The Emperor's Necklace
Once upon a time, there was once a treasure of "the White Empire" that started out with minimum value, but grew to be something of importance.
It started out small, just as many things, but more like a tree seed.
In many ways, this symbolized who Emperor White was, what he had done, and who he grew to be. But just like a seed, this possession needed something to aid its growth and development.
 |
| The faded blue and white are evidence that this is old. |
The first lanyard represented the Emperor's first signs of major academic success at Oak Hammock Middle School. Success that would propel him through the rigorous IB and AP classes, all the way to Florida State University.
By the time this was received, Emperor White had put together a string of 3 middle school years with 2 AB Honor Roll Awards and 10 A Honor Roll Awards and Diplomas.
It must also be noted that the Emperor also had a house key attached to it. Nonetheless, this was a major upgrade from mediocre A's, B's, and C's back in elementary school.
The funny thing was that prior to this acquisition, the neighborhood friends and relatives believed Emperor spent the most time with considered him to be weird and stupid. His peers considered him to be loud, obnoxious, and annoying. Neither of these groups minced their words when it came to expressing this sentiment.
Once this piece was obtained, he had the respect of everyone from all parties. They began to speak about him as though he had always been doing this. That soon became the belief of everyone. They held him in high regards as though he knew everything. When he told them of his goals, they cheered him on and tried to motivate him even more so (as though he needed it).
Emperor White didn't mind the admiration and flattery, but he never forgot how things used to be.
Moving forward through much of high school, having started a foundation for the necklace, success, and popularity, Emperor White received several other lanyards. He also had keys to his mother's house, mother's car, grandmother's house, and car of his own.
The light and sky blue lanyards came from what he had done in Youth-In-Government (Y.I.G) and Mock Trial. There he managed to become the Captain of Dunbar High School's Mock Trial Team for two years, the Vice President of the Dunbar Chapter (Y.I.G) for three years, and the President of the Dunbar Chapter (Y.I.G) for one year.
There he debated hundreds of other people across the state and prepared his team for litigation proceedings against other teams. It was this point when the Emperor had established knowledge and prudence in the sphere of politics and governance.
He also received army and money-related lanyards from his time with AVID. During then, he was one of their spokespersons whenever a school event occurred. All the same, the Emperor added to his necklace for it represented strength to endure hard times and determination to become self-sustainable.
However, as he made his additions, what was once a cute little item became a topic of discussion for the people that ran into. Oftentimes, they would question and make statements about the act as though it were silly and he had taken it too far.
"Why do you have so many lanyards?".
"How can you drive with all that?".
"You should get rid of those."
The Emperor's response would always be the same:
(P.S - "Make sure to pause the first video, if you have it playing, and play the next video for the response.")
"They represent different elements of importance. However, overall, they represent how much I've been winning." (This was perceived as a "massive flex".)
 |
| To be more exact, they represent how successful I was, how successful I am, and how successful I want and will push to be. |
This didn't surprise Emperor White, for he knew that the negative bug that plagued him hadn't flown away.
Ever since then, Emperor White made more additions to give it the flare that it needed as well as an important piece to remind him of the way things are.
This "importance piece" is a Cross. While the Emperor is not super religious or devout, he does believe in God and understands that he's able to what he can because of Him.
The new additions symbolize life for Emperor White in the final moments of high school and the early moments of college.
The medals and the sashes represent academic excellence at the high school level. This the Emperor finds important because it reminds him of where he was academically in elementary and his growth since then. It is this aspect that he sees as one of the reasons why he considers himself to be of a dynasty - "The White Dynasty".
It is this high regard and confidence in himself that he finds meaning in the shine of the gold pieces. They are bright and flashy, two adjectives that Emperor White puts on display unapologetically, at times.
However, the most important piece, outside of the cross, is the plain, navy lanyard. It has his Black Panther watch and Presidential Class Ring attached to it.
It is these objects that Emperor White looks to remember how those on the outside treated him before by poking fun, criticizing, judging, looking down upon him. By the end of high school, he had turned it all around. Yet, he still does not forget and it's a vivid memory in his mind.
The Emperor does notice, in current time, that he has one key on the necklace - the one to his dorm room. It is this that serves as a signal that, perhaps, he has to build up yet again; this time in Tallahassee.
He's not nervous, though, for he has grown and develop in many ways since the time he started. Yet still, he does not forget.
Lessons/Takeaways
1. Objects are important outside of their function because of the meaning that they have assigned to it. This meaning can come from many places, from the level of ease or difficulty to obtain the object, to the kind of life that one was living at the time that they had possession of it, and so on and so forth.
2. Regardless of where one lies on the totem pole, there will always be negative energy present. Oftentimes, in modern society, people talk about just how much they dislike negative energy and their lack of tolerance for it. This is not a bad approach; but at the same time, it is this same energy which can be used as motivation moving forward.
No comments:
Post a Comment