EMPLOYED!

Dear Friends,

I can honestly say that I am EMPLOYED! Ok, employed again, but still. I got offered a job at a company that deals with fire suppression systems on heavy equipment. Ok, so now you can all say that you know a real  gay man--totally kidding. I got offered the position at a good salary and accepted the position, plus I have prior experience.

This coming week I will be going to a conference in Charlotte with two of my colleagues and am looking forward to the time alone for contemplation and meditation. I may take the book, 'The Celebration of Discipline' with me. A Lutheran pastor suggested I read it when I was in a bad time in my life. Yeah...it's looking like my backpack wants the book, so I guess I'll throw it in there. Hey, I have three nights to read it-should be plenty of time, right?

I'll talk later...maybe when I'm still here in Columbia or if I'm in Charlotte at the conference.


Love,

Will

Unemployment

The past two weeks I have e-mailed cover letters and resumes to over one hundred law firms and other positions within Human Resources Dept. I get replies like, "I appreciate your resume, but I am fully staffed. I will keep your file anyway if I get any inquiries soon. Best of Luck"

I will continue to be unemployed, walk up and down Main St. in Columbia searching for jobs--but I refuse to speak to those people who say they can find me a job. I'd much rather find one on my own.

The Way You Look Tonight

Well, Tony Bennett has done it yet again. Do you ever get that nostalgic feeling of jumping up in a warm bed at night? This may sound pompous, but I still get that feeling with my love. Well, I was fortunate to be gifted Tony Bennett's original signed copy of his autobiography, 'Life is a Gift.' I have found that the small, simple things mean so much more than the extravagant things.

Two great quotes in his book have molded certain parts of my life: "When the uncreative tell the creative what to do, it stops becoming art." and "Never underestimate the knowledge or understanding of the public."


I think Alexander Powell and Sanford taught each other these virtues, with the help of their art teacher Sally, of course. I met Tony while living in New York and his editorial skills aren't as good as his voice--but hey, we can't be perfect at every thing!

For those couples who doubt one another, remember a lyric from one of his songs...

"With all your faults, I love you still...It had to be you."

Remember--I'm only an e-mail away. 

Sincerely,
Will

Living Life

Listening To: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana

I didn't find love--It found me. Like many people at a young age who have been through a hard time, I was broken. Broken pieces can be repaired, though,

Do you remember, as a child, putting together a puzzle? Well, that is the way you live your life, essentially. Some parts fit and others don't, but in some magical way they all come together to make a masterpiece--differences and all.

Life is much like a puzzle, in that it helps us learn--young and old. When putting together a puzzle, we become creative, innovative, challenged, and ultimately proud of our work.

But our work can make us discouraged quite often. How we overcome this frustration will be explained in the following blog entries. Now, you must note that I don't have all the answers, of which neither you or I will ever have, but I hope it can be a tool for you to attempt to find your inner happiness.

Note: The following several blog entries are dedicated to Alexander Powell and Sanford Dinkins.

Confronting the "Gay Lifestyle" in Columbia

I want to preface this post by saying that I am not afraid of my partner's parents, nor am I intimidated by them.

My partner told me today that he was almost fired because of certain actions he performed. These actions include, but are not limited to: "acting gay in public," "referencing Will to well-known attorneys in Columbia", and "being a "bad representative in Columbia society because of your sexual lifestyle." 

I am certainly mature enough not to address any names who spoke these words, as Columbia is a small town; however, I am not afraid to address my opinions, as I have the right to do that. 

Article 19 of the 'Universal Declaration of Human Rights,' drafted in 1948 states that...  

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

Frankly, I do not care who you are, how much money you have, or how much power you think you have. I will tell you this: Our government can overthrow your petitions regarding this capacity, and you will have to answer to someone one day.

Blessed be to God and all of the people struggling with this issue. If you are struggling with these issues, I am only an e-mail, Facebook message, or phone call away to talk to.

Regards,

William Baker

Being "YOU"

Kahlil Gibran once said, in speaking of child-raising, "You may give them your love but not your thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you." Now, I am not a parent thus I have no need nor am qualified to counsel parents. However, I think any sane person would agree that Gibran's statement is so true. In my last post, I opened up about some of my personal struggles and how I have learned to cope with them. What I didn't do is tell you how my struggles directly came about.

