I am. I am Gay. I am straight. I am an athlete. I am a mother. I am a father. I am black. I am Asian. I am I am . . . We all are . . . Even God himself said, “I am who I am.” We are – who we are.
Personally, I am white. I am Christian. I am an average height. I am skinny. I am fast. I am American. I, Isaiah Engle, am Hip Hop. Wait! Before you start stereotyping hip hop as a rap genre that pushes drugs, gang violence, corrupt morals, and flashy cars, let me give you some background on myself. I’ve been raised in the epitome of the white middle class family, which is stereotypical of being conservative, academic, and sports orientated. My father was a college football player who went on to get his master’s degree and now teaches at a predominately white, private school. My mom, whom also attended college, manages to be a mom of six children and work outside of the home redirecting tax dollars into scholarships for private school education.
Being raised in this home, I have always played sports, never gone without, and I have learned to strive and excel in academics. Throughout my early high
…show more content…
Chemistry. Dance. Muscle training. Mathematics. Running. Art. Physics. Academics and the creative edge – how do they co-exist? How does who you are become who you were meant to be?
I experienced an incredible culture shock when I moved from a tiny town of five thousand people to the fifth largest city in the United States. I continued to struggle in balancing my intellectual analytical side and my creative innovative side until Phoenix introduced me to true Hip Hop. Hip Hop then introduced me to diversity. From there, diversity introduced me to me. When I say hip-hop I’m not referring to gang violence or drugs. I’m referring to rhythm and poetry. I’m referring to a graceful dance and delicate art and to alluring music. When I say Hip Hop, I’m referring to its