Many of you have been in that place where you want more experience, but no one wants to give it to you because of course, you don’t have any what? Experience! Yep, it’s a vicious cycle that continues to repeat itself until finally, some people ultimately give up. I've refused to be in that place of giving up on what I believed in, but it was unquestionably difficult for a bit.
Looking at many of the things I’ve been through in my personal life, it took some soul-searching before I was able to be honest in admitting that some of the bad was because of choices I had made previously. Let’s be honest; for as smart as I am, I’ve made some pretty stupid choices, as many of us have. I know I’m not alone in that, and the one thing I wouldn’t do it beat myself up about it. Probably when I should have been worrying about those things, I was more on the page where I said it was what it was, and I can’t cry over what’s done already. That philosophy, albeit silly to some, is likely why I was able to move forward in a number of situations and make some things happen for myself. I think back to my first internship, which was courtesy of Radio One. I will say I worked my ass off to get that internship. In terms of resumé, I was on point. My portfolio was together, and I was ready to talk to whomever would listen. The problem, though, is nobody would listen. I spent two years literally begging for an internship, and quite frankly, I was beyond discouraged and disheartened. Whether that feeling was legitimate or not, I still felt a certain way about following the appropriate channels for two years, and literally being ignored. My thought was hey, tell me no, bye, we don’t want you, or something! Why just ignore me, or anyone for that matter? In retrospect, I realize those are the things that you often go through, and it’s up to you to find a way to make it happen. Without a doubt, I made it happen. I’m never one to forget anyone who has helped me along the way, whether they did something big, or just spoke an encouraging word. It all fits into the grand scheme. For this reason, I am forever indebted to Russ Parr. Now let’s be crystal clear: Russ Parr doesn’t know me from a hole in the wall. We’ve never met, never spoke over the phone, or anything of the sort. I did, however send him an email explaining my situation, and my genuine desire to be in that scene. His immediate response (in less than ten minutes), followed by his immediate action (on a Saturday) landed me in Radio One’s offices two days later, and the rest, as they say, was history.
Making my way into Radio One was my first big accomplishment in direct correlation to what I wanted to do with my life. Once I stepped foot in the door, I silently vowed to make the absolute best of the experience and find a way to stay beyond the 3-month internship. It wasn’t even about any funny business at all. I said I would do what I knew best: I would work my ass off to prove my dedication. I would do my very best to stand out in the large crowd of interns who all knew they wanted to be there. I would talk to as many people as I possibly could to let them know my dreams and aspirations. All I knew was I wasn’t going anywhere [laughing]. Well two months in, my plan worked. Any time they had asked my to be present, I was there without question, day or night. I didn’t care that I drove 45 minutes to get to their offices. I didn’t care that I wasn’t living in Cleveland at the time. If it came down to it, I would spend the night at my parents’ house to keep from driving all the way back home so late. I knew the odds were stacked against me, for a couple of reasons. Surely, there were many interns vying for a permanent spot at the station. There still was another reason I worked so hard. I needed to deflect their attention away from my real problem; the one thing that could end it all. My secret weighed on my mind constantly, and I needed to be sure no one knew. The truth in it all was I was currently dismissed from school … for a year.
You read it correct! I was dismissed from school for a year. It goes right back to the stupid decisions I had made in the past. At that time, I can admit that my focus was not on school. In retrospect, I believe I had gone to college for the wrong reasons.