Kanye West’s "I Wonder" has always struck a cord with me. Hell, almost all of Kanye West’s lyrics strike a cord with me. Y’all might figure this out along the way, but here’s full disclosure to this fact from now: I’m a HUGE Kanyeezy fan, so follow as I take a moment to, in words of Jay-Z, “big up my brotha” because yeah, I, too, believe I’m “big enough to do it.”
“Find your dreams come true
And I wonder if you know
What it means, what it means
And I wonder if you know
What it means, what it means
And I wonder if you know
What it means to find your dreams
I've been waiting on this my whole life
These dreams be waking me up at night
You say I think I'm never wrong
You know what, maybe you're right, aight. . .”
I used to listen to this song religiously -- Y’all don’t KNOW! The lyrics resonate with just about everything I feel about my personal awakening. It speaks to so many aspects I think a lot of young people deal with when soul searching, particularly in seeking to discover our life’s purpose. Trying to figure out what we are truly called [into existence] to do. To me, it’s always been about something I've typed as the manifestation of our individual talents.
Kanye West - I Wonder - Kanye West
See, like a lot of us were raised to believe (by family, religion, or other), my train of thought is that, we all are here for a reason; we all have a purpose to fulfill. But taking this concept a step further, I recognize that we all have unique talents, some might say “gifts” to offer the world, that go hand-in-hand with fulfilling our life’s purpose. Sounds all too poetic, right? Well here’s the reality of it: My conflict is that it is just as poetic as it sounds. There’s not a clear-cut path, guide, or map to determining where the two meet and how to successfully carry this operation out. Or taking it a couple steps backwards, clearly identifying what your purpose is and/or what your [unique] talents are.
Realizing this paradox, we go forth trying to experience life to get a feel of just why we are here and how we intend to leave our mark. We begin taking note of the people we meet, words of wisdom, role models in our community, become exposed to customs/trades/causes, and sum up what all this means to us. Slowly but surely, the journey along our creative path ignites the will to answer the "what" and "how" and we make moves to process it all. Trying to figure out what truly drives us.
This brings me back to the song. When you start to really see what you are here for, the visions become all you think of. So clear, they’re like live and in color. Seeing myself really doing my thing and being happy, gets to be such a pressing vision, that it did keep me up at night. Hell, it even has my full attention in the day! Being able to really see my breakthrough (cue Mary) had/has all my attention. Kinda like Eminem was feeling 8 Mile, thinking like I have great talent and calling that overcomes me to the point where I know I just have to push past the perceived obstacles and go for mine — do like what that theme song suggests: “lose yourself in the moment, you own it, you better never let it go . . . you only get 1 shot.” This thought plays in my mind all the time . . .
Teach yourself to let go of the [often self-imposed] obstacles: doubt, lack of confidence, and thoughts of failure. That’s what I do! Counter the negative that ties to break your stride with wondering about the possibilities, despite all the opposition. That’s what Kanye is talking about: Wondering what life would be like when you’re living the realization of your dreams. It’s where desire meets motivation. Stay with me, let’s get focused now!: It’s about the time in your life when you’re mind is flooded with ideas and when opportunities start coming at you out of nowhere (sometimes I think, “Where was this opportunity all that time I was looking for an ‘in’ a ‘break’?!” or “Why didn’t this happen when I knew how to parlay that?!”) It’s all of that, but most of all, it’s about capitalizing on the hope that drives you to make it all happen. When this understanding came together for me, I thought to myself, “You know what? Maybe Ye’s right.”
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