Jonah: The Season Finale

It’s been awhile my friends since I’ve issued any statements upon you.  About three months ago, I wrote my 100th article.  I wasn’t in a talking mood, but I figured I would be as the summer approached.

Little did I know, writing would go from “undesirable” to “impossible”.

Above is a clip from my childhood – the story of Jonah, the prophet in the Old Testament who went off hiding from God instead of delivering his message to a pagan city.  Jonah went into a ship’s cargo instead of the city of Nineveh, and the ship became immersed in a raging storm.  The storm continued until Jonah was awaken from the cargo and tossed overboard into the mouth of a whale-like fish.  Jonah repented while spending 72 hours in the fish’s belly, and God instructed the fish to eject him so that he could fulfill his prophetic duties unto the city of Nineveh.

Above: A great fish, or as I refer to it, my summer.

When I got into USC, it changed what I thought about the whole year.  But it didn’t really change the fact that I had a summer to prepare for.  The summer season was not something I looked forward to, and I haven’t written a single word about it.  Not that it was bad.  But busy doesn’t even do it justice – so I spent the summer in the belly of the fish instead of passing along great words to the people.

I don’t want to go into the depths (ha) of what my ten weeks of summer have been like… so I’ll describe the ten using two sentences.

WEEK ONE: First day of summer, I had an interview with LA36, a public access channel in Boyle Heights, for a production intern gig.  I also signed a confirmation for a place in Koreatown, which was good considering I took out a loan with my mom before the housing application was approved.

WEEK TWO: I started at LA36, found out I was definitely going to be a graduate assistant, and after a year, my roommate Chelsea returned to LA from Texas/Missouri.  A week after signing the confirmation, we moved into Koreatown – but that just meant that I had a month to move completely out of Boyle Heights.

WEEK THREE: I had to go to Burbank on a Saturday morning for a Starbucks Refreshers meeting with the whole district – it was very City Year like, so I didn’t mind it.  Afterwards, I bought a new bed since, well, I decided I was going to light a fire to my old one.

WEEK FOUR: My first weekend dedicated to LA36 as a production intern was spent at the J Anson Ford Amphitheatre in Hollywood.  Three shows in three nights – at least I found time to set up an appointment with Time Warner…

WEEK FIVE: …Too bad the Time Warner cable installation turned into a story of its own: my computer would reset the router, the dude forgot to put a working DVR in our place, and it would be another month until I could relax about the cablenet situation.  At least that weekend was the LA Works Service Crawl with members of the 2010-2011 CYLA Stevenson team: 3rd place, most spirited, and most cans donated!

The Service Crawl Team

WEEK SIX: Daisy’s birthday!!! Which, going along with the theme of the summer, was right in the middle of the move out weekend in Boyle Heights.

WEEK SEVEN:  Right after signing out of Boyle Heights, the brother Dwight pulled up (this was also a day after I started my GA position at USC)!  Rob joined us for the weekend to mark a two-year gap in appearances, and over the course of a week we hit Universal City, Hollywood, Glendale, Pasadena, LA Live/Downtown, Santa Monica, and Venice (check out the Token Prospects new website by the way … #HardworkMovement).

WEEK EIGHT: My last week at Starbucks was quite unceremonious … but my last two productions at LA36 were quite memorable.  I got to go to Compton to help cover a junior youth All-Star game at MLB Urban Youth Academy featuring a team from Taipei, and then I had one last Saturday night at the Ford where I was reminded that it is okay to have my mother call another time and stay focused.

WEEK NINE: This was my week without the traffic of USC Annenberg and without working at Starbucks.  I finally started moving my music to my new MacBook Pro (this is my last post using the Toshiba!) and Daisy and I went to Santa Barbara before watching The Campaign.

WEEK TEN: The last week I had before class felt like class.  Between balancing Annenberg video training, trying to get ready for the LA County Fair, missing half of Intramurals training with the Program Coordinators, Move-In Day, and the Black Alumni Association pinning ceremony, I might have been on campus for close to 70 hours.

So all of that to say this: Thank you to everyone who helped me get through this year.  This past summer, these past ten weeks, was really a great snapshot of what this entire year has been like.  I spent last summer just hoping to get a job and roommates to stay here.  I spent all of the fall applying to school and studying to reassess myself academically.  Winter was the doldrums, but through all of the uncertainty professionally and otherwise, I developed a wonderful relationship and prepared for the best even while expecting the worst.  I learned there was light at the end of the tunnel in spring when I was accepted into USC, though I still had to get through the tunnel.

I have emerged from the belly of the beast.  But now, I have much bigger fish to fry.  I’m a graduate student now; a journalism student at that.  It is nice to get started with a great opportunity, but great opportunities come with the responsibility to grow within them and to capitalize upon them.  I don’t want to be in awe of where I am and what I’m doing.  I believe I was put here because I am worth the investment of time, resources, and soul power.  I represent my past here in the present, and I am in control of my future.  Only God knows what is in store for me here and now.  I have a message, and now, like Jonah emerging from the whale after a hiatus, I believe I’m ready to do what I have been called to do.

With that, I end the 2011-2012 season of The NU. Stay tuned for what promises to be a most unusual 2012-2013 season!

-1SKILLZ