Every day you are pulled in a variety of directions by countless people and activities. (family, friends, bboying, school, work, etc.)
Sometimes it can be overwhelming. There is so much to do and never enough hours in the day to get it done. The key is to determine what is most important to you and then trim off the excess.
[blockquote align=”center”]It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials. (Bruce Lee)[/blockquote] “It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.” (Bruce Lee)
Make a list of EVERYTHING that takes away some of your time.
TV, School, Movies, Sleep, Eating, Family, Friends, Sports, Video Games, Bboying etc..
Rank them in order of importance… When you begin to knock off the time wasters at the bottom of your list, you will find that you have more time to accomplish some of the items you truly care about and will find your rate of progression increases.
Bboying & Education are obviously near the top of your list (or at least they should be).
Just in case you’re still not convinced about the need for further education here’s a couple thoughts from some of your peers:
“It took a few years for me to realize that without my education I would always be working very hard for the money I made. ha ha I didn’t want to do this. I wanted to make more for working less. So I finally focused and finished up my schooling.” (Josh Perkins)
“I was tired of the average 9-5. I needed to feel like I was making a difference at work instead of dreading it and the only way to get to that point was more school.” (Chris Owens)
“First, I realized that I was not living up to what I was capable of. I have three brothers, two of them have doctorates and teach at Universities while my third brother just finished Med school and is finishing his residency. Second, I attended school because I realized that my future goals include having a family. I want more than anything in my life to know that my family is taken care of, even if that means giving up some of the things that I love. Third, I am married and my wife would kill me if I did not go. HAHA.” (Tyler Hollingshaus)
You’ve heard the statistics before but just to refresh your memory….
Average yearly salary (according to the U.S. Census Bureau)
High school drop outs: $18,734
High school graduates: $27,915
College grads (with a bachelor’s degree): $51,206
Advanced degree holders: $74,602
After 40 years of working, a college graduate will have earned over $1 million more than a high school graduate. And the gap is increasing as we speak. That number will be higher by the time we are getting to retirement age.
So, you’re convinced you need to do some kind of further education, but you don’t want to miss out on bboying. Don’t worry – you can have both. We’ve got some great examples of educated bboys in our scene who have been able to balance everything.
Josh (Txt) Perkins graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Mass Communications.
Chris (Monkee) Owens graduated from Provo College with a degree in Graphic Design.
Tyler (TyTrain) Hollingshaus graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Anthropology.
If you start asking around, you’ll find that there is a growing number of bboys on the scene who are currently in school and younger kids who are looking forward to further education. You can have them both. Do NOT limit yourself to one or the other.
In fact you will find that as you progress in one realm, you will be motivated to progress in the other.
“If you think school takes away from your dancing, you end up hating school and vice versa. I found the best balance when I looked at it as two goals I was trying to reach. School is actually the easiest one to accomplish. Once that’s done it’s actually easier to dance more. No matter where I was, I understood that both were important and I could not live without either. Instead of saying “I could be this amazing dancer if it weren’t for school” I tried to imagine how successful I could be as a professional dancer with a good education. Having education credentials along with dance ability could take me to higher levels than each could on its own.” (Josh Perkins)
Finding a balance is not easy – but it can be done.
“It was hella hard to balance school and dancing. Before I was dancing probably 6 times a week. When school started I had to cut that down to about 3 times if I was lucky, you know no finals or test on the way. It was a hard decision because dancing is what I loved but I needed to start my career. There were definitely sacrifices across the board. On one hand I needed that education to move to the next step in my life, and I knew it. And on the other hand I was so passionate about our dance that I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to. I believe when you have a deep emotional connection with different activities no matter if its dancing, singing, or working, you will find a way to make it work no matter what the cost is. “Love the life you live….to live the life you love.” (Chris Owens)
There is a need for further education outside of the culture, but remember that if you are truly a bboy then you will be studying the culture you are part of as well. Knowledge of the hip hop culture is important, especially if you are interested in finding ways to help the culture progress and gain credibility in a more public setting.
“I find it rather irritating that kids are professing to be bboys, yet they know nothing about the history of the culture, or the dance. Make studying bboying part of your education, you would be amazed at the types of things in bboying that also pertain to your life. If you are like me, you may even want to write academic articles or do research on the history of bboying, thus helping the world to really understand more about the truth of hip hop. I would even venture to say that by not getting an education you are living up to the world’s stereotype of hip hop. Educate yourselves.” (Tyler Hollingshaus)
It doesn’t matter whether you’re goal is to be an engineer, graphic designer, anthropologist or hip-hop historian. Further education will only benefit you and your dancing. And just in case you’re thinking you’d like to go into medicine – you should know that it is also possible! Zeshen from Havikoro is building his rep while studying to become a surgeon…
