About Kwame Belle

Kwame Belle is a senior journalism major and arts management minor at SUNY Oswego. He is also a member of the Sigma Pi chapter of the National Communication Honor Society, Lambda Pi Eta.
Email: bellek109@gmail.com

Posts by Kwame Belle

Let’s Catch Up

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Wow

It has been a while since I’ve really gotten into the flow of  things. Not to worry I am back and fully functioning. Took a much needed break. You know how hectic things can get for a college student. Hopefully to the demise of you the reader (just admit you miss me). With so much time passing , comes so much news.

This past semester I went through a lot. I grew a lot , I experienced a lot. I am grateful for it all , maybe not while it occurred or soon after, and truthfly there are issues I am still trying to resolve. However my new outlook has led me to be grateful for it all. Rain, sleet, Oswego sized snow days and sun. Whatever the problem I may be experiencing in the end will be worth the journey.

Success has found its way to me this year. This past spring semester I was inducted into the Lambda  Pi Eta National Honor Society of Communications. It was a pleasant surprise because although it has been my goal since day one of Oswego to receive academic recognition I never set out for this one in particular. Which made the induction and initial nomination that much more of an honor. I learned that when you take care of your business , stay focused on the goal at hand, the blessings will come. Also it never hurts to be able to send your parents a quick picture of you holding a Honor Society Certificate , all dressed up, with a great big smile with the caption “Hey mom just in case you thought I was going to Thirsty Thursdays every week.”

So all in all there has been a lot to occur. My birthday was exactly a month ago to the date( old & gray) , I received stitches for the first time (a lesson learned from that!), celebrated BSR (woop woop!), became Mr. BSU(check me out), My niece is 7 months and teething (poor baby sister).

As hectic as that may seem. I am still busy at work up here in Oswego. I’m taking summer classes, looking for employment, working on a possible intership/shadow position, and experiencing all that Oswego has to offer in the summer time (besides allergies and a sinus infection).

Rest assure though , we will be in touch!

-Kwame

It’s Finals Week, It’s about time I speak

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Ok, so at first I intended to take a mini vacation. Just a little time to clear my mind, and sit with my own thoughts. That actually came after my bday (4/24) So during that week I was obviously quite. Then I took my mini break. Then the last week of school came and things got hectic and I essentially got evicted.Not like homeless style, but we lost our lease she gave it away to the friends of our neighbors, plus I suspect they didn’t want us back whatever. So between that and the last week of school things were hectic. So I finally , FINALLY come to write something and you know what happens? I get sinusitis and I’m out of commission for a good amount of time , got taken care of making a great comeback prepared to blog on a great number of things and then I got badly injured on some broken glass. I ended up at the hospital needing stitches. So now it’s incredibly hard to type or write. However, when Finals week ends (I get stitches removed this week too) I have a plethora of thoughts to share.

Until then everyone please study hard, don’t over stress (it wont help the situation) and do well.  I wish you all the best of luck. I shall return soon!

Constructive Criticism

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I think they truly have. See  I am student writer. One in the process of learning this craft, learning the mechanics and on a simpler note just learning how to write period. There is a difference between having good thoughts and articulating them in an efficient manner. My major says journalism but it also says student. Hence there must be a learning curve. Every post I write will not have a disclaimer to this fact. I will not make known the fact that everyday I learn new rules or find more habits that need to be broken. The point is to learn on the go and put what you learn into practice. The best piece of advice given to me when I told a mentor of mine at a previous school I wanted to write , was to do so everyday. Make it a daily habit. That’s kind of what this is about. That and to be truthful I have an unique perspective that I wanted to share with others. My college experiences are CRAZY.

HOWEVER what has annoyed me the most since starting this blog. Have been the comments. Not those by my peers I love them . Good and bad I love when people post comments on a post. It lets me know that you are alive , you are part of this little writer and reader relationship. Of course I see the amount of people that read my post and that always amazes me that so many people would read the blog. My issue however is with the Alumni. They kind of disgust me to be honest. As I write this someone is saying there goes his networking out the window( it was in my head as well) but to be truthful in edu domain friendly words “I don’t care”.

Countless amount of times my post has been featured on the school Facebook page. Whenever that happens I get more pedestrian views than usual. I sometimes don’t realize till a few days after. Usually when I see the numbers shoot off the chart. So I then take my little web stroll over to the school page and see it for myself. That’s when it always happens. Never fails that I see some Alum go ” ahhhhhh grammar grammar grammar” or “this shouldn’t be posted there are way to many mistakes” I can go on but I’m sure by now you get the point. Probably even have seen such. I then look at that comment and see about 5 “likes” . That is when I stew. Not only because that is about the only time that the alum is probably getting “likes” which some probably are still struggling to understand, but because for one the comments are never left on MY post. Which to me says “ego driven” . There is no reason I should have to go on the school page to read the criticism of my post. When I have a comment section! It’s senseless to me! That leads me to believe you are “like hunting”. More importantly is this. If I know or become aware of a typo or mistake, I fix them. After all the point is to be able to fix and correct. This is why we have the ability to edit articles already published.

The biggest issue I have with this stems from the above image. I could be wrong but I thought alum were here to uplift , encourage and be of help to current students. Simply telling the world but not the student writer of the problem will not fix or solve the current “ahhhh grammar grammar grammar” problem. I one time got so upset. That an English major graduate would take to Facebook to cry over the mistakes. Yet he didn’t think to help a current journalism major student right his wrongs or steer him in the right direction. Do you see how that sounds? What good came out of his comments. I didn’t see them until a week later and still didn’t even know what he was talking about 0_0 .This is all with out me adding in the fact that this is a BLOG. A BLOG! Not the New York Times. I am speaking to my peers: current students and soon to be’s . Where as you are still trying to remember how to change your current system preferences. I cld tlk like ths 2 my ppl nd still every1 wld get me, things like gifs, u dnt undrstnd but we do. u call it social media we use wrds like web , online, “goin on the computer during library hrs. So u c its not alwys bout wat u like but wat we like. Aii.

