Slow Jam Throwbacks for us 80's Babies!

Good ol' times! Enjoy the jams!

There Is No Such Thing As 'The Real World'

"I just found out there's no such thing as the real world, just a lie you've got to rise above."

I graduate in May. This is it; the time in my life I worked so hard to get to and to my advantage (or possible disadvantage), there's plenty left to do in my last 2 semesters in college. After I do all that needs to be done, some have told me that I need to prepare myself for the 'real world' and everything that comes along with it. I've never sat down with anyone and had an entire conversation on why the term 'real world' holds no value for me. Here goes.

I came into college in the summer of 2007 and since then, my biggest focus was enhancing my resume and gaining every experience possible. I've got a few things under my belt now that 3 full years in college have passed. Everything I've learned are important beliefs, changes, habits, knowledge and experiences that all make me who I am. When I finally graduate and find my first post-graduate job, that won't be the first milestone of mine into what people keep telling me would be the 'real world'. As far as I'm concerned, the life I've lived up to this point isn't fake. It hasn't been artificially made by anyone other than myself. Granted, I don't have a family of children and wife of my own, I don't have a mortgage to pay. I don't even have a car of my own. With all this said, am I defined by my possessions and liabilities? I've lived a life up to this point that's taught me things in classes that I'll bring out with me throughout my life but even more significantly, I've learned things in life that classes could never teach me. I recognize what goes on; I've seen debt, poverty, struggles, violence, discrimination, prejudice.. I know what's real and I know what's false.

The life I've lived, the places I've been, the people I've met, the things I've seen and the knowledge I know are all real. There is nothing false about what I've experienced. There are always mistakes, misconceptions and accidents that happen but if someone takes these lessons and personally learns from them, well then they are made useful and therefore true.

Some say I haven't entered the real world until I have my own house to pay for, my own bills to pay, my own children to raise and my own marriage to maintain. Really? Those will determine the beginning of my real life and my entry into 'the real world'?

To wrap up how I really feel about that one phrase, I say this...

Your world is what you make it.

My world is more than all of that. Shouldn't yours be too?

 Living life,
- David Javier Solis