Blog #1 BACK TO SCHOOL

Since starting school again I feel a resurgence of myself begin to rise. I have always had mixed feelings about college. When I was young I always said to myself I wanted to be the first from my family to attend and graduate college. As I grew older, I noticed how many people who had their college degrees were extremely book smart, yet lacked the common sense to sort through the simplest of matters. To me, that made no sense what so ever. So somewhere along the way,  I deviated from the original plan to go to college.
Maybe the fact that I didn't actually graduate from high school helped contribute to that. I immediately got my GED after leaving high school, attending an "alternative school," and received it within about 3 months. I started to look for employment doing odd jobs here and there, a little construction, carpentry work but nothing permanent. I grew tired and impatient of asking my parents for money and going to locations that had "Now Hiring" signs placed outside and when I applied and was denied. After, being rejected for the last time, I headed immediately to the recruiters office on Jamaica Avenue.

I enlisted in the U.S. Army for three years, I was stationed in the Mid West, deployed in the Middle East, where I spent one year in combat in Iraq from April 03-04 with my unit, Charlie Battery 4th Battalion 1st Field Artillery (4-1 FA). 
I thank God for everything he does, he works mysteriously, sometimes we don't know whats going on but he always knows whats best for us. I thank Jah because I'm here in one piece, with all limbs still intact, no IEDs, no gunshot wounds, despite the number of instances where something could've really happened. I don't care what anyone says I KNOW GOD PROTECTED US, particularly me. After coming back home to NYC and seeing the neglect of the veterans, who served their country, getting offered minimal wages for my experiences and sacrifices, I returned back to the Middle East. I was out there for two years, while I was there a son was born to me, in Jamaica (don't ask thats a whole other entry unto itself) his name is Jr AKA "Mini-Me." Wish I could see him. Now I'm back and since I've returned I looked immediately to get into school so that I have the best chances to to ensure my son is taken cared of.


I started at TCI during the summer session of 2011, enrolling in the Information Technology program. During that time I learned a lot but I was just going through the motions. I did a couple of performances during that time (did I mention that I'm a reggae artist/song writer? If I didn't my bad ;} ) and also got into a couple of projects because of my brother, Lenx Dilinga namely a brand we can truly identify with called, "I AM CULTURE" you can check that out at: www.theinternationaldesign.com  Anyways, I started to shoot some promotional videos for them, by chance especially at the recent "Reggae Rhythm & Blues Festival" at Roy Wilkins Park in Jamaica, N.Y. where we shot footage of a variety of reggae artists in the industry. You can check them out on youtube and type in Dilinga Movements.Thats the Mavado Sightings video, but you can see the other I AM CULTURE videos on youtube as well. Anyways, while chopping up and editing the footage for that which was Labor Day week, I asked myself and decided, you know what? Why don't I just do digital media arts? And so here I am in my 4th week of school around many creative, like minded individuals....in short, I'm lovin' it like the McDonald's commercial says. Dealing with Photoshop, while learning about the Apple OS in combination with my computer drawing class is definitely increasing my skills, technical know-how and confidence. I would tell anybody to do definitely do what you love doing and go for it like flies on crap.