I don’t want to see you but you implore
Got me feeling weak,
a horrid scene,
as I ignore
every red flag on the concourse
You take siege of my needs
I’m a fiend for your encore
D.T. Ruth
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Be You. Live R.E.A.L.
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Forever intertwined.
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Be You. Live R.E.A.L.
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Be You. Live R.E.A.L.
Have you ever had one of those toxic relationships where it seemed like the fights were non-stop but at the same time you couldn’t get enough of each other?
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Be You. Live R.E.A.L.
First and foremost you’re going to have to pardon my horrible photography skills. I did the best I could with my Iphone 4 (I know, prehistoric right?) dangling over the edge of the GE building and Empire State Building. All I could think about was the crater my phone was going to leave on the sidewalk 1,000 feet below us. Or the crater it would leave on somebody’s head. Or what my body would look like if I fell. Thoughts like: would I die before I hit the ground or on impact crossed my mind. I started getting dizzy. A bit woozy. And then I said, “OK, let’s keep it moving”. Hence, I didn’t take many pictures from the top of these great landmarks. I didn’t really take many outdoor pictures at all. It was too brick for all that.. TOO COLD. FREEZING, in fact.
Moving on, by now I’m guessing that you’ve figured out where I was a little over a week ago. If you didn’t get it after reading the title that’s kind of sketchy. If you still didn’t get it after I wrote about my phone dangling over the edge of the Empire State Building then SHAME ON YOU. Anyway, I traveled to New York to attend Agenda Emerge, a fantastic speaker series hosted by Group Y that brings moguls from the streetwear/retail industry together to bestow their knowledge on whoever is lucky enough to purchase tickets. The event I attended had a success-studded lineup that included: Bobby Hundreds, Johnny Cupcakes, Jeff Staple, and Marc Ecko (in order of presentation). It was amazing. So amazing I blogged about it right when I got back to my cousins house- you can read my response to it HERE.
However, Agenda was on Thursday and I stayed in New York until Sunday. Which meant I had plenty of time to reminisce. Plenty of time to wander the streets I used to loiter on. And plenty of time to sight see, becoming a tourist in the city I once called home . Correction- becoming a tourist in the city I STILL call home.
At first it felt like I was a stranger in my own town. It had been 6 years since the last time I saw the park I used to frequent on 85th and 30th. 8 years since I moved to Florida. I was a stranger.
I took a nostalgic stroll around Queens. Walked by my old house. Passed the bodega I used to frequent. Bought Tims at the Modell’s I sometimes copped my Js. Took my old route to 82nd street and Roosevelt, passing the elementary/middle school I attended (St. Joan of Arc). I also walked by City Jeans (another place I used to harass for Js back in the day on 82nd street and 37th ave). And then hopped on the 7 train I used almost every weekday for two years to get to my high school (School of the Future).
As I walked the streets of Manhattan I was hit with an influx of beautiful memories. Memories of taking the subway to school every day. Memories of great times I had with my friends. Of the laughs we had. The crushes I had. The dumb sh!t I did. It was a great feeling to be back in the city that raised me.
The walls I used to tag up with my paint marker looked completely different. But the feeling was the same. I was home.
The day after Agenda Emerge my girlfriend got to town and we immediately set out to Manhattan so I could give her a tour of New York City. Turns out I’m not that great of a tour guide. My sense of direction stinks. And after not navigating the trains for 8 years I was more than rusty. It was funny at times as I pretended to know where I was going, got lost, and luckily ran into something I could point out. But these “somethings” we ran into were great “somethings”, like the New York Public Library. I have been in that library numerous times in my life and was never as happy to see it as I was that day when we ran into it.
It’s crazy how when you live in New York you can easily take everything for granted. I’ve been to Rockefeller Center countless times in my life. My mother brought my siblings and I to see the Christmas tree there almost every year. Yet up until last week I knew close to nothing about all the art out in the open for people to see. Or the history behind it. We learned these things by taking a guided tour around Rockefeller Center that concluded with a trip to the Top of the Rock, an observatory deck at the top of the GE building that is absolutely breathtaking. The picture up above was taken as I was half crapping bricks / half acting as a professional photographer.
We visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Ate at a burger joint around the area. And then hit Moma (blog pending- the art needs a blog post of it’s own).
The following morning we visited the 9/11 Memorial to pay our respects to the lives lost that fateful day. We briefly walked by Wall Street afterwards and then headed back to Queens to spend some time with my family. We got to see my little cousin’s basketball game, ate lunch as a family, and watched a movie. When the sun went down we decided it was time to see the main event of our weekend, the Empire State Building. The wind chill felt as if it could pierce through skin. And my girlfriend and I felt like the weather was catching up to us- the coughs, sneezing, and mucus running down our noses evidence of our bodies attempt to keep us healthy. But we worked our way through the cold and eventually got to the top of the Empire State Building where, due to the freezing cold weather, we spent nearly 45 minutes attempting to see New York from every side of the building.
