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My Birthday - i (Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly)
Not much to it, welcoming myself to Earth, way earlier than expected- to the point I wasn't exactly favored to live but hey here I am. I have had to fight from the moment I was brought onto Earth, but I made quite an entrance into Detroit, MI. Nothing is entirely significant to me from the time around my birth so I opted for Kendrick Lamar's "i" because who doesn't start life without at least a little love for themselves? [https://soundcloud.com/b_hugs/literary-narrative-clip-1-i] -
Period: to
Hip-Hop & Hugs: My Story
My Life in Hip-Hop and Rap -
Things Change - '03 Adolescence (J.Cole, 2014 Forest Hills Drive)
At seven years old I was never going to see the seeds of dysfunction that had been sewn into my family's culture for years, despite landing in a stable area, Traverse City, MI. Of course, as all things of this nature do, it came to a head. On the morning of this date, my father was in a car accident on his way to work. He suffered traumatic brain and body injuries and was in a coma for three months and it changed everything.[https://soundcloud.com/b_hugs/literacy-narrative-clip-2-03-adolescence] -
Forming My Identity - Ronald Reagan Era (Kendrick Lamar, section.80)
My father's accident left me as child without a hero, as ethically questionable as he was. For better or for worse I was being all but raised by my two older cousins in Saginaw as my mom went back to school for her graduate degree. The years following the accident were the birth of my love for hip-hop and rap as I spent countless hours riding around blocks listening to whatever was hot at the time. [https://soundcloud.com/b_hugs/literacy-narrative-clip-3-ronald-reagan-era] -
Sports, Travel, and Making it Work - Juice (Chance the Rapper, Acid Rap)
Identity carved out, I was beginning to set myself up to be successful; for my mother, for my two cousins, for myself. I had to be. I learned young that it was the only way to fix being stuck in the same loop so many families like mine were stuck in, it's probably the first big picture idea or concept that I was able to grasp. Time to get to work. [https://soundcloud.com/b_hugs/literacy-narrative-clip-4-juice] -
Progress - One Man Can Change the World (Big Sean, Dark Sky Paradise)
Entering high school I was spending more time in Traverse City, but that would change soon enough with AAU Lacrosse dominating a lot of my schedule. For now things were looking up. My mother was back home a lot more after completing her graduate degree following my father's accident, and for once we felt we were stable and even thriving. [https://soundcloud.com/b_hugs/literacy-narrative-clip-5-one-man-can-change-the-world] -
Reaping Rewards - The Juice (The Game, 1992)
Hard work was starting to pay off and people were noticing. Success in sports had seen a couple of offers start to come in for lacrosse my sophomore year and between success on the field and in the classroom I was flying high- life at home was good, I had a healthy social life, and I was developing my game thanks to great coaching and travel opportunities. I felt that all the struggle from my early years was finally validated. [https://soundcloud.com/b_hugs/literacy-narrative-clip-6-the-juice] -
Life Moves in Circles - FEAR. (Kendrick Lamar, DAMN.)
As the adage goes- all good things must come to an end. My AAU season ended early on account of two broken ribs and a nasty hyper-extension on my arm that I was ably to dodge mandatory surgery on thankfully. Injuries had never been a problem for me before but the immense successes I had seen in previous years were certainly coming to be tested in the next few years. [https://soundcloud.com/b_hugs/literacy-narrative-clip-7-fear] -
A Hospital in the UP - Disconnect (6lack, East Atlanta Love Letter)
Lacrosse was the more serious part of my athletic career- where I saw my future heading- football was the fun. We were damn good. A seven hour bus ride up to Marquette and we were ready to absolutely peel a team we knew we were far superior to. Things went as planned, up five scores and starters were about to be pulled, one funny hit and my night and season were just about ruined... [https://soundcloud.com/b_hugs/literacy-narrative-clip-8-disconnect] -
Comeback (1.0) - WIN (Jay Rock, Redemption)
Against all odds I was back, and on the biggest stage any one of us had been on before. We showed up in a night I will never forget under the lights. [https://soundcloud.com/b_hugs/literacy-narrative-clip-9-win] -
Heartbreak - u (Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly)
A pre-season practice leading up to my senior year changed my entire life. It was a casual, relaxed private workout leading up to the season's first official practice and one typical plant and cut on my right leg led me to tear my ACL and Meniscus. I missed the entire season and lost all fifteen offers I had to play at the next level with the only options I had left being division three roster spots. [https://soundcloud.com/b_hugs/literacy-narrative-clip-10-u] -
Comeback (2.0, Present Day) - Dreams and Nightmares (Dreams and Nightmares, Meek Mill)
I was back. My summer was exclusively physical therapy sessions despite my athletic career being "ended". A life spent working from the bottom left me with no choice, I couldn't lie down and accept what had happened to me. Despite losing all of my offers and suffering the physical and mental burdens that come with another big injury I am at one of the best schools in the country in a position to walk on next season. [https://soundcloud.com/b_hugs/literacy-narrative-clip-11-dreams-and-nightmares]
