rejection
is a learning experience like any other. it's nice when it happens gently, so as to not crush your dreams.
i fear i did that with a young vocalist who was coming short of her efforts. she contacted us to come to her show and write about her. it turns out she sang 2 songs that were covers, none of her own material, she had no ep, no album, no recording plans, no tour plans, no upcoming shows, and no website.
she was very persistant about how our piece was going. our writer was putting it off for a month, and i finally had to drag her to stand up comedy to drag it out of her.
homegirl (singer) hit us up again, with news of her "show", which turned out to be a showcase, and i fear i was too hard when i told her that because of the above, it was hard to write anything about her..but if she was prepared to provide a media pass or copy of her album/press kit, we'd be happy to try to oblige her. until then, not much i could do. heartless? maybe, if so, sorry.
i have to say that i have been rejected many times in my day, at times even laughed away, but it's nice when they laugh at your face and not behind your back. and every rejection is a learning experience unless you dwell there. sometimes you have to be there for a minute, but then you have to suck it up and move on. such is life. learn from it, or live it. forever.
never satisfied with rejection, or seeing it as a sign of failure, i kept on pushing, and as the confidence grows, the appletree grows. kanye-esque or not, if you don't believe in what you're doing, why should anyone else give a shit?
look at how many times i had to harrass the mag? now i'm doing covers and shit.
i put my ish on the line to apply to the alternative school of journalism at northwestern, even including a letter on my own behalf about how i needed to get a student visa to the us, but they wouldn't grant it if a school hadn't accepted me, and the school required a visa before they accepted the application. so, going for broke and quoting mos def...i did it anyway.
months later, i quote from the letter back: "the field of candidates vying for the 10 academy scholarships this year was the most competitive ever. We received more than 400 applications....I am sure that in our haste or short sightedness we have bypassed many gifted writers, you among them. I hope this minor setback does not alter your career path or deter you as you attempt to pursue an interest in long-form narrative journalism or the alternative press. Write on, and prove us wrong for not having the wisdom and forsight to select you for the 2006 Academy class."
calling out. i love it. and i can't even talk about Tara Henley who hit me up over comments i made about her work and read me anyway, talk about being the pro and getting over egos (which should be illegal cuz mine don't know how to act) and winning me over to the building side, reminding me that the beefing side of me died when i was 17 like brandy, you wanna be down?
don't think i'm going soft though, i'm always willing to scrap with the know-it-all types who may have the time to nit-pick over "facts" all day, but have no idea to talk to anyone, let alone this girl. brocolli.
