Big Mike: The Urban Professional

As time goes on, the people at Creative Loafing are starting to get used to having interns around and are beginning to include us in their day to day as employees not just the new people. Today was probably my best day there so far.

I felt like a real writer today, my swag was way up from having a very small writeup and my name in the current issue, I was in the office finding sources, doing research and interviews for the two story assignments I have, talking to my editors in a casual way that I hadn't before. The boss invited me out for drinks at this spot called Prevue in NoDa. I went and it was cool, it was in the art district and had a mixed crowd but mostly urban professionals (i.e. black ppl with jobs better yet careers). Thank God I changed clothes, I wore a jersey to work but I put on my "cool kid" clothes for the after work spot, dress shirt, loosened tie, jeans I actually ironed, Vans. I was channeling my inner Lawrence Wiggins for a second.

I went to Prevue with my friend Portia and everybody was networking, exchanging cards and information, soon as we got there this lady from the radio station, who I've been listening to since I was like 12 started talking to me and thought I was a poet she'd seen perform before (must be the beard). The spot was real cool, lots of people, a few dancing, some at the bar, most just talking. The DJ was bumpin' classic hip hop, then mixed some ATLien and Southernplayalistic OutKast (my favorite), some women had their wine and shit, it was just real chill. People from work I barely even knew bought me drinks and I almost thought about gettin' at one of them 30+ women out there (Hit 'em with "If you need some stamina in your life, holla at ya boy"). I really felt like part of the Creative Loafing family.

I was impressed by the NoDa area, it's Charlotte's art district now but when I growing up it was nothing like that. You had the YMCA where I played baseball and basketball and poverty, old shotgun houses and people who had been there forever. Now it's cool little coffee shops and chill spots, bars, art galleries and a theatre (plays not movies). I'm happy to see it.

After that I went to this lil' spot called in the cut downtown called Alexander Michael's. It's a restaurant I used to walk by all the time when I was little but I never had the money to eat there so it was kinda cool to accomplish a dream. Had some chicken pesto (Ya boy is eatin' Pesto nigga damn!). I don't know, today I finally got an understanding of what it's like to live and work in Charlotte and why it's so appealing. There are things to do (once you're 21) and now I think I love my hometown even more (if that's possible).

Today I also caught up with some people from the neighborhood and I feel like a lot of them look at me and my family as the people that made it. We managed to get out Charlotte, more specifically the neighborhood, go to college and do something. I mean, they treat me like I'm a celebrity sometimes and it's just like come on bruh I'm Mike, same dude just a little better known. But I can't help but get the sense that I'm leaving them behind. We always talk about time flying. Their little brothers that I remember being born are hitting high school now and little sisters are graduating to middle school and it's like damn, what have I been doing? But I can think about every year that's passed and say ok, I did this, this and this while some of them might not be able to the same. When I was leaving for Prevue, one of my friends said, "When you get on TV don't forget us bruh. Do it like you doing it for TV bruh" and I told him "I'ma do it like I'm doing it for GV you already know!" And since I left in 2004, I've really started to understand that everything I'm doing is bigger than me and I'm not just doing this for me anymore, not even for my moms or my family, I realize there are people who are watching me and actually depending on my success. I'm doing this for all the people I know who didn't make it this far (RIP Willie), can't leave Greenville and everybody who has dreams of getting out. Having the sense of purpose is really guiding me these days. When you combine passion and purpose you have an winning formula fam.

Thank the Lord for all he's done for me.
"To whom much is given, much is required"

Be easy yall.