The Late bloomer Files

"The first time I meet someone from LA, I  regretted it"- A Sheltered Southerner, Aleco. In the Fall of 2022, I had the great "pleasure" of being accepted into the (School of Art Institute of Chicago). It was a pivotal moment for me coming from the bible belt of Hattiesburg, MS. I always grew up in the suburbs, didn't even drive and so I was happy to finally see what independence was about. Of course, I was a late bloomer and was not one of those types to just sneak out the house. Though, I did have a couple of ideal fantasies, something aligning towards a Wattpad story. In the 12 hour trip to the dorm building, I put my things up, me and my family were nervously excited about settling in. A couple of weeks before, setting up my housing, I was talking to my roommates online, creating ideas in my head of what they could look like out of boredom. I finally reach my destination were I am met inside the apartment suite, by a twink in a white dress. Of course, though

     "You're just a baby!" I've come to realize that I  have heard this phrase more than when I was actually a baby. It seems that I have finally reached the age of adulthood. No longer am I sucking my thumb, looking up for help. Or better yet, letting my parents pay for everything. Well, kind of, in truth I am not a person sitting upon my throne of regrets missing my childhood and resenting adulthood, at least not all the time. I find, as I navigate my life and the consequences of issues faced when not taking responsibility for like a maxed out credit card, and all those visits to the grocery store for organic chips. I mean, what is organic anyway? I just pretend to act like I know for the fun of it. And see!!! That's what it means to be grown, to get excited that you can eat overpriced chips, while also complaining the next aisle over, that they don't have their usual (two for one) on some pop tarts. This isn't all bad in the grand scheme of things.     

       What is it you're looking at above you dear reader? Well, it is a screenshot from a Reddit post I made recently August 14, 2023. Now you may notice the red arrow with the 360, by the time the moderators took the post down for, what I can assume was (a post stirring up trouble) it had more people commenting after that. I must admit I didn't think everyone was going to agree with all I put in the reddit, but my God!!! Suddenly the page literally for ranting about not working was advocating for....working. Go figure, and to make matters worse, no one seemed to actually want to have a revolution. I began to realize, this (standing up to the man) is all a show. It has as much substance as celebrity worship, or cancel culture. No one is really going to fight back or stand up, because they are scared of doing so. One of the many comments, that attempted to be logical pointed out that revolution was not gonna work. And you know what would work, unions.         And sure, I mean t

     "Me, (Aleco), selfie in the city (2022)"       I was never a coon, I just never felt the need to hate on my people because of certain individuals. But, I was and have always been in a position where I hated certain aspects of my blackness. It wasn't the skin tone, but it was what was expected of me because of my melanin. Now, I always believed I had an average middle-class upbringing. But with all the supposed advantages of that, I still never got over the things hurled at me simply for being black. Now I am not talking about the conversation you get from your parents when they teach you about proper procedure just in case the police come at you. No, I am talking about the issues I wish black boys/men got growing up about their femininity, self-image, and much more.       In the beginning , I was born Oct 16, 2000. Meaning I am basically Generation Z but also somewhat a Millennial. And growing up in the 2000s was interesting for numerous reasons. There was so many gr

"Falling" by (me) Aleco, Pen on cardboard (2023)      There have been a variety of studies that go into NDE'S. Near-death experiences have been a new obsession for me. I often forgot about these phenomena because I had my religion to fill my needs for something mystical. Now, questioning my faith, I have considered a near-death experience as more than just a spectacle. Usually contemplating death against my will, these experiences often feel real. Now, there are some moments that make me cringe. Like people who claim to channel the spirits of mother nature and such. I have looked at enough documentation on cults and spiritual scams to side eye someone who genuinely believes that they are speaking as a deity. I often believe that some people are gifted with a spiritual gift since their adolescence, while others may have just had an early onset of schizophrenia. However, it is not like the phenomenon can be fully dictated as real or not, simply due to data.       Because th

 So, I am 22 right now and I feel lost as hell, I live with my folks and I'm just trying to want to do more in my life. I often sit back working on various projects and essays trying to build my portfolio as a freelance writer. And all while I do that, squeeze in enough time to exercise so I don't feel like I'm going to explode. In my most recent job I am a baker at crumble cookie. I often just pull up at 5:00pm leave at around 10, and do it over again. Now by all means I was never good with money, not at all. So I take full responsibility for my jacked up bank account. However, it took something that happened the December of 2022 that shook up a lot for me financially, but mostly mentally. Now, I have always dealt with anxiety. I remember going to get a check up was the worst of it. I would always go to the doctors office crying scared that I'm going to fucking die. They would always looked shocked at my blood pressure number and tell me that the current path I was goi