this I was very shocked, at American parties people come on ready to sweat and everything else (no drinks required). Here people were sitting and talking as if they were at a dinner for two.  After a drink they would stand where they are sitting and dance, then have a nother drink walk away from the table just a little bit and dance, then have one more drink and get on the floor and dance; the whole time I felt as if I were watching people testing the water they were trying to swim in.
   I also thought it was weird that the DJ was not playing any Beyoncé songs. Come to find out around 10:30pm that the Beyoncé party was actually downstairs.......after hearing this announcement everyone grabbed all their belongings and ran as quickly as (and as safely) possibly downstairs. As we stepped through the doors we were greated with a love mix of Regge and oldschool Beyoncé. As more and more people showed up the party got more and more lively, the people were dancing but only with each other. This I was not use to in America when ever you are in a crowded club people are dancing with their friends but also grinding and dancing with others around them. This is not the case in London. Even when the club is packed people are very careful with who they are dancing with. I speak from experience here, there was this very lively couple Kevin and I were dancing with and they were very interactive, but they were also very separate and in their on little bubble while interacting with us.

As out night came to an end and we began to leave the club the staff there were very polite and kind they all asked us if we were leaving, then they would tell us to get home safely. Both Kevin and I were amazed at the hospitality of the club security as we were there and left. The night was an overall good night and I am glad I got the opportunity to go, if I could do it again then I definitely would. As we headed back home all I could think to myself was..

Come on London!!

Customs

     Once off the plane I was kind of nervous even though I was following the signs, I felt as I was going to get lost. As I followed the huge crowd of people I was lead to the UK Border, which was a bit intimidating. Never the less I got in the extremely long line (Like EXTREMELY Long) and after a good hour I was at the desk ready to quickly and respectfully answer the questions and hand them the  probably incorrectly filled out boarding card. When the person at the desk began to ask me the questions I recalled the answers from the letter they gave us at Millikin and I was able to answer and go on with my day!!!
      That was probably the most nerve wrecking experience that I had while I was traveling beside the emergency in the plane. getting my bad was pretty stress free, I did think that they lost it cause the screen said the bags from my flight were on conveyer belt 9, then turns out they were really on 6. So that was a bit scary. Other than that they check in was pretty simple and quick.
     Once I had my bag I exchanged some of my dollars for pounds and then I met up with Dawn and Kevin (Best friends) which was funny because I was the only person really excited and people were staring at us. I have noticed while here that British people are VERY introverted, so this is an extroverts worse nightmare. It's been okay though I have just learned to be more chill around the city, but the one place where there is no chill is CARNIVAL!!

Come on London!!!

London....I am here!!!

I am here and loving it. The flight over was very Chaotic! After a flight change, because the first flight was delayed and I would have missed my connecting flight, and a fight almost breaking out in the bag check line, I was fine. The second flight was the interesting one. Once on board (after I had spoken to family and everything) I was comfortably in my seat, when a man can and sat next to me and was very talkative, which I didn't mind until he asked me if I would mind switching with his girlfriend, they got separated because the flight was booked.To this I was silent for a bit.....staring at him thinking to myself that I went through a whole flight change to be here and the lady at the check in desk gave me great seats with extra leg room. After 30 seconds of reflection I thought to myself I wouldn't mind letting her sit where I was as long as it was another window seat, he then proceeded to tell me that it was another window seat. I then said if we could clear it with the flight attendant then it was fine with me, really hoping that they would say no you can not, but of course they said it would be fine if both parties agreed. So long story short I ended up sitting next to the lovely Indian Couple. After take off everything was great I think I can't remember since I was unconscious for 2/3rds of the flight, but I know you are probably wondering about the Chaotic part. After the third nap and the second missed snack I woke up to a panic on board, there was an emergency! I woke up to flight attendants and people crowded in the corner asking if anyone was a doctor. To this I just turned my head and went back to sleeping hopping once I woke up again I would find it was all a dream. Unfortunately it wasn't and after I woke up from my other nap I realized this. I saw flight attendants moving the woman to the bathroom and it seemed as if she was just extremely lightheaded.

   The decend was fine and I got some cool pictures of the land. The seat change I did earlier turned out to be a great choice. Once on the ground we were told the paramedics would come get the person that was ill,but after 10 min of waiting they said everyone else was free to go.
The trip was a successful one and I am glad I made it safely next thing Ill talk about is customs and the ride to Dawn's house (or what I was conscious for lol) Ta Ta for now!
Come On London!!!