DaMontae and Leonard (my little bro)

This picture of my little brother Leonard sits in the my family cluster of  pictures and I cherish it. Despite our near ten years difference in age, I thought it was awesome that I have a younger brother out there. I know that we have not always been close; but I hope that that we can continue to strengthen that bond as brothers. 

I wish you the best of luck in your future college career. I want you to know that you can ALWAYS count on and call me whenever you need to.  LJ, you have been an important person in my life and I love you.

Fucking Perfect-P!nk

My Bucket List as of 2/13/2013

1.       Get a bachelor’s degree
2.       Get my first career job
3.       Adopt a child
4.       Visit all 50 states
5.       Visit Sweden
6.       Sing a song to someone
7.       Get my master’s degree
8.       Work professionally at UW-Whitewater
9.       Become a university chancellor
10.   Get married
11.   Own my three dreams cars
12.   Own my dream home
13.   Lose 100lbs
14.   Perform in a drag show
15.   Visit Las Vegas with friends
16.   Go to a NYC Pride
17.   Get an honorary degree
18.   Start a LGBT youth home
19.   Start a LGBT community center
20.   Learn to swim
21.   Read all of the books I own
22.   Read a book series
23.   Be on an HGTV show
24.   Meet an actor from a favorite TV show
25.   Meet a newscaster
26.   Teach a class
27.   Fly on a plane
28.   Make a meal from field to table
29.   Meet a favorite singer
30.   Be elected to an position
31.   Have something I made put on display or built
32.   See Backstreet Boys in concert
33.   See Christina Aguilera in concert
34.   Visit  “the TV” street
35.   Get a tattoo
36.   Have braids
37.   Design a room in someone else’s house
38.   Dress a friend
39.   Take classes in interior design
40.   Take cooking classes
41.   Own a Kitchen Aid Mixer and at least 6 attachments
42.   Confront a bully from high school
43.   Have a family reunion with all of my blood siblings
44.   Have a meaningful talk with my dad
45.   Talk more with my grandma
46.   Send my uncle a Christmas gift
47.   Visit Vicksburg, MS
48.   Visit San Francisco, CA
49.   Visit the Clinton Presidential Library
50.   Visit the Reagan Presidential Library
51.   Visit the Carter Presidential Library
52.   Visit the Ford Presidential Library
53.   Visit the Lincoln Presidential Library
54.   Visit the Hoover Presidential Library
55.   Visit the Kennedy Presidential Library
56.   Visit the F. Roosevelt Presidential Library
57.   Visit the Truman Presidential Library
58.   Visit the GW Bush Presidential Library
59.   Visit the GHW Bush Presidential Library
60.   Visit the Nixon Presidential Library
61.   Visit the Eisenhower Presidential Library
62.   Visit the Johnson Presidential Library
63.   Visit Mt Vernon
64.   Visit the Henry Ford Museum
65.   Visit my friend Kevin in Maine
66.   Visit Washington DC
67.   Visit Dollywood
68.   Visit Puerto Rico
69.   Visit Little Rock Central High School
70.   Be able to let go of people
71.   See Fall Out Boy in Concert
72.   See Maroon5 in concert
73.   Take a tour of a food plant
74.   Take a tour of an auto plant
75.   Buy a designers piece
76.   Passionately kiss a celebrity
77.   Do a week long road trip
78.   Get Ed. D.
79. See my grand children
80. Meet a United States President
81. Visit Mexico

Vanessa Williams-Work To Do 

DaMontae and David (Cookie Cutter)

Cookie, oh Cookie. The moscato, the night at the Casa, the nights at the club, you have been one of my ride or die bitches. Lol! You have encouraged me when I needed to and helped me on the steps towards fulfilling my dreams. I will always remember my last summer in Platteville and our nights of hanging out. Reminiscing over the slow jams of the 1990s and how those were real love songs and they don’t make them like that anymore. Our trip to Milwaukee and Chicago with the great amount of fun that we had. 

David you great person and I hope that you continue to receive and experience the best that this life has to offer you. I have inspired me to just keep going and continuing to stay true to myself regardless of what life throws as you. I will miss you when you are in Florida, but I will visit. You can count on it.

All the Man I Need (live)- Whitney Houston

DaMontae and Darci

The first person at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville with whom I made acquaintances with and we find out that we have so much in common. We hate it when people misspell our names, have large extended families, and previously attended other UW schools to name a few. I am so glad that we continued to build a friendship and that we got to share in graduation together. I was further privileged to share in her wedding celebration, in which she and her groom looked stunning.

 Darci, you have been there for me offering words of encouragement, a place to rest my head on visits, company to share meals with and it has meant the world to me. I wish that we could have lived across the street from each other longer than a few days. I will always remember cooking venison meatball with you and going to the Platteville Aquatic Center and checking out the lifeguards.  It would have been great to share more; recipes, wine and good conversation. It has been a joy to know you!

 Today's song is Wannabe - Spice Girls

DaMontae and Sam

A lifelong student… that is what you and I will always be. Over two score years of education between us and we are still in the pursuit. The theories of languages, arts, sciences, philosophy, and life’s purpose have fueled the countless hours of conversation that have passed over satellites, coffee and meals. How have we not solved the problems of the world by now and become billionaires?

An ally, a friend, Sam you are gentleman and a scholar. I have enjoyed our conversations and have been privileged to call you my friend. I hope that you fulfill all of your dreams, hopes and desires in your life. I feel at some point we will need to take a trip to some place for the intellectual curiosity and simple relaxation of not being at school and doing things at our leisure. Your words, hugs, curiosity and determination have been inspirational to me. Thank you.

I know that we would leave our mark on this world either in words or a scholarship or a library or research lab or residence hall named in our honor. We will let the world know, that we were here!


I Was Here -Beyonce

DaMontae thinks about history

 

Today, the ceremonial events of the inauguration of the 44^th President of the United States occurred. I did not watch all of it, but will later (thanks DVR). Today I wished that my great grandma, Martin Luther King Jr. & his wife Coretta, could have been alive to see Barack Obama being sworn into his second term as president.

 I would like my great grandma who saw oppression near its worst to see a man of African descent raise his right hand and take his oath of office on a Holy Bible held by his wife, also African descent, next two their beautiful young daughters. A lifetime of struggle seeing an event occur that, when she was a young girl of Sasha or Malia Obama age, could not have ever thought to be a reality.

I think for MLK, it would be the culmination of a lifetime of dedication of standing up and fighting for the equality of his racial group and for Coretta the same. Also, with Mrs. King being a strong advocate for LGBT rights, I think that it would warm her heart that President Obama believes and stated that LGBT people should have the right to marry & have full protections under that law. 

We shall see in the next 1461 days can the 44^th presidents keep by his promises, live up to the hype and be a President of bipartisanship, integrity and equality.

Heather Small Proud