During the last few weeks, God has slowly given me some clarity because I noticed that things were starting to happen for me. For instance, I created a speech with a PowerPoint Presentation about my favorite Hip-Hop group, “The Pharcyde.” I became a fan of the group in 2008, when they reunited to perform at Rock the Bells in San Bernardino, CA.
I concluded my speech by saying The Pharcyde helped me move forward with my life through their inspirational lyrics after I became a hip amputee. I put my speech online April 20th, and two out of the four original members of the group (Bootie Brown and Imani) liked my blog and my speech video on Twitter.
I created an inFAMOUS 2: UGC (User-Generated Content) mission and put it online May 1st. The mission is about me meeting superhero Cole MacGrath, and I tell him how much he inspired me after I had cancer two-times and became a hip amputee.
The mission I created went into complete detail about my history with cancer as a teenager and my transition of becoming an adult when I became a hip amputee at 17 years old in 2003. The original inFAMOUS was released in 2009, and changed my life for the better because I related to the way Cole dealt with his adversities and burdens.
On May 2nd, I received a Tweet reply from Co-Founder and Producer Brian Fleming from Sucker Punch Productions (developer of the inFAMOUS videogame franchise). His Tweet let me know that the developer of my favorite video game character and superhero noticed, acknowledged and appreciated how a character they created has inspired me to move forward with my life.
I was more than happy when I received acknowledgments from Bootie Brown and Imani from The Pharcyde and Brian Fleming from Sucker Punch.
Within my CalmandStrong speech, I have a CalmandStrong PowerPoint Presentation that displays Hip-Hop artist Nas, The Pharcyde and the inFAMOUS videogame franchise, which are the heart and soul of my speech because they help tell my story.
For example, The Pharcyde’s “Clouds” is a beautiful, jazzy-soulful instrumental that sets the tone for the beginning of my speech. Soon after, the lyrics about rebirth and ultimate redemption from Nas’ “Stillmatic (The Intro)” captures how I was feeling while in the hospital doing chemotherapy treatment at 14 years old.
The inFAMOUS videogame franchise gives a visual about my connection with Cole and how similar we overcame our adversities. Cole was forced to control electricity after delivering a package as a bike messenger, and I was forced to have knee cancer after only being present for the first week during my freshman year of high school.
I conclude my speech by saying, “From my experience, I’ve learned it’s important to have a plan, and not run away from problems, because being prepared is fighting half the battle.”
“When you feel passionate about something, follow your instincts because Nothing is More Powerful Than a Made up Mind.”
Soon after, I transition to The Pharcyde’s “Runnin’,” which details three different perspectives about peer pressure, how important it is to be authentic and not to run away from problems.
Two out of the three from the entertainment world that are present within my CalmandStrong PowerPoint Presentation (Hip-Hop music: The Pharcyde and video games: inFAMOUS) have acknowledged me, and in a sense made me feel like my work is good enough to have their approval.
I’m still learning to be patient, and letting God use me to get the vison he has put inside me out to the world.
To check out my “Creativity of The Pharcyde” speech, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S_VUESqBKk&t=1s
To check out my “inFAMOUS 2: UGC: Digital Inspiration from Cole MacGrath” mission, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ghb9JRwQ1A&t=5s
To check out how Nas, inFAMOUS and Cole MacGrath and The Pharcyde inspired me to move forward with my life after having cancer and becoming a hip amputee, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjgBAHrY-9M&t=371
* On May 2nd, I received a job recommendation from LinkedIn to be a volunteer speaker at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. They are hosting a music conference on May 10th, and music professors from neighboring campuses, Epitaph Records, Capital Records, SensuMusic, Local Venues, local musicians, promoters and indie film producer are expected to attend.
* I applied with my LinkedIn profile and got accepted to be one of the many speakers at the conference. Unfortunately, the music conference got rescheduled with hope of having it sometime during the fall quarter. I received an e-mail stating they were sorry for the inconvenience, but will keep in touch and are looking forward for me to participate in the music conference during the fall.
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