My January Resolutions

I'm only doing January because let's be honest... around February 3rd, I'ma be focused on something totally different... I'm not gonna be thinking about some shit I said on the first day of the new year when I don't have anything else going on... like most people, I start off with the best of intentions just to fail miserably after about three weeks... isn't that how it always goes?

Me: I can't believe I've already lost ten pounds and it hasn't even been a month yet.
Friend: Hey Greg, you wanna go out tonight?
Me: Fuck yeah, friend. I haven't been out on the town since I started this diet. Let's go do it big.
Friend: Ok, let's do it! I'm gonna stop by McDonald's first. You want anything?
Me: Nah, I'm on a diet.
Friend: You sure?
Me: Ok, get me a double quarter pounder...

See?!? That's how it always happens. Nobody wants you to succeed at anything. Anyway, I digress.


HARD WORK'S JANUARY RESOLUTIONS

1.) For the first time ever, I'm going to treat my body like a temple. Throughout most of my life, I've pretty much eaten whatever I wanted. Now don't get me wrong, I do like fruits and vegetables, so it's not like I haven't ever had those. But I know for a fact, I eat entirely too much fast food and drink too much sweet tea (ask Nicole!). So for the next 31 days, I'm staying away from fast food. No McDonalds, no Burger King, no Wendy's, no Cookout, no Bojangles. I'm not saying I'll be eating salads and tofu for the next month because I'm not, but I think it's imperative to start off the year in a cleansing state. Also, I'm gonna drink nothing but water and milk. Milk will only be for cereal so I wasn't gonna mention it, but I know the type of people I'm cool with. I'll say I'm having a bowl of cereal and then ya'll will start trippin' like "I thought you was only drinking water this month? See? Look at your ass!" So to avoid those type of comments, I'm including moo juice too. I look at it like this: for almost 24 years, I've had a car. Now this car runs pretty damn great considering it's been running off of mayonnaise and sugar packets but now it's time to upgrade to some premium fuel. I got too many things I'm trying to accomplish. However, I can't if I'm suffering from diseases that I could have nipped in the bud as a young'n.

2.) I'm not going to skip any classes. Now this one shouldn't be too hard considering all my classes are online except for my basketball class (hopefully!) but I still felt it needed to be said. I'm known to skip classes just because I'm lazy. So yeah, none of this in the first month.

3.) I'm going to finally complete my book. Around November, I started writing Where the World Goes When I Close My Eyes, a compliation of short stories all involving a young black male protagonist going through various types of drama. Basically the story of my life. I was going strong until around the first week in December and since then, I've kinda thrown it by the wayside. I met with a few people about getting it published upon completion but nothing too serious, so I'm just going to finish it and try to self-publish it. I'm not trying to be famous off of writing. I just want people to read and acknowledge my talents. A Little Piece of Joelene and Everyday also coming in 2009!

4.) I'm going to get fresh. Ok, if you know me, you know I have a very unhealthy addiction to sneakers. Back in 2007, I bought 18 pairs in four days once. No bullshit. And hot sneakers too. But that was back in '07. In 2008, I didn't purchase one pair of sneakers, one shirt, one pair of jeans. Nothing. Only thing I got was a pair of NDS Spiz'ikes that were too big for Jamal so he threw them to me. But that's not because I didn't see anything I liked or because I couldn't afford it (well, at least at the beginning of the year); I was just being lazy about my appearance. And that shit is a problem. I can't be getting lazy about how I look. That shit isn't cool. Your appearance matters more than you think. It affects your mood, affects how you treat motherfuckers and all that. You ever see a nigga lookin' bummy while you're fresh? You can't help but feel like that nigga's losing. Like "damn, homie. Get your shit together." And a nigga ain't felt that way in a minute. So in '09, I'm getting back on my Jordan shit, my Ralph Lauren shit, my LRG shit, my Champion hoodie shit, back on my exclusive shit. I gotta get back to getting edge-ups every week like I used to. Keeping my hair wavy and shit. I'd say get my swagger back, but everybody claims to have swag so that shit is unappealing to me now. But you know what I mean. And the sneaker game is so crazy this year. Eggplants Foams. The AF1/AJ6 collabos (that nobody seems to like but me). More Jordan retro packs (I still need all the CDP packs from this year). Penny 2's. Oh, it's gonna be crazy this year when it comes to sneakers. Just wait and see. I'm at about about 30 or 35 pairs now. I'll be at about 150 by the time 2010 rolls around.

5.) I'ma do me. I'm tired of doing other niggas (pause). I'm tired of taking the blame for what other niggas do. Tired of being Cyrano deBergerac (look it up) and shit for niggas that don't know what to say to females. Tired of being Dr. Phil for people who can't get their shit together. From now on, I'm doing me. I got enough shit going on with just me to be concerned about another nigga and their problems. Now I'm not saying, I'm gonna stop being a good friend because I'm not but all this "Greg, what should I do" shit has got to stop. You grown, B. If I'm dictating your every move, then just what the fuck are YOU doing? On top of that, I'm tired of other motherfuckers trying to tell me how to live my life. Trust me, for every one thing you notice about me, I've noticed that shit and ten other things. I know the things I need to work on. I don't need to be told I need to get my life together because I know that shit and I BEEN knew that shit. I'm working on my shit so you work on yours. You just do you, I'ma do me.


And that's it, man. Five little things I'm going to do in January that I should have been doing all along. And of course, I'm hoping these things last longer than the month of January, but I'm not going to beat myself up if I have an off-day on a rainy afternoon in April and decide to throw on some old sweats and have a Double Whopper with cheese. Let's see what happens though. Ya'll niggas be easy.