On February 4th, 2015, a show called Fresh Off The Boat debuted on ABC. There was an incredible amount of hype behind this because it was the first time in 20+ years that an Asian American family would be featured front and center. The show was loosely based upon the childhood of Mr. Double Cup Love himself, The Human Panda Eddie Huang. Side note, I always hear about him being in Hawaii looking for poke and or sushi and yet he isn't hitting me up? 😂 But, that's a story best saved for another day...
Anyway, upon watching the two episode series premiere, I was hooked! Anyone who has an Asian Mom could relate heavily to this show because regardless of actual ethnicity, our Moms all hovered and parented in the same manner! I even ended up buying the book off Amazon which is huge for anyone who knows me because I am not a reader at all. Just the thought of cracking open a book cover puts me to sleep faster than an Ambien.
While on this Fresh Off The Boat binge, I figured I'd check out AfterBuzz TV to see what their reactions were to it. For those of you who aren't familiar with AfterBuzz TV, it's an online network that specializes in immediate after shows of almost every television show imaginable! I had to admit, I was a bit worried that we would be white washed but was pleasantly surprised to see I was wrong as they picked fantastic hosts!
I want to share some quick thoughts with all of you on two hosts in particular. Marielou Mandl and Michelle Phi. These two women are as talented as they are kind. They are both incredibly positive and so supportive of all of my endeavors. When standing at the edge of cliff getting ready to jump, it's always easier knowing that there's a safety net below. These two women have been a safety net for one of my childhood dreams of wanting to write movies and television shows. And if I'm being completely honest, they have revitalized that dream of mine!
There have been two women in my life throughout the years who have crushed my dreams. And no, one of them is NOT my Asian Mother! She's actually always been very supportive of me and realizes that I aspire to live my life the way I want regardless of if it's one that she comprehends or not. It was actually my kindergarten teacher and in the past week or so, this girl who I thought was my best friend.
We had this assignment in kindergarten where they gave us that special paper that had a blank top half with big lines for writing beneath it. Our job was to draw a picture of what we wanted to be when we grew up and write about it. I was excited! This was my opportunity to actually care about homework! My Grandpa used to walk me home from school every day and on our way home, we would stop by this place called The Handi Pantry to grab a snack. My excitement was way too high for a snack today so I asked him to go straight home.
When I got home, I didn't mess around. Grabbed my pencil and crayons. Sat down at this table in the patio and went to town! I couldn't tell you how long it took me to complete this assignment, but I could tell you that I was itching to share the next day in school. This may have been the first time in my life that I had so much anxiety that I couldn't sleep although it was a good type of anxiousness!
The next day when my teacher asked if anyone wanted to volunteer to share, my hand shot up. As soon as my teacher called on me, I knew it was my chance to shine! I got up there with all the confidence that a 5 year old version of me could have and shared my picture with all to see. I had drawn all of my favorite WWF (at the time) wrestlers and wrote about how I was going to be the champ one day. I stood there with a grin from ear to ear that soon turned to horror as my teacher absolutely ripped me for being unrealistic. To this day, I remember that and wonder what was so unrealistic about it? A lot of my classmates wrote that they wanted to be police officers, or firefighters or doctors and lawyers. Yet, I can say with absolute certainty that most of them did not become those things. In fact, most of them are currently working at jobs that they hate just to pay their bills. Needless to say, I stopped running around the house in my tighty whities and cutting promos while flexing in front of the mirror for a very long time.
The second time in my life I had my dreams crushed was in this past week from someone who I thought was my best friend. I'm not going to get into this subject much. Not because it's not worth hearing, believe me, it is. But, because no matter how this person has treated me as of late, I am too much of that "ride or die" type of friend to ever speak poorly about her.
I think that any time someone does something to hurt you, we take some time to reflect upon it. I'm sure most of us micro analyze every single aspect of what happened until it drives us crazy. And I'd be lying if I said that I didn't have a million different thoughts and feelings spinning through my head about it. However, I am also a person who is driven by anger. I like it when people tell me I can't do something. Or that I won't do something. Because you better believe that I will end up finding a way!
In an effort to decompress from my heart shattering, I decided to do what any mature adult would do, watch Netflix. And it was about mid-way through the newly released Dave Chappelle comedy special where I thought to myself that I could possibly still do this. I thought back to all of the shows in recent memory that I had binged on Netflix such as Making A Murderer, Stranger Things, Love, Bates Motel, Orange Is The New Black. That list goes on and on. The thought of being able to potentially write something as impactful as any one of those shows was seducing me all over again!
But, the real question is can I actually do it? A guy with no writing experience who possesses a lifelong passion for pop culture and a knack for being able to tell stories. Well, let me tell you why I will do it. There are three people I believe in: Jesus, Tom Brady and myself. In that exact order. And I've always been a person to bet on myself if it came down to it since I know I could trust my work ethic and drive. I might not be the best at something, but I was going to strive to be.