The weekend in New York was a great getaway. A learning experience that furthered my resolve to keep building my brand. It validated my goals and made me realize that starting my own business is the only route that would make me truly happy with my professional career. Having my girlfriend there to share the experience with me was also unforgettable. We had a great time taking guided tours and sightseeing (something I never thought I’d do in New York). And as always we nerded out at a museum.
Anyway, till next time…Be Cool. Stay Fresh. Live REAL.
When I first moved to Tampa I was upset. Maybe even depressed.
I wanted to be back home.
I wanted to go to my old school.
See my old friends.
I wanted to go to 85th and play handball till the sun went down.
But life had a different plan for me.
A plan that required me to be in Tampa to realize what I wanted to do with my life.
Fresh out of New York I took an entrepreneurship class my first semester of junior year at Wharton high school.
That entrepreneurship class changed my life by opening my eyes and making me think about the possibilities of building my own business.
It required me to write out a business plan and it was that plan that ended up being my first draft for what I’m doing now.
It was a plan for a retail store that would sell the dopest sneakers and clothes.
And I’m trying to execute that plan with Gully Steez, my blog network and aspiring retail outlet for All Things Dope.
I truly believe that I was placed in this city for a reason and I’m not leaving or claiming I’m solely from NY when we succeed.
It’s NY – FL. Queens – Tampa. Always.
This is because I feel like Tampa gave me a sense of purpose that staying in New York may have never provided.
Moving here was truly life changing.
If I had stayed in New York my life’s trajectory would have been very different.
I had aspirations to go to law school or climb up the corporate ladder. But I never felt passionate about those aspirations.
I only had them because they were the “SMART” goals to have. The goals that would most likely lead me to success.
The entrepreneurship class changed all that though. It was like it validated something I had known deep inside all along.
I don’t want to work for somebody else for the next 30-40 years of my life.
And my mission, my purpose, my main goal is to build a company that lives forever.
I don’t know how I’m going to do it. And I’ve made countless mistakes in the past three years since I registered my company.
But my resolve has never been stronger.
My drive has never been stronger.
And my goals only keep growing.
I found my purpose and I’m shaping my destiny.
I implore you to do the same.
And remember…Be cool, Stay fresh, Live REAL.
Changes, they’re all around us. In our personal lives. And in our day to day lives.
Changes can come small, such as encountering a detour sign on your way to work and having to take a different route.
Or they can be a bit more substantial.
Like your loved one is moving away and you’ll have less contact than before.
Whatever the change may be, you adapt to it. You move on. And if you don’t move on, time moves on. So you, my friend, might as well.
The worst thing a person can do is refuse inevitable change. Or lose their composure in the midst of it.
If you encountered that detour sign and refused to follow it where would you go?
Nowhere.
The best way to look at change is to view it as an opportunity to redefine yourself.
To grow.
Lost your job? You’ll find a better job you’re more passionate about. You can get a job in a different market. You can start your own business. Or go back to school. You have plenty of options. And most importantly, you can learn from your experiences.
You should welcome change and be optimistic about what the future holds.
By resisting change, the stress you create for yourself is unhealthy. And unnecessary.
I urge you to look at the changes you encounter and take them in stride. Look at how you can use them to your advantage. And you will come out of every major change a stronger person than you were before.
Stay Gully my friends.
I’m 23 years old. Nearing the end of my tenure in college. And lately I’ve been getting the infamous “what are you gunna do after?” question.
When people ask me this question I guess they expect to hear something about advancing my career in the area of my study. Or about a certain company I want to work for to start my climb up the corporate ladder. But I can’t tell them that.
Some people pursue a job in the field of their study. Some people don’t. Some people are crazy enough to try and pave their own path as entrepreneurs.
I think most graduates want to get a good job and love it. We’re taught to want to climb up a corporate ladder. But for some crazy reason I want to build my own ladder. I’m not looking for a regular career. I’m not playing it safe. For now I’m pursuing my dreams. And all I want to do is follow my vision.
I tell people that truth. In regards to what I’m going to do with my International Studies degree; I don’t know. Maybe nothing. I tell them I want to build my own business. And that I’ll do so by printing t-shirts. And of course most people think I’m absurd. Some have actually told me that what I want to do is impossible. But I don’t let that phase me. Because when you have a vision for something you should never let anybody stray you from your goal.
The thing that drives me the most when contemplating people’s doubtful reactions is my elementary/middle school’s slogan: Dare The Impossible, Live The Vision.
That slogan has brought me strength every time I encounter someone’s doubt. It has guided me ever since I decided I wanted to be an entrepreneur. It guides me now when I’m warned of entering a saturated streetwear market. And told that the learning curve of screenprinting might not be worth operating a print shop.
To me living by that slogan means setting the highest standards for yourself in whatever it is you are most passionate about.
It’s realizing that no goal is unreachable if you get up and do something to achieve what you want.
So I implore anybody reading this, no matter how high the odds are stacked against you…DARE THE IMPOSSIBLE AND LIVE THAT VISION.
You are an unstoppable force. Don’t doubt yourself.
Daniel Steez 