While in undergrad at Stanford, I became increasingly familiar with an analogy regarding our student body that aimed to distinguish us from scholars at other institutions, particularly the Ivies. As opposed to being overworked, stressed out, cutthroat students who did whatever they had to do to get ahead, we were described as ducks. On the surface, we appear calm and cool, floating serenely in the pond of life. However, beneath the water our legs are paddling furiously to stay afloat.

Yes, I’m a very much still that duck. My cool countenance and easy-going demeanor belie the fact that I think too much, so I’ve been told. My mind is always aswirl, taking in, processing…processing some more, reflecting, seeking to understand. “Your head is going to explode!” my mother would always tell me.

To keep my head from exploding, I write…not because I feel like “I have something to say,” but to empty space for more thoughts. Crowd control, if you will. That said, I don’t write nearly enough. Between being a husband, a father of two little’uns who aren’t so little any more (ages 9 and 5), a high school English teacher in Chicago’s public school system, and generally a man striving to self-actualize to the highest level of Maslow’s pyramid, there’s a lot on my mental plate. And of course, once we think we’ve got it all figured out, there’s more to learn. Alas, the wise man knows he knows nothing.

So, this blog space is an outlet. Sometimes my thoughts manifest as prose, exegeses on whatever topics are striking me at the moment. Other times, they present themselves as “poetry.” And most often, these poetic stylings take the form of rap lyrics.

One of my favorite quotes is by French philosopher Rene Descartes, who said, “Dubito ergo cogito ergo sum” – I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I am. I like to amend this by adding another ergo. I doubt, therefore I think, therefore I write, therefore I am. This is my existence, and I welcome you to share in my process of unpacking and making sense of it.

Peace,

Rankofa