Unknown and Interesting Facts About Me

Since 2018, I've written and published over 300 stories, with many of them inspiring and educational. Writing for Vocal has given me an outlet to discuss the topics that are important to me and also reach out to audiences. If you're new to Vocal, I welcome you to my page. I hope that you'll check out my stories once you've finished reading the story I'm about to share. My subscribers and readers already know many facts about me, but if you haven't read any of my stories before, by the time you have finished reading this story, you'll learn at least one fact about me. Whether you're new to Vocal or a regular on here, here are five interesting tidbits about yours truly.

Chucks Over Nike

It might come as a bit of a surprise, but I prefer wearing a pair of Chucks over a pair of Nike sneakers. I love sporting Nike apparel, but for nearly 25 years, I've owned several pairs of Chucks in different colors. They go well with almost every outfit I wear. By the way, I wear a size 10. Long story short, I'm a huge sneakerhead.

I Had Aspirations of Becoming a Teacher

After graduating from high school, I had plans on going to college and major in Teacher Education. The main reason for that was because I was in the Special Education program from Pre-K through my junior year of high school and also on the Autism spectrum. Unfortunately, it didn't come into fruition, realizing that attending college would be expensive. My intuition about the cost of college was correct years later. I would reflect on how helpful the teachers I had in my Special Education classes were to me and will be forever grateful they took the time to help me succeed in life. You wouldn't pay me to become a teacher today, mainly because of kids disrespecting their teachers. This is why teachers have quit and there has been a teacher shortage for years. Advocating for the importance of Special Education programs has been one of the causes I'm passionate about. More than three decades later, my experiences have inspired me to become an activist for this cause and make a difference in my community someday. Speaking of causes....

Compassion is In My Nature

Special Education and the importance of their programs aren't the only causes I'm passionate about. I'm also a supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, as I'm a gay man myself. Plus, I'm a supporter for the rights of women, people with disabilities and their rights, immigrants and other minorities, and democracy. Speaking of immigrants, five million protesters recently took part in the No Kings Day to protest President Trump's immigration policies. Some MLB players have given their thoughts about this situation. For example, Los Angeles Dodgers player Kike Hernandez stated in an Instagram post that he considers the United States his second home and has felt welcomed by the Dodgers organization, fans, and everyone in Los Angeles. The World Series Champion, who grew up in Puerto Rico, stands in solidarity with all immigrants and accused the President of lacking empathy and dignity for them. He was the first notable MLB player to speak out on this topic. I'm not a fan of the Dodgers or Kike, but I commend him for speaking out about this. I stand in solidarity with immigrants everywhere, because they deserve to be treated with respect, compassion, dignity, and be empathetic towards their plights. If the United States was the only place they've ever known and lived in, why send them back to a country that they're unfamiliar with or is too dangerous to go back to? As long as they're staying out of trouble and contributing to society, let them stay here. Stop making their lives more difficult as it already has. I don't understand why caring for others is so controversial. Giving a damn about different groups of people is apparently a red flag to many people and they'll call you woke. Having empathy and sympathy is neither a Democrat nor Republican thing. It's a common sense and humanity thing. I want everyone to live productive and happy lives, not being discriminated against, solely because of who someone is. If having empathy and compassion for different groups of people makes me woke, then so be it.

A Huge Movie Buff

I love watching movies, mainly those from the 80s and 90s. Action, sports, comedy, and animated movies are usually my personal vices. No matter how good or cheesy a movie is, I'll watch it. Some movies that were considered awful and received negative receptions are now cult classics. I rather spend my evenings watching movies than going out. The one genre of movies that I forgot to mention I also enjoy are superhero movies. Spider-Man was the first superhero and Marvel movie that I saw in theaters back in 2002. If you were to ask me which movies I enjoy most, Marvel or DC, I would lean heavily towards Marvel. I wish DC movies had more comedic moments and step their game up.

Country Music Lover

This final fact is one that many of my friends and followers may not have known about me. I'm a black man who loves country music and it was hard to admit to everyone. I listen to almost every genre of music, but I like listening to a country song every now and then. I grew up listening to artist such as George Strait, Tim McGraw, and the late Toby Keith. Many people complain about country and pop being fused together or country mixed in with rap. I'm not going to debate who or what is considered as country. I'll leave that topic up to everyone. Even though I despise him and will never listen to any of his music, Jason Aldean's remix of Dirt Road Anthem featuring Ludacris is a banger. I know I'm the whitest black man, according to many people and I'm fine with that.

Call Me by My Name

Whether you're new to Vocal or a subscriber, I go by middle name, which is Wesley. I've decided to go by my middle name near the end of 2022 for two reasons: to distance myself from my toxic, abusive family and also be my own person. There are too many people with the name Mark, so Wesley suits me well. I prefer to be called and go by my middle name.

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One last thing: In a future story, I'll do a Q&A session. If you have any questions about anything you're curious about, please leave them in the comments below. From sports to cosplay, you can ask me anything. If I receive enough responses, I'll do the aforementioned article and feature your questions on there.