Everyone Has A Story

There are more of them than you think

I will never forget my last year in high school. Not because of the  reasons most seniors share, but because I was raising  my four younger siblings during that time. When I was 17 years old, I left my mom’s house in Brooklyn and moved to Arizona with my father, so I could finish school. Unfortunately, my father was gunned down a few months after I arrived.

He  had a wife and they shared four children (ages 2, 5, 10 and 12 at the time), with whom I spent most of my time with. However, about a year after my father passed away, his wife went to jail. My grandmother lived in Arizona also, so my siblings and I stayed in her apartment for a while; but due to limited space, we had to find other arrangements. I ended up getting an  apartment  for us in the same complex as my grandmother. I paid the rent with the social security checks we collected from our father’s death, but that was not enough to cover all of the bills. Luckily, one of my teachers  knew about my situation and referred me to Youth On Their Own (YOTO).

Overcoming obstacles

YOTO is a non-profit organization located in Tucson, AZ. , that helps kids who  live on their own.  Its goal is to make sure kids graduate from high school, regardless of their situation. Each month, I received a check for myself and each of my siblings from YOTO to help with our expenses.  Don’t think the checks were simply handed to me every month. I had to submit a monthly progress report from school to YOTO, and if my grades were unsatisfactory, I wouldn’t receive any aid for that month.

In addition to aid, YOTO provides kids with other resources. We received clothes, household necessities and even a Christmas tree  during the holidays. A counselor/representative would also come to my school once a month just to see how I was coping with everything.

It’s been almost 11 years since I graduated from high school and it is good to see that YOTO is still helping youths. YOTO recently joined Facebook and its  page is full of photos of  volunteers who help them, and the organizations that donate to them. Its fan page is very engaging.  Some of the posts ask former youths to post what they have been doing since  graduation. I would like to thank YOTO for all of its help and I hope that now that they are utilizing social media, they can use it as a tool to expand and reach more youths.

What’s Your Facebook Sign?

I'm an Aries

You may not believe or follow astrology, but I know for a fact that you know what your zodiac sign is. Also, I know that at some point in your life someone has either read you your horoscope or told you what one of the astrology books said about all the people who were born in the same month as you. Am I right so far? Since I’m on a role, I bet no one has ever told you what your Facebook sign is, right? That’s because I just made the term up.

I have been on Facebook for some time now and I consider myself a well-rounded guy with a pretty diverse group of Facebook friends. Many of them are from different walks of life, but their interactions on Facebook  can be categorized  into five Facebook personality groups, which I call Facebook signs.

Facebook Sign No. 1

The first sign is called LOL.  These are the people who always make you laugh. They put up funny comments or they share links regarding serious topics and poke at it. Their  photos are funny and even their profile pictures are  hysterical . Their Facebook personalities are always humorous.

Facebook Sign No. 2

The second Facebook sign is called Aromatherapy. These are the people who treat Facebook like therapy. Their posts are usually about something that is going wrong in their life and they often turn to Facebook  for advice and guidance. Their Facebook personalities are mostly sad.

Facebook Sign No. 3

The third Facebook sign is called Hustle. These are the people who treat Facebook like a swap meet.  Their posts are always about something they are trying to sell to their Facebook friends. They rarely interact with others on Facebook, unless you show some interest in their product. Their Facebook personalities are pure business.

Facebook Sign No. 4

The fourth Facebook sign is called Preacher.  These are the people who want to uplift the Facebook community. They always post an update or comment that is positive. Their Facebook personalities are kind and genuine.

Facebook Sign No. 5

Last but not least, the fifth Facebook sign is called Paparazzi. These are the people who tell you their every move.  They also tell you what they are doing and how they are feeling  every  moment.

So, those are my Facebook signs. Can you think of any more I should add? I’m not sure what my Facebook sign is since I have a little bit of each Facebook personality, but what about you?  What’s your Facebook sign?

Your Tweets Suck

A Minute Of Your Time

Are the celebrities that you  follow on Twitter living up to your expectations?  Do you sometimes contemplate unfollowing them? I’m relatively new to Twitter, but I am already at that point. My primary interest in  joining Twitter was so I could connect with celebrities.  I thought  I would be exposed to  their human side and get to see a little more of who they really are away from the cameras; however, that has not always been the case. I have compiled a list of some of the celebrities I follow and included a brief explanation of why I think their tweets are good or why they suck.

Lady Gaga

I am a huge fan of Lady Gaga (ladygaga). I love her music and her bold style. What I like  about her tweets is most of them are directed toward her fans.  She even has a name for us- little monsters. Some of her tweets are about upcoming videos and singles, but most of them consist of gratitude toward the “little monsters.” The one thing I wish she would do more is respond to fans.

P Diddy

I have been a fan of P Diddy (iamdiddy) since the early 1990′s. His music is good, his performances are excellent and his shows are entertaining. His tweets on the other hand are horrible. Each of his tweets is some sort of commercial or advertisement. He is constantly telling his followers to buy, watch or listen to something of his. I think he should tweet more about other things than himself and engage with his followers a little more.

Jeremy Piven

Jeremy Piven (jeremypiven) is my favorite character on “Entourage.” He is entertaining on-screen as well as on Twitter. Though he doesn’t tweet very often, he usually makes his followers laugh when he does by tweeting something funny. I get a kick out of his tweets, but I wish he would tweet a little more often and interact with some of his followers occasionally.

Barack Obama

I am pleased to have Barack Obama (BarackObama) as my president, but I am not so sure if I am pleased with being a follower of his on Twitter. Most of his tweets consist of links to articles that defend him and his position on various topics.  I wish some of his tweets were about other things besides himself and just as I stated about the previous celebrities, I wish he would interact with his followers a little more.

Egypt

Egypt( EgyptSaidSo) is not as big of a celebrity as the people I mentioned above, but she is popular in her niche market. I think she is the best celebrity tweeter I am following. She shares information, she talks about other topics instead of just herself, and most importantly, she interacts with her followers. I think a lot of celebrity tweeters can learn a thing or two from Egypt.

As you can probably tell by now, I have a thing about celebrities not interacting with their followers. In the book “Here Comes Everbody,” Shirky states celebrities cannot have two-way interactivity because too many people are trying to communicate with them. While I agree with him that’s it difficult for celebrities to interact with even a quarter of their fans,  I feel they can speak to at least one or two of them. What do you think?  Which celebrities do you think suck on Twitter?