Rebuilding Rob

As WordPress continues to recycle old prompts, I pulled another prompt from The Coffee Monsterz Co to respond to today

Have any books changed your life?

This is probably ironic for me to say – considering that I’m a teacher, but I don’t know if any one book has changed my life; at least not as much as the act of reading in general has changed my life.

However my go-to answer for this question for years has been The Autobiography of Malcolm X. The autobiography…. Is not only my favorite book, but it has single-handedly done more to change my life than any other book I’ve read.

I’m not Black. I’m not Muslim and I’m not a black nationalist but there is so much more to Malcolm X than the proverbial – and sometimes literal -footnote to which he was relegated for decades. It’s probably safe to say that it was the 1992 release of Spike Lee‘s Malcolm X movie that renewed interest on a national – and even global – level in the one-time civil rights activist.

Time waits for no one

One big Takeaway for me from the autobiography was being more mindful of the passage of time. I grew up in a family that was basically running late for everything. And while I’m probably still with the most punctual personal world, and I’ve gotten much better over the years About being not just on time, but being a little bit early for important events. I was wearing a watch he said in the book today obviously, watches a more piece of jewelry or luxury. Most of us have cell phones in there for half the time constantly updated on our phones. In other case, the sentiment is still there. People should be aware of what time it is and what they have to do in a given day.

Stand up for yourself

Another lesson that I continue to carry with me from the autobiography instead of one standing up for themselves. Sure, Malcolm was no saint, but he never backed down from a challenge. he even prophecies his own death at one point of the book when he says “I’ve always known that I would die a violent death”. So determined and committed to his goals was Malcolm, that he never let fear or even overwhelming odds stop him. granted, I’m not a civil rights activist/often seen as a radical by my contemporary, but the idea of speaking my mind and standing up for myself is something I continue to carry with me to this day

I often revisit The Autbiography of Malcolm X from time of the time. The first time I read the book I went through it with a highlighter marking up things that I thought were particularly important. It’s a very compelling read. If people are willing to get past his early “white men or the devil” attitude, there’s a lot to be gleaned from this book. 

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, 👍 comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related posts:

• Even White People Get Ashy
• The Tricorder in My Pocket
• Challenger 40: The Generational Echo
• Take Kid 2 to Work Day: An Unexpected Win
• Strong Enough to Sob

The article “The Personal Impact of The Autobiography of Malcolm X“ first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.