Modern Day Vampires
By Nanceen Hoskins
“Are vampires real, Mommy?” was a common refrain before bedtime. Especially after watching a horror film where an archetype of Dracula latches onto the throat draining his victim, so he can be powerful, continue to live, or show dominance. As a child, I came across a math story, “Multiplying Vampires”, which illustrated vampires as a mathematical impossibility. As vampires debilitated people and turned them, the number of people would increase to a point wherein a matter of months, the whole world would be bloodsuckers. While this provided comfort not only to myself and my children, unfortunately, this refutation of the myth was a lie.
Vampires are real. You see them every day, hidden amongst us, not understanding the danger you and the community are in. As students head to school, and teachers to the classroom, as coaches head to the gym, and athletes to the locker room, vampires watch and wait. These modern day sycophants are the ones who deplete people of their willpower to pursue dreams and goals. They like to whisper “extra” and “try-hards” to prey on those who wish to get ahead in life turning positive confirmations to negative.
This scrounger searches for souls to bolster their own dwindling life choices. Feeding off other’s hopes keeps this life-sucking predator alive a little longer. Like a pyramid scheme, vampires gather followers to have a sense of superiority and to feel significant since their life’s dreams are withering on the vine due to unwise choices, and they are unwilling to change their actions. The result of this cycle of not making better lifestyle decisions is insanity, and according to Albert Einstein, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”.
Be warned. These predators latch on and begin to feed. By the end of a short time period, one vampire has multiplied to two actively looking for substance. Not blood, which can be reproduced, but ambitions and aspirations are on the menu. By the end of the month, four parasites roam the school seeking to devour. If you continue the math, the end result is an environment of apathy. Instead of pursuing excellence, vampires are striking rapidly, massacring momentum, and whittling wins as well as scholarships. How do we combat this disease, this epidemic, this community killing, soul crushing modern vampirism?
The answer is simple…by being proud of the title Extra or Try-Hard; these are the individuals who not only get objectives accomplished but later in life move on to a bigger and better life. In the article “How Derrick Rose Escaped and Inspired the Deadly City That Shaped Him”, Derricks brothers provided a buffer from the modern vampires in Englewood, Chicago. Knowing he had the talent to succeed, they made sure his opportunities were not limited by preventing those who did not want more to have access to Derrick. Thus, he was able to sign a five-year extension with the Bulls worth nearly $95 million and a “lifetime” contract with Adidas, reportedly worth $260 mllion according to the article. Derrick was so extra that he was able to earn extra money. Therefore, surround yourself with people heading in a positive direction. Hanging around vampires will ultimately kill your dreams and limit life’s choices. Wes Moore said it best, “it is hard to distinguish between second chances and last chances.”
