Zachary or Stephen Mason?

Stephen Zachary Mason a native of Orangeburg, SC doesn't have the typical graduate from high school and go to college story but his name and what people call him is a completely different story. We'll start off with the background behind his name. At a young age he always wanted everyone to call him Zachary or Zach for short because his fathers name was Stephen. Now Being the thinking man that he was born to be, he believed that his life was different than his fathers, they were two different people, and there was no reason for him to be called Stephen like his father. When he came to South Carolina State University  some people would call him Stephen and he realized he just had to accept it.


Mason's philosophy on Orangeburg, SC is not the same as everyone else's . He believes while everyone wants to get out of Orangeburg and move on, you have to embrace it and make it better. He believes that your situation you're in does not define who you are and that if your surroundings are bad you have to make it better and how can you contribute. Everyone talks about how bad Orangeburg is but no one wants to help make a difference and give back to the community. So Mason has made that one of his primary goals in life.

At a young age his parents made sure there were plenty of books to read in the house and the old saying, "There are hundreds of books to read here" was an understatement in his household.Elementary school Mason never made a "B", he made all A's. In his household his parents made him read books EVERYDAY!!! His parents told him at a young age that, "You're going to know how to read, write, and talk. In 6th grade lil Zach became a product of his environment in the gifted and talented program. This program was to separate the exceptional students from the "ok" students. Although he was around other smart individuals, everyone was so playful and didn't take things serious.

His love for college was lacking and he didn't want to go to college. In high school he already had the mindset of, " If I don't have a passion for it, I will not do it." He never saw hisself going to college so he never applied. Luckily there was an angel named Valerie that was taking care of Mr. Mason. Valerie's mother was a program manager for one of the organizations on the campus of South Carolina State and Valerie filled out his application for him. Now in his mind he's thinking, "How in the world did she get all of my information?" Soon after he was accepted to South Carolina State University.

Two things that define Stephen Zachary Mason are, Passion and Faith. You can follow him on his Twitter and connect with him and visit his blog

Person on the street

This "Person On The Street" assignment helped me realize how the students of South Carolina State University  really feel about the catastrophic events of the hurricane season that includes Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Harvey . Lets listen in to how they feel:

What Is Twitter?

Twitter is a social network park as I like to call it. Everyone goes there to talk, clear their head or see how others are doing. Jack Dorsey, the creator, created Twitter in March of 2006 but didn't launch Twitter until July of 2006. Dorsey created it to see how people think and how they really feel. It has become a marketing to for Hollywood and big businesses. It gives everyone an opportunity to communicate with anyone from anywhere. In an interview with "60 Minutes", Jack Dorsey said " The biggest thing I've learned is that I need to communicate more, I need to be more vocal..."

His very invention has become apart of some peoples everyday life. In todays news our very own President uses it daily to voice his opinions on certain issues. Instead of having a formal press conference, he uses Twitter. There are a number of athletes who have been scrutinized because of their comments on Twitter as well as politicians being praised because of their comments on Twitter. Twitter is the gateway to someones mind but, it can also be the gateway to someones demise. 

Personally I follow people who have positive things to say on Twitter. I also follow heath gurus as well as motivational speakers. The reason I follow them are because those are the people I look up to. I follow Eric Thomas who is a motivational speaker because whenever I don't feel like getting up at 4:30 every morning to do PT ( physical training) I can listen to him. I also follow LeBron James for motivation. He is the athlete I try to model myself after based on work ethic. He has the mentality to never be outworked by anyone.
Here is my Twitter account so come follow me on this journey called life and peek into my mind.

What Is Linkedin?

Linkedin is a social network site where business owners, employers, and job candidates go to connect with each other in order to either help their business or find a job in the field they want to pursue. Linkedin is very popular because instead of emailing back and forth between employees and employers, it gives you the opportunity to look at someones resume' from a social network standpoint. this is the new wave for young college graduates and interns.

Linkedin has many features and the one feature i find the most interesting is the connections feature. The reason I find it interesting is because it gives everyone a chance to meet someone new just by going to someones page and clicking on their connections. It's easily the easiest way to grow your brand or push your resume' out through social media. In order to build upon something you care about or want to see grow, you have to have a firm foundation of experienced individuals and have a foundation of individuals who are eager to learn and carry on the business once the experienced individuals move on. 

This resource will give military veterans such as myself a fighting chance to actually find work after the military and even during service. Military veterans need this social media resource to stay up with the times and new age of technology. I couldn't think of an easier way to build a new life outside of the military and connect with individuals that you can relate to. 

Here is my Linkedin account. Feel free to build a connection and start a new journey.

A little bit about Jalen and his blog.....

Hello my name is Jalen Ayers and welcome to my blog site. This blog will get you into a routine of pushing yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally. The reason I made this blog was to inform people on ways they can live a longer healthier life. This blog is for anyone who isn't afraid to train better, eat better, and live better. Understand that if you weren't doing all of these things before its not going to be easy to break bad habits but it is doable. I welcome you on this journey to a longer healthier life.

What some say is impossible is a 

challenge I take on whole heartedly.

  The Garden of The Gods

There Is A God.....

As the sunsets on Ft carson Colorado.

A birds eye view

The Garden of The Gods

Mile High Stadium