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REGRETS EQUALS REDEMPTION

JUSTICE.Reasonable Doubt, Jay-Z’s first album, came out in 1996. I was just graduating and heading to Los Angeles to begin the post-college chapter of my life. I was grown — or at least I thought I was — and ready to see what life had to offer me. I remember listening to “Regrets” on a cassette tape I made to listen to while on the 4-hour plane ride. I remember rewinding the song over and over because this rule of learning to live with regrets kept challenging me to think about a life that was ahead of me that I knew deep down could go one of two ways: south, and heading back home to momma to try it again, or north, and heading back home to momma having achieved something worthwhile while living on my own in the City of Angels. I was afraid. And on that plane I contemplated coming back to Atlanta where my comfort zone was safe. Two things stuck with me. Just before I boarded that plane for LA, my mom told me “don’t take no wooden nickels because you can’t buy anything with them”, and Jay-Z rapping over and over about this rule of learning to “live with regrets.” Learn to live with regrets. Don’t take no wooden nickels. Don’t take no wooden nickels. Learn to live with regrets. Huh? In my twenty-something year old mind, I didn’t want regrets. And I damn sure didn’t want money made outta wood. I just wanted rewards. All this wisdom was scaring me!! Eventually it hit me. Paired together, my mom’s words with Jay-Z’s brought me some piece of mind. (At least enough to not hop back on the plane heading home to Georgia.)

“To get ahead in life mistakes are inevitable. And oftentimes mistakes become regrets. But remember to take care of yourself, and if you try as best as possible to make careful decisions then the regrets stay at bay.” This is how I rationalized it. I carried this with me then, and I carry it with me now. Mistakes I’ve made. Plenty of them. However, I’ve learned that out of the mistakes come redemption and forgiveness. Therein lies the justice of regrets

The Daily Dose of Realness: In Decoded (2010), Jay-Z says that “Regrets” was the last song on the album because “It’s the last feeling you have before you go to sleep or feel when you wake up and look at yourself in the bathroom mirror” (265). Mistakes bring about regrets, and regrets can be a heavy burden. That’s life though. The silver lining is that regrets create a space for forgiveness and personal redemption, both of which neutralize any heaviness. Both of which are necessary on the road to success. That’s the number one rule to survival a la Shawn Carter. The number two rule is don’t take no wooden nickels a la my mommy dearest. Take care of yourself. Take care of others. Godspeed

REGRETS EQUALS REDEMPTION

JUSTICE.Reasonable Doubt, Jay-Z’s first album, came out in 1996. I was just graduating and heading to Los Angeles to begin the post-college chapter of my life. I was grown — or at least I thought I was — and ready to see what life had to offer me. I remember listening to “Regrets” on a cassette tape I made to listen to while on the 4-hour plane ride. I remember rewinding the song over and over because this rule of learning to live with regrets kept challenging me to think about a life that was ahead of me that I knew deep down could go one of two ways: south, and heading back home to momma to try it again, or north, and heading back home to momma having achieved something worthwhile while living on my own in the City of Angels. I was afraid. And on that plane I contemplated coming back to Atlanta where my comfort zone was safe. Two things stuck with me. Just before I boarded that plane for LA, my mom told me “don’t take no wooden nickels because you can’t buy anything with them”, and Jay-Z rapping over and over about this rule of learning to “live with regrets.” Learn to live with regrets. Don’t take no wooden nickels. Don’t take no wooden nickels. Learn to live with regrets. Huh? In my twenty-something year old mind, I didn’t want regrets. And I damn sure didn’t want money made outta wood. I just wanted rewards. All this wisdom was scaring me!! Eventually it hit me. Paired together, my mom’s words with Jay-Z’s brought me some piece of mind. (At least enough to not hop back on the plane heading home to Georgia.)

“To get ahead in life mistakes are inevitable. And oftentimes mistakes become regrets. But remember to take care of yourself, and if you try as best as possible to make careful decisions then the regrets stay at bay.” This is how I rationalized it. I carried this with me then, and I carry it with me now. Mistakes I’ve made. Plenty of them. However, I’ve learned that out of the mistakes come redemption and forgiveness. Therein lies the justice of regrets

The Daily Dose of Realness: In Decoded (2010), Jay-Z says that “Regrets” was the last song on the album because “It’s the last feeling you have before you go to sleep or feel when you wake up and look at yourself in the bathroom mirror” (265). Mistakes bring about regrets, and regrets can be a heavy burden. That’s life though. The silver lining is that regrets create a space for forgiveness and personal redemption, both of which neutralize any heaviness. Both of which are necessary on the road to success. That’s the number one rule to survival a la Shawn Carter. The number two rule is don’t take no wooden nickels a la my mommy dearest. Take care of yourself. Take care of others. Godspeed