{"id":827,"date":"2015-03-02T15:58:09","date_gmt":"2015-03-02T19:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/?p=827"},"modified":"2015-03-02T15:58:09","modified_gmt":"2015-03-02T19:58:09","slug":"self-reclamation-by-verdi-degbey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/2015\/03\/02\/self-reclamation-by-verdi-degbey\/","title":{"rendered":"Self-Reclamation by Verdi Degbey"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor’s note: The following spoken word piece was performed by Verdi Degbey during the Diversity Symposium keynote on Friday, February 20, 2015 in Phillips Stevens Chapel.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is my self-reclamation.
\nI was a pumpkin.
\nThe world picked me up prematurely
\nAnd placed me on its operation table
\nWhere its people quickly went to work.
\nPulling out my roots, the seeds inside of me,
\nAnd carving onto my skin the things they wanted me to be.<\/p>\n

About a year ago, I spit my first lines,
\nI called it \u201cOREOS\u201d.
\nI was really trying to tell you my story bro,
\nBut you only liked my rhymes, you didn\u2019t really get it though.
\nInstead, you said \u201cDang\u201d when you heard me,
\nYou called me a poet, Said \u201cyou\u2019re an artist, Verdi\u201d
\nBut you just liked the rhymes, not the story
\nAnd that hurt me.
\nThen you tried tell me what to write, man, you don\u2019t own me.
\nYeah, you\u2019ve heard some of my stories, but you still don\u2019t know me.
\nBecause if you did, you wouldn\u2019t label me like you do.
\nBecause as much as I aspire to inspire you,
\nI do this to fight a war inside myself.
\nI do this to find friends
\nI do this to try to get some help.
\nYou see, in these words,
\nThese words that I speak,
\nThese words that I leak,
\nThese words that I preach,
\nI\u2019m just trying to find someone who goes through the same things as me.
\nAnd they say that\u2019s what makes it art, but this is not artistry,
\nTo be honest, my performances are reworded entries to diaries.
\nAnd they call me a poet, a master of words,
\nBut really, I\u2019m just another kid.
\nI just like to hide behind my metaphors and similes,
\nAnd pretend that my life is in perfect symmetry
\nAnd I do try my best in everything I can,
\nBut I\u2019m just waiting for people to tell me how amazing I am.<\/p>\n

But I am unscripted.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So \u201camazing\u201d is an understatement.
\nSee, I am a miracle.
\nI\u2019m like childbirth.
\nBut probably less disturbing to watch.
\nI am a miracle.
\nOn this stage
\nI am an unexplainable phenomenon.
\nWith this voice
\nI am a vision
\nWith this mike,
\nI am a dream.
\nThis is my craving.
\nThis is my yearning.
\nThis is my passion.<\/p>\n

This is why.
\nThis is why I spend so much time alone in my room writing down my feelings.
\nThis is why I spend Sundays not doing work I probably should be doing.
\nThis is why\u2026.<\/p>\n

I was a pumpkin.
\nThe world picked me up prematurely
\nAnd placed me on its operation table
\nWhere its people went to work.
\nPulling out my roots, the seeds inside of me,
\nAnd carving onto my skin the things they wanted me to be.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m living my life trying to figure out
\nWhat it means to be a man
\nBut I often find myself apologizing for my integrity.
\nLike, I\u2019m sorry that I\u2019m not as brawlic as you want me to be,
\nAnd I\u2019m sorry that my voice isn\u2019t really that deep.
\nAnd I\u2019m sorry that I don\u2019t have enough chest hairs to comb anyway I like,
\nAnd I\u2019m sorry that I can\u2019t just pick up girls everywhere in life.
\nBut I wonder,
\nWhat ever happened to \u201cbeing true to oneself\u201d
\nWhat happened to \u201cBe humble but strong,\u201d
\nAnd \u201cWhen in trouble, ask for help,\u201d?
\nThey said to be a man, my performance on the field will get me seen heroically,
\nSo am I less of a man because I plant my pain in poetry?<\/p>\n

And this isn\u2019t a thing just about manhood because women go through the same pain.
\nStandards that have been here for ages cause women to feel ashamed.
\nAshamed of their of their bodies, surely,
\nBut also of their passions because some of them just don\u2019t sound girly.<\/p>\n

They say what makes you respected as a person is your courage.
\nIf that\u2019s the case, then most people making distinctions between the \u201cmanly\u201d and the \u201cnot\u201d
\nAre hypocrites.
\nPlease understand that I am in no way saying that being good at sports,
\nOr lifting weights, and looking all muscular makes you a bad person,
\nBut if you are doing it just to be approved in societal standard, then you are doing it wrong.
\nIf you like doing those things because you like the idea of self-improvement,
\nThen go ahead.
\nBut if you are discouraging others from following their passions
\nBecause they don\u2019t fit into the stereotype, or you\u2019re just jealous of their talents,
\nYou\u2019re keeping yourself at a low level.
\nWhat are we in, 5th grade?
\nWhy are you so worried about someone else\u2019s life so much?
\nLive your own, and go out there and do what you want to do.
\nA wise lady once told me that adulthood and maturity
\nAre reached when one establishes what they want for themselves.
\nWhat do you want for yourself?
\nHow are you going to improve to become a premium version of you?
\nHow are the choices you want to make going to affect your kids, your family, and those around you?
\nYou have to understand that you have the power to take control of your life.
\nBeing a strong man or woman means having the courage to express how you feel
\nWithout thought of the reactions of those around you.<\/p>\n

This is your self-reclamation.<\/p>\n

You were a pumpkin.
\nThe world picked you up prematurely,
\nCarved you up,
\nPut a fire in you,
\nAnd left you out to rot.
\nYou were no longer a pumpkin,
\nYou were their work of art,
\nTheir creation, a \u201cjack-o-lantern\u201d,
\nHalloween should only last a day,
\nBut for you, it\u2019s been a lifetime.
\nThey had raised you to never look at the sun,
\nBecause it would make you go blind.
\nSo once you realized that you were as brilliant as that spot in the sky,
\nYou stopped looking in mirrors
\nIn fear that you\u2019d make yourself and those around you
\nGo blind.
\nBut you need to realize just what you are.<\/p>\n

This is your self-reclamation.<\/p>\n

You are a prodigy,
\nThe undiscovered 10th wonder of the World.
\nYou are an irreplaceable speck of dust in this Universe.
\nYou\u2019re not one in a million,
\nYou are one in infinity.
\nThere is no one else like you,
\nAnd I want you to believe it.
\nThere is no one else like you.
\nIf we tried to copy you through a machine,
\nIt\u2019d read error because there are just too many levels to what makes you an individual.<\/p>\n

What makes you a better person is your courage.
\nBut it\u2019s also your knowledge.
\nKnow yourself to be yourself.
\nKnow yourself then be yourself.
\nKnow yourself and be yourself.
\nDress how you want,
\nSpeak how you want,
\nAct how you want.
\nDon\u2019t apologize for not fitting in,
\nGo be you.
\nIt\u2019s not too late,<\/p>\n

This is your self-reclamation<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to get back the identity they abducted from you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor’s note: The following spoken word piece was performed by Verdi Degbey during the Diversity Symposium keynote on Friday, February 20, 2015 in Phillips Stevens Chapel. This is my self-reclamation. I was a pumpkin. The world picked me up prematurely And placed me on its operation table Where its people quickly went to work. Pulling … Continue reading Self-Reclamation by Verdi Degbey<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-student-speaker"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=827"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":830,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827\/revisions\/830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/speeches\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}