Degrees of Living

Every morning, I rise and feel that each day is a “gift,” a gift I have no choice but to share. It seems like it has been 40 years of trial and error for me, and any knowledge and/or wisdom I do have comes from these experiences of seeing myself and others lose and regain balance. If I’m given just a second more or sixty years, I shall continue to grow with my eventful education.

After what has gone on during the last year, I wonder what my capabilities still are. Lately, it has been hard to know, because I seem to be dealing with a new side effect each day, and that’s my latest line of work. But I still sit here thinking, “I need a job.” I ask myself, “In what direction shall I go? What kind of experience do I have? What education or degrees do I carry?” Part of me feels as if I have been in school and doing internships my whole life. Looking back, these experiences were my real “education,” as I took test after test to reach some kind of “degree.” Well, if this is the case, perhaps my schooling has allowed me to acquire the following.

I might say I have a “love degree.” I got this degree with a lifetime internship of falling in love with people, art, nature, humanity, and all creations. One skill that I did acquire throughout my studies and struggles has been the ability to find happiness, not only on the outside but through what I felt inside. This happiness came without conditions. It didn’t matter if I had money or not, a lover or not, and so on. I was just happy to be working toward my “degree.”

I have a “family degree” as a son, brother, nephew, cousin, and uncle. I also have a major in being a single father and minors in healing from a broken marriage engagement and years of “baby mama drama.” I have dealt with some family conflicts and witnessed a 35-year marriage end in divorce. I learned some valuable lessons from two wonderful parents. They cared for me from the day I arrived, and I cared for them on the days before they left.

Another degree I have is a “friendship degree.” Many times, I walked into the lives and homes of others, hearing the stories of a variety of people. They may have been sick, healthy, rich, poor, hate-filled, love-filled, young, old, or famous. I have witnessed people turn to addictions, some able to recover, while others took a different direction. As for my past homes, or shall I say “dorm rooms” in this analogy, I’ve had a large variety of roommates. Some were business people, artists, frat boys, athletes, people who were divorced seven times, people afraid to get into just one relationship, people with families, people without anyone, some desperately searching for love, and others who have all the love they need.

Hey, wait second! I did get one of those “school degrees.” I studied in Los Angles, London, and finished at NYU. But these “school degrees” did not come easily for me, because my whole life, I have had a “learning disability/dyslexia.” But I refused to let this stop me from getting an education. I went on to make some films, documentaries, television commercials, videos, and I also wrote a few screenplays and a book or two.

I’ve also acquired an “employment degree.” Along the way, I picked up a few jobs to support myself. To name a few, I spent four years as a janitor, six months as a bike messenger, two years as a store manger, four years working in bars and restaurants, two years as a photo investigator, two years as a hustler (majoring in crime and dishonesty), three months restoring pianos, seven years as a carpenter, and seven years as a street vendor. For 10 years, I was a video director, spending evenings in front of 20,000 people, meeting energetic fans, well-known entertainers, powerful politicians, and successful business people. I also had a job running art studios, arranging exhibits, and managing a storefront gallery. But the longest job I had and still have is as an artist, laboring with and loving photography, painting, and writing.

How does “society degree” sound? I guess that term will work for now. My education kind of started with an 18-year internship in being an Italian kid growing up in a town where, for the most part, one was either Jewish or African American. Over the years, I have seen a society that keeps changing. It used to take time in order to communicate to a person of choice, but now we have the technology to reach whomever you want in a split second. I’ve witnessed a time when we had very few computers and no digital media to current times and a world full of these things. I have seen the birth and development of hip-hop culture and its effect on our society. I have also seen a fearful society. I experienced the aftermath of living just a few blocks away from bombs in the London Underground, the riots in Los Angeles, and the World Trade Center attacks in New York City.

I might phrase another degree I have as a “community degree.” I have seen New York City’s youth grow up in public schools, community centers, parks, housing projects, group homes, or just on my block. Speaking of my block, I have seen my Harlem neighborhood go from crack houses to health food stores to corporate developments. I have also found homes for neighborhood stray dogs, as well as rescuing and raising my own. And for four years, I’ve seen society in an inner-city children’s hospital I visited each week.

I could not have done any of this without a “health degree.” I’ve studied and practiced different philosophies of healthy living. I’ve had a wide range of majors and minors. Some are cooking, and some are understanding both the physical and mental sides of various activities like yoga, basketball, and many others. I got these “degrees” because I wanted to maintain a healthy and happy life.

I guess I must also add that I have a degree as a “cancer survivor,” a challenge that has blessed me with the daily opportunity to better understand my mind, body, and spirit in ways I never imagined.

So, perhaps the above equals one “degree.” It is just a “degree in living.” It is the same degree we all have, but with different majors. Looking back at my own majors and minors, whether I passed or failed was not always important. What I learned was more important and how I used it in the next courses I took.

What is my next course? Or job? And what industry might I be going in to? It feels like I’m heading toward the “service industry.” But who am I serving? And what am I working towards?

I suppose I will be serving anyone who is willing to read what I have written or maybe even anyone who might be willing to test one of my theories. As for what I’m working towards? If I or anyone else ever gets there, we can call it a “master’s degree of life.”