September 29, 2024

LinkedIn suggested that I follow Snoop Dogg. I laughed when I read the e-mail because our worlds are so far apart. Also, why is he on LinkedIn??? Doesn’t he already have all the connections he needs? After having some fun with his GIFS, I decided to follow him and find out what he has to offer. An article in People magazine about him becoming “AMERICA’S TOP DOGG” caught my attention. He said that he didn’t expect to be a superstar commentator for the Summer Olympics in Paris. Neither did we. Though, I really enjoyed his presence and wanted him to narrate all the events there. I liked his perspective—far more entertaining than anyone else’s. Clearly, NBC knew that. For Snoop, “it felt like a whole other universe,” but he realized that he set himself for this opportunity over the years.

The funny thing is that prior to sharing this e-mail online, I shared my hip hop instructor’s debut as a dancer in a music video. Even funnier to me is ME taking hip hop (in my forties)! It’s not a natural fit. I took hip hop because I got a preview of it in another dance class that I thoroughly enjoy. I also responded to the instructor’s energy. Just as infectious as the dance form. She gave a brief history of its origins in the Bronx, in the 1970s, and how liberating it was for the founders. Then, she told us to just have fun with it. My mind immediately went to the Bronx, taking hip hop in sixth grade, as an intro to the middle school. Having already taken ballet, tap, and jazz as a kid, I was able to pick up the moves with some ease. Struggling the most with remembering the steps and adopting the attitude that makes it convincing. Stranger to me is that I once led the entire fifth grade at the school festival, with a dance I choreographed with my two friends. The song was Michael Jackson’s “Black or White.” The three of us (black, white, and Asian) reinforced the message simply by being ourselves. That same year, I wrote a rap song about pilgrims seeking religious freedom for a group project. My table consisted of one of the brightest in our class and a boy with a bad reputation. His name said otherwise and I tried to see that side. His image, however, brought some authenticity to our song and we embraced it. (When breaking made its debut at the Olympics this year, I thought to myself that Snoop Dogg may have been enlisted for that reason as well. It’s an art to come across as cool.) In the interview, Snoop mentioned that when he experimented with a new sound and perspective, it opened up the desire to get better and better, by working with those who could help. That’s how I felt when I partnered with my peers back then.

Almost two years ago to the day, I wrote about finding your calling, making dreams come true, and discovering the ability to make connections I never could before. The weirdest thing is that ChatGPT was able to make those same connections. Thus, revealing the logic behind my thoughts, my habits, and evidently, patterns in the sky. I asked it if some of my wild ideas were far-fetched. The conclusion was: “Not Far-Fetched at All!” It said that they were completely viable and well-aligned with my astrological chart. It showed me that I was always on my path; just unclear of where I was going. One of those wild ideas came to me in a dream, disguised as a nightmare of feeling unprepared. It’s a role I assume when I’m living “Young, Wild and Free,” because that’s how it’s supposed to be.