Moral of the story. If you are going to criticize or critique make sure that it’s function is to help and not to tear down. After all who we become or what we learn is a direct reflection of what you didn’t teach us.

p.s. Nobody likes a troll.Troll and get troll’d . Srsly

Good Weather, Good Times

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The weather today is amazing! reasonable. So much so that I opted for the 10 minute walk to campus over my normal shuttle ride. Albeit while wearing my coat and a hoody but still. Who knows how long this “good weather” is going to last  next week it may snow again sending me into an emotional spiral(knocks on woods). However for today I’m celebrating this sunshine and semi-warmth. Warm weather makes everything better, afternoon naps,walking from one class to the next, trips to group meeting in the library. They all seem shrug worthy when the sun is out and shining. If you can’t tell Kwame is in a good mood B) Hmm , might even make a trip over to Freshens for a Smoothie!

-Catch Me in the Sun

The Triangle of Life

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Man, this may be the most accurate portrayal of school college. When I use to play the “you only get 2 games” I always got fustrated because I could never decide which I wanted. Yet here I am , again always stuck trying to decide between the three. Could this have been the source of my recent frustrations?

Maybe, but chances are it has more to do with these 4 major classes I am taking and trying to stay afloat in. Whatever the reason , it all leads back to this triangle. There has been a lack of consistency on my part this semester. At times, I’ve laid under the covers and said “rest!” then only but a few times, I have decided to go out and party and or drink(soda) all night long. Truest in its location however right at the top, hanging over my head has been the reminder that I want those great grades (not good). At times this has meant I went beast. Just running all around, staying up till all times of night, making a home of the library. Mostly though I have stressed myself to miserable levels and abandoned my promise to self to make sure I am taking time to enjoy life a little.

The sad truth (to me at least) about this triangle is that there is no one right way to approach it. In my eyes there is only room for one other choice. Getting good grades are not an option, nor should it be optional . But again to each their own, “Live let Live”. This leaves the conundrum of choosing between sleep and social life. For a couple of weeks I decided to choose sleep but that did me no good. It left me tense and ready to blow over like a pressure cooker. You see if you do what is required of you academically, you owe it to yourself to take a few moments if not hours to just enjoy the simpler or more carefree parts of life. Beware however it comes with a price, that price being precious time outside of your twin size bed  and head under the covers.

So I guess there is no way to truly win or to come out successful is there? I’m lost and still trying to figure it out. Maybe you have the answer though. If so , don’t act stingy share it with the rest of the world!!! Me 0_0!

Downtime

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Down time is the best time. I have a bunch of things to do . I brought home two textbooks to catch up on weeks worth of reading for my classes, I brought home a copy of my CAAP report as well as the classes I want to take in specific order(don’t forget registration is around the corner), I brought with me the intentions on writing some of these scholarship essays and lastly a book by James Baldwin & Decoded by Jay-Z for leisure reading.

I’ve managed to only play x-box and scream all sorts of fan type words at the tv watching the Conference tournaments so far. Then again sue me. Its only Monday. Before you can conquer the world you need rest and regrouping. So those are my immediate goals. I’ve hung out with my sister and niece(two fav girls in the world…although my sister is a woman). Bought a pair of chinos(something says I’m gettin old when I get excited by chinos and depressed at unavailibilty of a gingham shirt I wanted) and tomorrow I see my grandfather. So it hasn’t been all unproductive.

I also manged to catch onto the craze of Rebecca Black and all of the madness that comes with opening that Pandora’s box. More to come later. This week has tons to be accomplished. Including St Patty’s , and finding out a grandscheme to somehow enjoy while living on a college budget that is crimson red.

Spring Break..What Spring Break?

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I wish I could go somewhere like this on spring break. Unfortunately I’m going home. That in itself is not a success, I missed the airline deal that would have allowed me to travel round trip for about $90. Now I’m dreading the 5 hour trip on the bus.

What are some of my plans for spring break? I don’t have many actually. First and foremost I’ll try and rest up. For the last week or two I’ve been really exhausted. Not with out reason, I’ve been pushing myself in writing. Some for this blog as you saw, some for the school paper(which you better have seen) , I hosted the BSU Variety Show , attended the dinner and then there is the omnipresent school work. So February has been a whirlwind for me and even more intense the final two week of it. Now w are looking at midterm week and there is the rush to cram, finish assignments and comprehend the sections we ignored while texin or sleepin in class.

What I would like and what will happen during my time home are two very different things. I would like to go shopping ; I’m not sure if there is ever a time that I wouldn’t want to shop but I really am in need of a good shopping session. I would also like to say I’m going to go hang out with all my friends and stay out to all kinds of hours at night doing “young people things” but thats also a negatory.

In reality there are some things to look forward to. My niece Gemma is now 4 months old, a little bit more alert, she plays, she goo’s and gahs , she eats baby mush(yum) and she’s vibrant. I can’t wait to hold her and to play with her so this is my biggest joy. It’s also the main reason I DO want to go home. I also need to get some of these scholarship applications done. Scholarship essays to me , are the worst type of chore . I’d rather clean my house all day than to have to write ONE “about yourself essay”. In between all that maybe I can squeeze in a date at Chipotle, maybe hang out at Starbucks another(starbucks oh how i miss thee!) and chill in the back of the Charger at night(the Owe me tour is still a go).

So while I may not be going to any tropical island, or laying in the warm weather of some island. I do have somethings to do. And just think. I’ll have 12 days to lay in bed and dream about it. Till then ..its time to cram away