Written by Jessica James

Published on December 11, 2016

There is a countless number of us that wake up in the morning, turn off the alarm, and dread going to school or work. We dread going to work due to it being a place that is just “for now” and wanting to do something that is going to make us happy and pay the bills too. We dread going to school due to us being aware that this is just a stepping stone to get to where we need to go, and we usually want it right away.
As you breeze through each semester, your mind can easily drift off task due to your personal life and school work.

19-year-old sophomore Jelani Billie-Soto is a Fine Arts major here at HCC and is working towards being a creative director. “I want to become the creative director of my own brands and sell all the products I’m good at making, you know? School is just a place for me to develop my craft. I want to create a movement for people to follow to be honest,” says Billie-Soto.

By working daily to create his craft, he has put together clothing pieces, connected with other students, and is working on designs as well. “I want to make clothes, music, videos and even magazine and have it focus on a younger audience, mostly creative people,” says Billie-Soto.

He chose to center his craft around young people because “the young people have power and they have this due to possessing a youthful mind and that breeds creativity,” he explained.

At HCC, they give us enough tools for us to succeed and they give us some professors that don’t mind going the extra mile to help us flourish. It all starts with your classes. After you to take your prerequisites (if needed), just make sure that the courses you sign up for are relevant to the field or the goal  you are trying to be in or reach. After that, it is time to put your energy into those courses and use the tools that HCC has to offer to your benefit. Once you start getting into your courses, there is no stopping you and sky’s the limit.

As Jelani prepares himself for what is next in his journey he wants to pick up designing in New York City. “I want to network and get my feet wet in NYC,” he explained.

There can come a time in our lives that we are unaware of what our purpose is or our goals but by getting your feet wet first and having a broad picture to what matters most can help you touch the sky.

There is a rap song by the late and great Notorious B.I.G that usually helps me snap out of it. The chorus always stays stuck in my head that is sung by the R&B group 112 and it helps me to keep moving forward on my journey: “Sky’s the limit and you know that you keep on / Just keep on pressin on/ Sky is the limit and you know that you can have what you want, be what you want.”

At times you need to take a moment to realize that every emotion and everything we are going through is just a twist of a door knob away to our next step in our journey, and to Jelani Billie-Soto may you continue to touch the sky and many lives throughout your journey.

Peace, Love and Light.