
Finding Your Dopeness
Remember when you were 16 years old and you couldn’t wait to be 18 so that you can be considered an adult?
Remember finally being 18 and saying “I can’t wait to be 21” so that you can buy a drink?
Remember being 21 and saying “I can wait to be 25” so that you could rent a car?
And remember the time in between those ages wanting to work and make more money, wanting to move out and be independent, wanting to get the hell out of school?
I remember being a senior in High School, on the Varsity Basketball team and thinking to myself “I can’t wait for this to be over so I can start livin’”. How crazy is that!? — In the last year of high school, which is probably the best year of a kids four years there, I couldn’t even be present in that moment and enjoy the ride. I thought of how dope life was going to be once I graduated, and what I was going to do then instead of realizing that I would never be a 17 year old kid in his last year of high school again, and taking advantage of that realization by being fully present. All I thought about at the age of 17 was wanting to be 18, wanting to move out and be independent, making more money and getting the hell out of High School.
Over the years I did everything I could, I checked off plenty boxes from the “things I need to do to be grown:” list and guess what? — Those checked off boxes meant nothing to anyone I was trying to prove my grown-ness too. What I failed to realize at that point in my life was that it’s okay to just be a kid and enjoy the ride, there was a dopeness I missed out on because I was stuck trying to avoid the “wackness” of life.
The wackness at that point in my life was also the wackness that many people try to avoid today. Feeling unaccomplished, scared of falling behind your peers, and being thought of as a child or a fake. These were all things I was trying to avoid to the best of my ability, so much so that I lost my sense of authenticity along the way and because of this my persona became that of constantly avoiding the wackness instead of just being myself.
“But Justin, what if I am unaccomplished and have fell way behind my peers?”
There is a dopeness to WHERE EVER you are in life. Everyone’s version of success is different, and yours may even change over time. So when you feel unaccomplished or feel like you’re making moves too slow in life just think of where you were two years ago. If you’re here reading this, I’m sure that put a lot into perspective for you.
The most important thing to do in your moments of doubt is to find things you are grateful for. Whether they’re small wins that will pass, big wins, people in your life who support and believe in you, (even when it’s hard to believe in yourself) the freedom that you have right now to pursue whatever you want, the person you’ve grown to become and the everlasting and ever changing journey you are currently on, no matter the pace. Consider all these things when you are feeling unaccomplished and I’m sure all those unaccomplished feelings will fade when you realize you are actually dope.
Don’t wallow in self-pity because you are not where you think you should be in life. Enjoy the age that you are because you will never be that age again and enjoy the dopeness in your life right now, because some of that dopeness may only be temporary. Now, I’m 22 years old entering into my final two semesters of college while most of the people in my graduating High School class graduated from college two years ago. Feeling like I’m behind used to bother me, knowing that those people now had more freedom than I do use to upset me, but this was the journey I chose. It’s my journey and its dope, slowly chipping away at college allowed me to figure out what I was good at, what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, and allowed me to accomplish so much in between. If I was given the chance to do it over I’d chose the same path.
Maybe at a less expensive school…
When I graduate in May 2018, I’m going to be about $200,000 in loan debt. How the fuck am I not pulling my hair and teeth out right now!? After graduating, college grads often stress out over the debt they’ve accumulated throughout the last four-to-five years, and for good reason, debt is no joke. But in the midst of being hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt from college loans upon graduating, there is a dopeness to earning your degree and being released into the real world. Now is your time to manifest whatever your heart desires. Although that debt is real, having a passion, drive, and work ethic that is just as real will make that debt something a little less worrisome.
Finding the dopeness in EVERY situation.
There is never 100% dopeness. We wouldn’t know what dopeness is if it wasn’t for wackness. There would be no such thing as good times, if it wasn’t for bad times existing. The truth is, the best way I’ve learned to be fully present in the dopeness of life no matter the situation, is to learn to be at peace and live with the wackness. Only then will the dopeness be appreciated for what it really is, and only then will you have the right mindset to make the most out of every situation. Don’t live life dwelling over what you cannot do or what you do not have. You’ll find the dopeness in your life by focusing on what you do have. Learn to appreciate the tough situations you face and know that once you overcome them, (because you will) you’ll only be stronger. So be calm and…

