How I became a Gentleman

So today I'm going to touch a little on my past and talk about how Ne-Yo became such a strong influence in my life and why his music has impacted me so much.

Before I even knew Ne-Yo existed as an artist I was a fan of his work.  Before starting out as an artist, Ne-Yo was a songwriter for different artists.  Two of the songs he wrote I really liked was Marques Houston's "That Girl" and Mario's "Let Me Love You."  Still to this day, "Let Me Love You" is one of my top 10 favorite songs; I don't know what part of it hooked me, but the song does tell a story that most can relate to with a smooth melody.  

However, the first time I listened to Ne-Yo's voice was in the parking lot of a Walgreens freshman year of high school.  I was waiting in the car for my dad, listening to the radio and suddenly a song caught my attention.  It was his breakthrough hit "So Sick," and it really moved me because of the situation that I was going through at the time.  After weeks of searching for the song and the artist, I found him and instantly became addicted to his music.

A couple of years later he released The Year of the Gentleman and a whole-new me was solidified.  I remembered the first time I listened to the album in its entirety in my room and thought that there was not a single song I disliked on it.  From that point on, I molded my life around the concept of the album and trying to be chivalrous at all times.  Year of the Gentleman might have been topped by R.E.D., which came out earlier this year.  R.E.D. features, in my opinion, a more mature and reality-based lookout on life; it highlights the fact that we all have flaws, but deep down we have that spark of goodness in us.

I guess I could talk a couple of songs that really stick out to me by him.  The first one I'm going to talk about is from 2008 called "Go on Girl."  There are a lot of songs that give women empowerment and the closure in past relationships, but this is really the first song like this that is from the male point-of-view.  Ne-Yo pretty much sums up a crappy situation, and is able to move on because he knows he deserves to be treated better.  

The second one is currently the most played song on my iTunes with 359 plays called "Part of the List."  It's a sad but beautiful song about a past love; Ne-Yo brings us on a journey about little things that we grow to love about a person and how they grow on you.  However, once this person leaves you're pretty much a train wreck.  It's a very relatable song because there is always that one person in your life that got away and something reminds you of them constantly.  

And finally, the last song I'll cover today is "Jealous" from R.E.D.  This is #2 on my most played and it came out about 4 months ago, so you can probably tell how much I love this song.  This extra smooth song is explaining how a beautiful woman, both inside and out, makes you jealous everytime she gives her attention to someone else.  It's to a point where you just want to be everything she interacts with so you'll be the only person/thing that makes her happy.  My favorite lyric from the song is, "Tattoo on your waistline. Oooo what I wouldn't do, Said what I wouldn't give to be a permanent part of you."  In my opinion, it is the ultimate song you can use to show your love and affection to her.  

Yeah, I might get a lot of crap with people saying that I'm gay for Ne-Yo (this might also be a reason everyone think gay too, smh), but I'm happy I chose to idolize him because of the class he brings and him broadcasting that it's okay to be the good guy in this world.  

So hopefully y'all understand me a little more now, and enjoyed the song links as well.

Until next time,

Corey

The Drama of Relationships

Why not?  Valentine's Day is in a couple of days.  First of all, I should probably say something about how I'm an expert in the dating world, so here's a picture to help explain.

Yeah.... So after reading this you should probably not cite me in a Capstone paper or something.

The second thing I want to point out is how hard it seems to be to find someone that is actually looking for some kind of relationship while attending college.  And by relationship, I think of someone to relate with and care for physically, emotionally, and mentally.  It just seems that everywhere I turn people just want to hook up; the whole companionship thing is thrown out the window.  I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with it, but the fact is it sucks for people looking for more.

While we're on this subject, let me talk about the people that be trifling with emotions.  I understand (and this is mainly for the guys but some girls) that you want to get it in but at what cost?  Some people do get attach when it comes to this stuff, and you're just going to replace them like a pair of sneakers?  It's hard to recognize the individuals that are looking for more than a fun night, but there needs to be better communication so the drama and foolishness doesn't happen as often.  Then again, alcohol plays a role in this often, and we know what our good friend "Da Drank" can do.

Now let's talk about my wonderful life.  I don't usually like a ton of girls, but when I do I usually feel like this (side note, this sounded a lot like a freaking meme):

However, believe it or not, I become the shyest person on earth when talking to this person or asking her what she is doing that particular weekend and suck at this part of the social game.  "But Corey, didn't you just complained about how people need to communicate better?"  Yes reader, but I never said I was perfect.  There was a past experience that sort of made me like this but I'll get over it eventually.

When you really want something you'll stop short of nothing to achieve it.  For me it is to find that one particular person that is my soulmate.  Scratch money or fame, I'll take love any day of the week (even though having the other two also wouldn't be a bad deal).

In the mean time, I'm just going to enjoy my last semester of college, Capstone, HOMECOMING WEEK, job hunting, my wonderful internship, parents coming in for my birthday, and Graduation. Sometimes you just have to realize how blessed you are before you get what you really want in life, and I feel I'm at that crossroad in my life.