I think that just about every parent in this world, whether openly or secretively, want their children to be a lot like themselves. It's human. Now, though this may be true, I didn't say it was right. We are all born with some sort of predisposition. Some are good and some are bad. The drive to push your children to participate in things for your benefit and satisfaction is wrong. I was raised with the best of 'em. My father excelled in sports, was always a "ladies man" in high school, and thus I grew up watching ESPN and hearing pointless rants and raves at a television screen during football season. But me? I hated it.

Though I hated playing baseball and football, despised baseball cards and sports trivia, longed to watch a television show of my own instead of the bore of sports television, I was pushed so hard, whether deliberately or unknowingly to participate. I approached my father several times, telling him I wished to quit the team. His angered response:"But you love practice! I can see that you love playing! No. You are not a quitter. You really do like it." One thing my father and many parents out there do not realize is that each time you push your child into doing something they truly despise doing for your benefit is bumping up their depression level a little bit more each time.

What happens when that depression level peaks? You will find yourself in a therapist's office, or in my case, a hospital being treated for depression. Don't get me wrong, it seems I have painted this picture of my father being a horrible father and that is absolutely untrue. He and my mother were amazing parents growing up, and still are. But that one faction of his personality was terrible. Sadly, it took me getting very ill for him to reverse that mindset. Today, I have some of the most supportive parents in the world. I'm "out" to them, and they love and support me 100%. Does that former mindset spark up every now and then? Of course. Just as my eating disorder mindset will always be tucked in the back of my brain, so will his controlling mindset be. However, we learn how to deal with it and stop it in its tracks whenever it does arise.

The main point of this post is to remind people, whether you are a parent or not, that trying to control someone's life will not work. It ends in disaster and it is not healthy. The worst thing your child can hear are phrases like "He's a chip off the old block" or "He's a carbon copy of you!" It does not create a healthy fruition of self-identification and purpose. Again, I am not "giving parental advice" necessarily. Today's story was an example of someone trying to mold another individual into what they personally wanted them to be.

Good Thoughts,
Will

Set In Stone?

After 9 or 10 years interacting with social media sites, this has to be one of the best quotes I have come across yet. Whoever first said this couldn't have said it any better. Upon graduating  high school, I set out to earn a degree at College of Charleston majoring in Early Childhood Education. I had 2 years of student teaching under my belt, and I was bound and determined to be a first grade teacher. Well, as soon as I started taking classes, I felt I had found my niche in the English field. I was in love with reading and writing, and honestly had a secret crush on my English professor(I like that nerdy type). I could envision myself as that liberal English professor who wore jeans and a sports coat every day, constantly racking the brains of my hung-over college students. Well, life threw a curveball at me in the dating scene, and I wanted to move back closer to be near my boyfriend who attended USC(BIG MISTAKE!). Turns out, we broke up the week I returned home.

After seeing my peers post their 2012 college graduation pictures on Facebook, converse about moving away and starting their careers, I have to say--it can be quite the "pin in the balloon." I feel deflated sometimes, but I have to remember who I am. I've always been the one to constantly change my mind, explore new paths, and sadly lose focus instead of turning that explorative side into a positive one. Just like the last blog I started, I ended up finding myself getting busy doing something else, I moved to NYC for 4 months and return back to SC. But then I see this picture...it puts my mind back in focus. I may be one of those people who dabbles in a little bit of everything my whole life, I may never finish school, and may never "figure it all out." The truth is, and one of the best secrets in life is that none of us will ever "figure it all out." We are humans, and we constantly evolve. We meet new people, travel to new places, read that special book that hits that spark and changes our whole outlook on certain issues. 

When I was faced with Anorexia and Major Depressive Disorder in 2007, it was definitely one of those big spurts of my evolution. I learned so much, met so many interesting and wonderful people during my terms in the hospital, and found out much more about myself. Perhaps you have faced a very hard time in your life(we all do), and maybe you are one of those people who, like I was for a while, thinks they have or will "figure it all out" or have their life plan "set in stone." But let me tell you, and I don't care how old you are, you can learn something from someone of any age and at any evolutionary stage every day of your life. I'm only 22 and have found that out. I've discovered that I should never let others influence my evolution in a negative way, and to look at everything as a chance to learn. My advice: Get out there and show life that you are ready for it's challenges!

Love and Peace,
The Life Artist