In the first Senior Wisdom of the day we bring you the wonderful James Bennett II, star of Columbia’s Harlem Shake, Sensual Sundays, the International Butler Anthem, WKCR jazz shows, your dreams, and so on and so forth…
Name, Hometown, School: James A. Bennett, II; Baltimore, MD (the original Bay Area- Chesapeake what up); Columbia College
Claim to fame? I just see myself as a cynically unabashed dude who’s been known to fall down, read some shit out loud, put the needle to the groove in order to give you some aural stimulation at WKCR, and rap from time to time. Who knows, maybe I made you laugh once or twice. Back home, I’m just that kid from a kind of alright- turned-hnnnggg neighborhood who in no way was supposed to make it Columbia, but who wound up doing so anyway, because determination.
Where are you going? Word on the street is that I’ll be splitting time between New York and D.C., but mostly New York, and most definitely around.
3 things you learned at Columbia: Three things, eh?
Back in my day… things were cool, and all we needed was bop-bop, bop-bop, bop-ba-domp.
Oh, and Ferris was a luxury; 40s were $3 flat; Crack Del; Wien was hands down the grimiest of dormitories; the sky was blue; Thursday nights at JJ’s were wild; there was no wifi in John Jay (for better or for worse); the grass was green; all the cool kids hung out behind SIPA; NoCo security was terrible in its infant semesters, and roof access was dumb easy; Jurassic Park was still cool; and I studied in Uris whenever I damn well pleased.
Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: Chivalry isn’t dead yet. But chivalry dies when I do.
Write a CU Admirers post to anyone or anything at Columbia: I saw your face, and wow.
Would you rather give up oral sex or cheese? I was always taught to recognize the talents of your own and respect those of others. That said, I’ve never heard, given, or received praise for eating cheese. Open and shut case, Johnson.
One thing to do before graduating: Experience sunrise from the Staten Island Ferry. Go alone. Heading back to Manhattan with just your thoughts, the water, and the rising sun is an indescribable feeling. Comes with the side effect of explaining to all your buddies why you were even alone in Staten Island that late in the first place.
Any regrets? Didn’t devote enough time to mastering time. I don’t mean time management, I mean hopping in the DeLorean and exploring what would have happened if I had said this then or done that now or eaten this or drank that or slept these hours and not those hours. Until then, I gotta deal with the time machine that never was. Life is linear, and all your disappointing moments are behind you, but hopefully you’ve crafted enough good memories to carry you all the way. And I have. I love you all, madly.
xoxo,
JJ11 4 Lyfe
*drops mic*
27 Comments
@Anonymous #TDH4seniourwizdom
@eva proud and glad to know you, brother from another mother. i will always be in your corner, so glad you’ll be home to check on the hood.
ALL MY LOVE, JJ11 FOREVER
@This Is fantastic.
Life: you are doing it right.
@ryan not a thun thun was dropped that day
@ryan also fuck how am i supposed to follow this
@determinationnn tho What I thought the link to determination would lead to…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0gGNzRL460
@s/o to Erykah Badu impressive, thumbs up.
-Meemz
@Cindi Mayweather The booty don’t lie.
@hey I was so into this
@knowing jems thought it would be:
http://youtu.be/RubBzkZzpUA
@move it football head! THAT WE’D BE TOGETHER GURL JUST YOU AND ME! THAT’S THE MEANING OF ETERNITY!!!
@I don't know you but Thank you for making me remember that it’s OK. It’s OK to do dumb shit, because, well, we only have this once. Not that the shit you did was dumb. But that it may not have been what others expected of you– this is my story, and I’m learning to be OK with that. So thanks.
@CC '13 This man is wise.
@JAMES! we only have a week to watch Ken Burns’s Civil War, WHERE ARE YOU
@harry this is excellent.
@Anonymous the grass WAS green! it’s gotten less and less green from year to year. i wonder if columbia is trying to tell me something.
@charlie 100% good money
@dp how you managed to be at every party ever i will never know
@Anon One time, Bennet and I chilled with some ladies at the Heights then went back to his place and watched It’s Always Sunny till the sun rose. good times
@Marty McFly That’s really not how I expected that story to end…
Come on now, Always Sunny as your closer?!? Please promise to remove anything with Danny DeVito from your arsenal.
@Anonymous BALTIMORE FOREVER. you do the hometown proud.
@Beyonce Pad Thai don’t gooooo cc ’13 don’t gooooo
wahhhhhhhhWAHHHHHH
@Anonymous if i ever do a senior wisdom, my only regret will be turning you down at that party last year. you wanted to dance and i didn’t and I WILL REGRET THIS UNTIL THE DAY I DIE I THINK YOU’RE AWESOME KTHXBAI.
@Anonymous this guy is too cool. jealous, but mostly in awe.
@MK I made you.
@Anonymous thug 4 lyfe
@Tastemaker liSTEN to this man.