Morehouse Mystique (Pt. 2)

Little by little, I started to become more and more self-confident and self-actualized at Morehouse.

I remember when I used to go up to the Financial Aid office and sit on the edge of the desk of the financial aid secretary's desk and just start chit-chatting.

I also remember when I tried to do the same thing on Mrs. Martha Banks' desk in the Computer Science Dept. She wasn't having it.

When I first arrived at Morehouse, my favorite artist was Too Short. I've always had a strong connection to music and art, so I've tried to be careful since who I listen to. But, at that time, it was Too Short and I think that there's a time and place for everything and I needed to experience that to know it wasn't my longterm preference.

Anyways, in high school, I used to wear a gold rope necklace with either a gold muscle-bound weightlifter (that I stole from some kid's bathroom counter), a gold-plated scales of justice (because my friends nicknamed me "The Judge") and sometimes a gold dollar-sign.

Well, I remember wearing the gold dollar sign into the Computer Science Department at Morehouse. Mrs. Banks was like, "what's that?!" I was like, "it's a dollar sign" (thinking I was cool and it was equally as cool). She was like, "Does that mean you're for sale?" I was like, "No". "Does that mean you worship money? Or you're all about money?" I was like, "yeah ... I guess it means something like that."

The one thing that I got most from Morehouse College was critical introspection. In other words,

I was finally surrounded by people who challenged my beliefs and values. I had never really thought about what the dollar sign meant until that moment. But, when I left that office, I took it off and threw it in the trash! I'm a lot of things, but I've never been all about money!

I also dated a girl in Michigan while I was going to Morehouse. I remember whenever she would come into town that I would skip classes and spend time entertaining her around Atlanta. It was college and that's what college kids do, right?

I was exceptional at mathematics at Morehouse and I owe it all to one man, Dr. Curtis Clark. I took several subjects with him including Honors Algebra, Honors Algebra II, Honors Calculas, Honors Calculus II, and Honors Trigonometry. All with Dr. Clark. Well, I wasn't just naturally great at these subjects. Dr. Clark often had office hours in the math lab where I could go and meet with him and work through complex problems and concepts that were giving me difficulties. Well, that helped me tremendously! I never had a teacher like that who offered so much attention to his students.



Anyways, when my girlfriend would come in town to visit and skipped his class to hang out on a Friday, on Monday morning he would call me up to the front after class and be like, "Mr. Johnson, excuse me, where were you on Friday? Is Lisa in town again?" Now, that's a teacher who cares.

Morehouse College transformed me into the man that I am today. There, they encouraged me to read books I never would have read (Tar Baby, The Bluest Eye, Sula, The Invisible Man, Songs of Soloman, and many others). They also had forums where all of the students would meet in the Martin Luther King, Jr. chappel and hear a guest speaker speak. People like: Spike Lee, Bill Cosby, Maynard Jackson, John Singleton, Cornel West, and many other leaders in our community.

I've gone around the world constantly representing Morehouse because it had such a profound affect on my life! If it hadn't been for Morehouse College, Malik, Dr. Clark and Mrs. Banks, I don't know where I would be today, but I surely wouldn't be who and where I am! Thank you.