With that being said, I'd like to welcome you to the future of Netflix. As I'm hopeful if I keep writing and sharing my life that eventually someone will be nice enough to give me a shot. Just like Steph Curry from deep, I won't miss...
Anyway, upon watching the two episode series premiere, I was hooked! Anyone who has an Asian Mom could relate heavily to this show because regardless of actual ethnicity, our Moms all hovered and parented in the same manner! I even ended up buying the book off Amazon which is huge for anyone who knows me because I am not a reader at all. Just the thought of cracking open a book cover puts me to sleep faster than an Ambien.
While on this Fresh Off The Boat binge, I figured I'd check out AfterBuzz TV to see what their reactions were to it. For those of you who aren't familiar with AfterBuzz TV, it's an online network that specializes in immediate after shows of almost every television show imaginable! I had to admit, I was a bit worried that we would be white washed but was pleasantly surprised to see I was wrong as they picked fantastic hosts!
I want to share some quick thoughts with all of you on two hosts in particular. Marielou Mandl and Michelle Phi. These two women are as talented as they are kind. They are both incredibly positive and so supportive of all of my endeavors. When standing at the edge of cliff getting ready to jump, it's always easier knowing that there's a safety net below. These two women have been a safety net for one of my childhood dreams of wanting to write movies and television shows. And if I'm being completely honest, they have revitalized that dream of mine!
We had this assignment in kindergarten where they gave us that special paper that had a blank top half with big lines for writing beneath it. Our job was to draw a picture of what we wanted to be when we grew up and write about it. I was excited! This was my opportunity to actually care about homework! My Grandpa used to walk me home from school every day and on our way home, we would stop by this place called The Handi Pantry to grab a snack. My excitement was way too high for a snack today so I asked him to go straight home.
When I got home, I didn't mess around. Grabbed my pencil and crayons. Sat down at this table in the patio and went to town! I couldn't tell you how long it took me to complete this assignment, but I could tell you that I was itching to share the next day in school. This may have been the first time in my life that I had so much anxiety that I couldn't sleep although it was a good type of anxiousness!
The next day when my teacher asked if anyone wanted to volunteer to share, my hand shot up. As soon as my teacher called on me, I knew it was my chance to shine! I got up there with all the confidence that a 5 year old version of me could have and shared my picture with all to see. I had drawn all of my favorite WWF (at the time) wrestlers and wrote about how I was going to be the champ one day. I stood there with a grin from ear to ear that soon turned to horror as my teacher absolutely ripped me for being unrealistic. To this day, I remember that and wonder what was so unrealistic about it? A lot of my classmates wrote that they wanted to be police officers, or firefighters or doctors and lawyers. Yet, I can say with absolute certainty that most of them did not become those things. In fact, most of them are currently working at jobs that they hate just to pay their bills. Needless to say, I stopped running around the house in my tighty whities and cutting promos while flexing in front of the mirror for a very long time.
The second time in my life I had my dreams crushed was in this past week from someone who I thought was my best friend. I'm not going to get into this subject much. Not because it's not worth hearing, believe me, it is. But, because no matter how this person has treated me as of late, I am too much of that "ride or die" type of friend to ever speak poorly about her.
I think that any time someone does something to hurt you, we take some time to reflect upon it. I'm sure most of us micro analyze every single aspect of what happened until it drives us crazy. And I'd be lying if I said that I didn't have a million different thoughts and feelings spinning through my head about it. However, I am also a person who is driven by anger. I like it when people tell me I can't do something. Or that I won't do something. Because you better believe that I will end up finding a way!
In an effort to decompress from my heart shattering, I decided to do what any mature adult would do, watch Netflix. And it was about mid-way through the newly released Dave Chappelle comedy special where I thought to myself that I could possibly still do this. I thought back to all of the shows in recent memory that I had binged on Netflix such as Making A Murderer, Stranger Things, Love, Bates Motel, Orange Is The New Black. That list goes on and on. The thought of being able to potentially write something as impactful as any one of those shows was seducing me all over again!
But, the real question is can I actually do it? A guy with no writing experience who possesses a lifelong passion for pop culture and a knack for being able to tell stories. Well, let me tell you why I will do it. There are three people I believe in: Jesus, Tom Brady and myself. In that exact order. And I've always been a person to bet on myself if it came down to it since I know I could trust my work ethic and drive. I might not be the best at something, but I was going to strive to be.
With that being said, I'd like to welcome you to the future of Netflix. As I'm hopeful if I keep writing and sharing my life that eventually someone will be nice enough to give me a shot. Just like Steph Curry from deep, I won't miss...
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