R is For Relflecting on 2018

It’s the end of the year and there is no denying that in just a couple of days, 2019 will officially launch. As the days wind down and before we come to the collective conclusion of the year at hand, I thought it would be cool to reflect on 2018 as a way to celebrate the small little wins.

Is it me or have the days run out of patience as they seem to go by faster and faster the older I get?

It feels like yesterday when we were all singing the Prince Anthem, “1999” and coming into the year 2000 and now it is about to be 2019. Am I the only one who feels moment by moment crying out for my attention only for the experience to speed on by at breakneck speeds? I will say that I have been wearing my seatbelt, but I can’t help but to feel the whiplash of time that keeps ticking. But thank God I can feel it because there are many who have not made it to this point and to be here in the land of the living, still, is a blessing that I can own up to.

2018

In 2018, New York had one of the chilliest and longest winters I can ever remember. As the cold slipped out of the year’s clutches, the warm weather harnessed feelings of jumping into the ocean’s waters more than I’d ever been motivated to feel the sand under my feet on hot summer nights in my whole life.

Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School Small Band

Once the latest school year was set in motion, it’s been working hard toward constant building and guiding the next generation of musically creative, young singers beyond the gates of their high school days and into their lushly orchestrated futures. Hopefully in their tomorrow, they will make a mark on the world with their aural charisma when you will bop your heads to their music echoing through your ears someday. They definitely have enormous potential.

With my mentor, Wayne Holmes

There were days where I harnessed melancholy moments where I delved deep into the heartfelt blues that made me want to cry me a river and I felt stripped bare emotionally. 

I lost a few people that were close to me including my mentor, Wayne Holmes, who was willing to share his mark of genius with me while he was alive. He pushed me into singing and helped to break me out of my shell. Losing him and the others that affected my life that went on to be with the Lord, felt like needle sharp thorns piercing at my heart. 

I used my gift of singing far into the night on many of the days I was graced to see; some days even the point of exhaustion. But I carried on with this level of ambition and spunk that has not left me yet. If you ever listened to me sing or were witness to a live performance, then you heard the sound of striving. Even when I felt intimidated by the roaring stadium sized collections of critics and naysayers, I still had faith in my own story because I know who I am and I have passion as deep as a river that makes me sparkle with a burst of energy and enthusiasm whenever a mic is in my hand.

2018 Dr Mary Umolu Jazzy Jazz Festival

How blessed I am that God opened doors to opportunities to sing on stages this year that I never thought I would see like with the New Rochelle Jazz Orchestra or at Citifield where I got to dance with and sing to John Starks or having the opportunity to remake the old Whitney Houston classic, “Love Will Save the Day,” and seeing my name on a vinyl record for the first time. You can check out the tune here: 

These were some of the many pieces de resistance of my 2018.

Some days I experienced dramatic bursts of aggravation because of all the pressures I felt from my own impatience with petty little things and acknowledged stubbornness that often seemed to go on autopilot. Back in the days, I would get liquored up to soothe my troubles, but I can crackle with excitement that on January 1, 2019, I will be five years alcohol-free because of a resolution I made back when 2014 kicked into high gear.  Hopefully I can do the same in the coming year as I attempt once again to rekindle a healthier lifestyle habit, on purpose.

First Sunset of 2018

And then there were times throughout 2018 where earnest expressions of joy, enthusiasm and love bloomed like a wildflower. But there was always hope peering from behind the door that gave me a blast of energy to link to the reality of it all and I am most thankful for the improvisational spirits of all those who were willing to dream right alongside me.  

As I recount my experiences, there were more good than bad, and I am thankful for it all. And as we go onto greater things in the coming 2019, all I can say is that I hope it is colorful, lively and luminous. I have an optimistic outlook and look forward to seizing the days of the new year as they come. I also hope to work towards improving myself consistently so I can build more quality into my own being which will require round the clock care which I hope I can maintain so I can experience the distant rewards before me.

I can’t believe that the year has come and gone so quickly, but before the sun of 2018 descends, I wish to you, immeasurable joy in the new year. I hope it greets you with its charming personality and keeps you feeling spiritually uplifted until the morning light of 2020. 

Savor every blessing as the year rolls along. I hope you accomplish many things and are so busy climbing up the ladder that you are able to not dwell too much on the daily frustrations or the temper of the times. Enjoy the confines of 2019.