Thanks for reading and see ya next time!

Corey

The Importance of Friendship

So today I think I'm going to shed a little light on what friendship means to me, and why it is such an important part of not only my life but hopefully everyone's out there.

To me, there are multiple levels of friendships that play different roles in your life. The first one is your "bro."  For the lady readers it might be the equivalent of your bff, but I'll just focus on my experience.  My bro is the guy that you can either sit around and do nothing all day or go on some wild adventure, but you'll always have the best time of your life.  When people look at two bros, they question if they're really in love with each other because of the strength of this bond, but the reality why they're inseparable is because of the adventures shared.  I'm blessed to have a bro in my life, even though we are in different states.  We still text each other about the craziest things, give sound advice on life, and of course, remind each other of our times on Bourbon Street and in New Orleans.  I think going to college in Austin really tested our friendship to the extreme, and made us even stronger friends in the long run.

The next stage in friendship is your best friends.  I'm not saying that your bros are above your best friends or visa versa, but in my mind there is a difference because of the label that is put on your bro.  Your best friends are the people that you'll do anything for.  If they are in trouble at 3am, you'll get up and drive to wherever they are to make sure they're safe.  If you are having a bad day, just seeing them cheers you up, and you talk for hours without realizing it.  That is what makes people best friends.  I have to say throughout college this has been somewhat of a revolving door.  Because of certain circumstances, I've grown apart from people that I once called my best friends.  Does this hurt me inside?  You bet!  But in the end, I learned from these experiences and grew as a person, and it became clearer who was really there for me.

Good friends and friends are the people that you don't really see on a regular basis, but you enjoy being around and think highly of them.  The difference between the two is how comfortable you are around them when it comes to sharing personal information or events if your life.

Lastly, there are the people that you talk to just to be polite and civil.  You might have nothing against them or you just don't like their vibes, but you are not really close.

So, you are probably wondering why the heck am I writing about friendship?

Well there's been recent drama in my life with some people that use to be close friends, and it has really been bugging me.  I'm not going to go into details, but I hope that if they do read this post, they'll realize the importance of friendship and the many perks that comes with it.  It's a shame to allow something that used to be great be ruined by foolishness and child's play, but I understand that sometimes the damage is too severe to repair.  

The last point I want to make today is knowing the responsibilities of a great friend. Sometimes you have to make a decision that doesn't really sit well with a person, but you do it in their best interests.  However, after you weather the storm from their frustrations, they will see your intentions were good and everything will be alright.  

That's all I got this time, thanks for reading!

Corey

My Intro

Hey y'all,

So this is my first post at this "blogging" thing so I'll give you a little intro of myself so you'll know what you'll get yourself into if you read more of this blog in the future.  My name is Corey, or as some of my friends call me CoCo, and I'm currently in my last semester in college.  I know what you're thinking, "Homeboy is a little late in the game to be doing blog stuff," but I figured to get a more in-depth understanding of social media I should use as many outlets as I can.  Speaking of social media, I'm a Communication major at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, and once I graduate (we hope!) this May, I hope to go into the event planning field.

Now for a little background information about me.  I was born and raised in an amazing city called New Orleans, Louisiana and went to middle/high school at Holy Cross.  To get it out of the way, yes Hurricane Katrina impacted my life, no I didn't lose everything (thank God), and yes it made me stronger and the person am I today.  But we'll save this topic for another day.

Like most New Orleanians, we take pride in three things: hospitality, food, and football.  I'm one, in my opinion, the most dedicated and passionate Saints fans out there, so this is your heads up when I post about them.  I might go into further details later, but let's just say when they won Super Bowl 44 on Fed. 7th, 2010 I experienced the greatest day of my life and the most emotional.

Another thing that I feel strongly about is music.  I love music (like everybody else in the world), and I believe that I have a diverse taste in it when it comes to genres.  But my favorite kind of genre is R&B; Usher, Chris Brown, Trey Songz, Brian McKnight, and Boyz II Men are some the artists I listen to on a regular basis.  However, none of them can compare to one artist in my mind because of his genuineness and soul he has in his music.  That man is Ne-Yo and there might likely be a post on how I got this way about his music in the future.

The last detail about me I'm going to share is my favorite childhood idol, Spider-Man.  I know, a 21 year old talking about Spider-Man might be a little dumb, but I think it molded me into a decent person because of the values that his trials brings.

The man things you're going to see in this blog is whatever I feel like.  This might vary from some major event I find interesting or how I'm feeling about a certain topic.  I'll try to keep it entertaining and fresh, but there will be some seriousness/realness as well.  I look forward to letting you into this mess called my brain and hopefully you'll enjoy it and get something out of it.

Until next time,

Corey

P.S. I want to apologize for any grammar or confusing sentences.  I've been sick and sleep deprived from allergies, plus it's kind of 6 am.