One of the issues I had growing up was being taken for granted. I really desired praise and appreciation for certain folk because I thought it would make me feel better. This would drive to the point where I would get angry and start resenting people. Then, I realized one day that my source of anger and resentment was due to the fact that I felt I deserved to be praised. To combat this, I remind myself of this scripture in the Bible " Do everything without complaining or arguing." I have little slip ups every now and then. But I'm only human:). Another thing I do to combat this anger is to remind myself that I'm doing this for me. This sounds selfish, but in fact, it makes me less selfish because I don't expect praise from anyone else.

In conclusion, I don't I'll ever get over the fact that I want some appreciation from people. It's just part of my personality. What I'm able to do is harness that characteristic and make sure it doesn't sour my relationship with the love of my life. I'm sure she'll love me regardless though:)!!

If you see any current or former Marines, take the time to thank them:)

I love the way you make me smile,
The way we laugh and hold each others hands,
Look after our son and work together,
That's what a relationship is all about.

Loving, caring, faithfulness,
Standing by the one you love,
Making sure they know you're there,
To hold them close and show them you care.

I love how we walk and feel so close when apart,
Our love ever lasting, for every beat of our hearts,
This love is right, it has never been wrong,
I'll love you forever, but forever ain't long.

This is for my Victoria- A Ray of Sunshine!!!!

For some reason, I always wanted to have my own business. This is because running my own business gives me control in what I want to run it and what prices I want to set!!! It also would give me the flexibility to set my own hours and have long weekends off. Another benefit i see in running my own business to have the ability give back to charities that helped my family out as a kid. What it boils down to is that I consider myself a leader, not a follower. As a leader, tend to want to do certain things differently than the person who is in charge. Granted, my ideas aren't always right but at least it's worth taking the risk right?

 Getting my dream job is something that I am still working on this very day. I had my own home based business for awhile but then I realized it wasn't all that it's cracked up to be. Anyway, I'm gonna have my own business one day and it'll definitely be something I will enjoy with my future wife and kids:)...

I was having a discussion about this the other day with my love and this is something we came to an agreement to. It all depends on the situation that either the male or female is going through at the time. For example, if you are having a hard time finding a decent job in your hometown, maybe it would be time for a new change of scenery. For myself, the job market in my hometown is terrible and it's VERY discouraging to deal with. That's why I decided to move closer to my sweetie because her hometown is bigger than mine and I have a lot more job offers there as opposed to where I live. Another example to determine who should move in a long distance relationship is family issues. If you have kids or you don't seem to get along with your folks at all, then a change of scenery would work for you as well. I'm not sure I would move to be with someone if I have kids because I wouldn't want to disrupt their lives like that unless they're like infants or something.

In conclusion, being in a long distance relationship takes hard work just like being in a normal relationship. If you feel that your relationship won't last that long, then I suggest moving closer to them as soon as possible. However, if the love for each other is so strong that you feel that you can conquer anything then wait until you're comfortable with making that decision. Trust me, you feel better afterward!!!!:)

One piece of advice that sticks out to me is that if you don't want people to talk about you in a negative way, don't give them any reason to talk about you. This was so profound because working at the post office, you'd hear about who was sleeping with who and all this kinda nonsense. Some of it was true while the others more than likely had to do with the fact you were hanging around particular people who were considered bad news to begin with. Another example I have is when an evangelist got found out that he cheating on his taxes. I won't say his name because that's not the time or the place but let's just say he did for about ten years.  He eventually got caught and served three years for it. Anyway. my advice to you guys is don't do anything bad worth talking about. It will hurt you in the long run.

What advice have you received would you like to pass on to others?

I know we're supposed to put others before yourself at times. At least that's what I was taught in my church.  However, I feel there are certain times in your life where you NEED to be selfish. For example, I never like using a public restroom because I don't like the idea of other people besides my family hear me "taking care of business." Lol it sounds funny but I'm serious though. You never know who might be trying to listen in on what I'm doing and whatnot. Another example I have is my religious preference. My father was raised Jehovah's Witness and my grandmother has been trying to get me to convert to that. I won't do that because I feel my faith is something that I should come to on my own and no one else can do that for me. That's why I follow the Reformed Christian faith.  My last example is what type of music I listen to. Growing up in the inner city, a lot of the music that was played around my neighborhood was hip hop and r&b. I still listen to them to this very day but as you get older, you realize there's more out there than just those genres of music. My fiance has told me how good Taylor Swift and so I started checking out her videos on youtube. She has a wonderful voice and I can tell she's going to be one of the most talked about artist in the next ten years. I'll end this by saying that we all need to be a little selfish at times. Otherwise, it would be a pretty boring world. Don't you think?

The hardest thing I ever had to learn was how to shoot a rifle. Back in 2000, I joined the military to help pay for college. In the Marine Corps, one of their many motto's is that every Marine is a rifleman. Imagine my surprise when they told us we had to go to the shooting range the very next week. I was a little scared at first because I never shot a weapon in my life up to that point. Especially not a rifle. The first week, we learned about the nomenclature of the rifle. In other words, we just learned each part of the weapon and how it functions. Pretty simple right? Not for Jamaar Nathan it wasn't lol. I had to ask my instructors to show me how this works over a million times. I'm kinda exaggerating but you guys get the picture. The next week, they actually took us to the range to shoot for qualification. The first 2 or 3 days was for prequalification. The feeling I had when I shot off that first round was pretty nerve-wracking but exciting at the same time. I never thought I'd hold a rifle let alone shoot one. By the end of the week, I thought I had all the tools necessary to shoot this weapon. Boy, was I wrong. When they told me I didn't qualify, I was very discouraged. I felt like I was letting my instructors down. At least that's what they tried to implant into my brain. Clearly, it worked because the very next week I qualified:). I felt so great because I knew everything else after that would be smooth sailing from there.

I'm sure there will be other things that will be hard for me to learn. As long as I have faith in myself and others believing in me, I can conquer anything!!!!

Where do I start? My significant others' name is Victoria. She's 22 years old and is in college studying psychology.  She was born in Oakland, California but moved to to Chicago, Illinois when she was about 14 I think. Not sure about the last part but I'll ask her. Victoria is about 5'10(I like them tall), has the cutest smile ever. Her family is just like any other family. Full of laughter and drama sometimes. Her mom has a very prestigious job at a bank. Don't ask me how she makes because I don't know. Her dad was recently working construction by which helped him buy a seven bedroom house. My favorite thing about Victoria is that she's open and honest about her life and the fact that she lets me know when she has her down days. That way, we can try to work them out together to see what the problem. To me, she's what makes my heart smile everyday!!!!

I stand before you all today
But not one eye can see my way

My time arrived, to leave this earth
A fact so planned, to every birth

It happened where I had to go
My torch for life was so aglow

I transferred while in uniform
Protecting freedom, through a storm

Should I resent I died for you
Not on my life, red white and blue

Please help my family through each day
Tell all my friends, try not to stray

And of the country I did love
Do think of me, through God above

Your memories, brought forth this day
Send love to us, who could not stay

RIP to my fellow Marine Adam Cann who was killed in Iraq not too long ago!!!!