photo credit Alex Foster NYC teammate
for my personal use
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Michael Al-Jiboori - aka DarkSkinnedDrake - Introduction
The young man. The myth. The soon to be legend.. Ha I wish, hopefully. I'm ridiculous. I'm chill. Sooner born and bred. I'm from Tulsa Oklahoma. My Snapchat name is DarkSkinnedDrake. I'm a jokester at heart. But I'm also an athlete, designer, and big brother. Family, rugby, and design are my passions, my life. I am a graphic designer majoring in Visual Communications here at THE University of Oklahoma. I'm proud to be from this state despite others thinking that all we have are buffalo and the Oklahoma City Thunder. I'm also a mutt (puppy emoji) meaning I am mixed. My mother is Arabian and German. My father is African American and Cherokee. I am all! I love it. I feel culturally blessed and interesting. Plus I can act light skinned and dark skinned haha. All of my little brothers are light skinned, I am the only one that came out dark but its ok I compare that to being the male lion of a pride with the dark mane, as they are the alpha. I love my little brothers though, and my little feisty princess of a baby sister. Rugby has been a big part of my life recently. I was captain for 4 years for the University of Oklahoma. All-American honors. Notoriety throughout the American rugby world. D1 player of the week. And have also played for the likes of Dallas, Denver, and most recently New York City. All have been great times with great competition. I live for competition, and I live for good vibes and chill times.
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Hi Michael! With such a simplistic website layout, I did not expect for you to have such a humorous introduction post! I like how you own your identity and your background, which makes you who you are. You say that you were captain of the rugby team for four years... if you don't mind my asking, why did you stop being captain? Anyways, on to a lighter note, I am excited to get to know you this semester through this class!
ReplyDeleteHiii. Im a graphic designer and a minimalist hints the clean layout haha, but thank you. Im in my 5th year so yea, done with uni rugby, but Ive played on even higher levels for Denver and NYC, maybe a contract overseas in the future who knows! Excited to get to know you as well, just hit me up!
DeleteHey Michael,
ReplyDeleteok so this is really radon and might make me sound like a creep but what ever ill tell you anyways.
so i was reading through your intro and i was like "man i feel like i know this guy" even though i know i have never met you. and then it hit me, I helped Shay work on a video about you lol. i told you it was random but anyways the video turned out pretty well. if you have not seen it let me know and ill figure out a way to get a copy to you.
Haha nah you're good bro! Yea that was a great production, good job to you as well, and thanks!
DeleteWell, hey there!
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to see we have another class together! Oh, and just to be clear, yes, we killed it on that band aid project! People in our intro class still talk about how good that was, and I'm like "yeah I built that box."
I never knew how into the Rugby world you were! I knew you played here but, WOW, I'm impressed! I hope all of that is still going well for you and hopefully you get to continue it after college for many years to come!
I look forward to reading more of your posts later in the semester!
"yeah I built that box" haha yes you did, and it was the dopest box ever. Thanks for the kind words.
DeleteHi Michael!
ReplyDeleteProps to your introduction, it really made me laugh! I think it's cool that you're a graphic design major here at OU. I actually thought of that major early on because I like computers, designing, and I've made a couple of websites in the past. Also, awesome to hear about your rugby career! It seems that you're a real talent there. Anyways, it was great reading your intro and getting to you a bit!
Nice to meet you!
Christine
Thank you!!! Glad I could make you laugh. Nice to meet you as well.
DeleteThat Visual Communications major is so fabulous, Michael! There have been some VisComm students who took these classes in the past, and when they have shared the portfolio of work they do for that major, it always blows me away. And I know it is such hard work, taking such a huge effort to create a beautiful animation, etc. But it sounds like you know how to work hard and, with rugby, how to play hard too! Competition AND chill vibes: it all sounds good! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks prof Gibbs! Competition and chill vibes :) thanks for the great class.
DeleteHi Michael. You seem to have a really fun, light-natured outlook on things. It also sounds like you’re really dedicated. Though I’m far too clumsy to be much of an athlete myself, I know it takes tons of hard work and dedication. It’s good to hear that it has started to pay off for you recently. It’s also really good to hear that other people are proud to be from Oklahoma. I’m from here as well and love it. I love going out, traveling, and seeing the world, but Oklahoma is definitely home.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nicole :) Im glad someone else likes Oklahoma as much as I do
DeleteCongratulations on all your successes and may you have many more! One of my previous roommates played women's rugby at OU, but stopped playing after having to have facial reconstructive surgery. Tough sport!
ReplyDeleteI think it's fantastic that you are so connected with your different heritages. I'm not sure any good comes from forgetting where you are from as forgetting leads to lost ties and treasures!
Nice to meet you! Your success in Rugby is so impressive! Rugby is a very interesting sport, and I am under the impresion that it's really hardcore--like football but way more intense? Also, your famiy sounds so cool! Your life sounds almost like a fable or a myth (how you're the alpha lion!) You could come up with some really cool myths and fables about your life! It could even incorporate rugby into them. The best writings are those that are close to home for the author!
ReplyDeleteHey Michael nice to meet you! You seem pretty chill from what I read. Congrats on all your success at rugby. I know it take dedication and commitment to able to do what you have done from playing rugby for four year to becoming captain. I think it’s also pretty cool how you come from some many cultures. I think the more diverse you are the more interesting you are. Again nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteHey Michael,
ReplyDeleteI loved reading your intro! You sound like a fun person to hang out with! I do a lot of visual design for OU's newscast, so it's cool knowing someone who actually majors in that. I've never watched a rugby match before, but I'll have to check it out. Great meeting you and I look forward to reading your stories this semester!
It's the dope guy! So, basically you're famous. Which is awesome, because I sort of know you and now I get to tell people I know a famous rugby player. I really like your intro, I feel like it gives us readers a great and well rounded sense of who you are. I have little siblings, too! And, we're also all culturally mixed up. Mom is German, Irish and Blackfoot, Dad is Taino and straight Spaniard. I got the white girl freckles and Taino hair and skin color. All of my siblings just look white. I adore them, they are my world. My family hails from NYC so thanks for playing for us and making us look good! I wish you the best of luck with your Rugby playing! Maybe I'll see you on the Olympic team on day?
ReplyDeletemarry me
DeleteHa ha, this is so cute. That would be a Myth-Folklore first. :-)
Deleteoops hahaha (smiley face with the sweat drop emoji)
DeleteHi Michael, It was very interesting to hear about your life and your accomplishments. You may know my roommate, David Nixon, from rugby. I enjoy watching rugby but don't know a whole lot about it. Good luck in your future in academics as well as rugby. Nice to meet you.
ReplyDeleteHey Michael,
ReplyDeleteYou're vis comm, that's so cool! I was gonna major in Vis Comm but studio art was calling my name! Haha but regardless the work y'all do is awesome! Also crazy cool that you played rugby, I know nothing about the game other than its really rough so kudos to you for being able to do it!
Hi Michael, nice to meet you. It felt great to read about your life and achievements. I love how you are mixed with so many cultures. It was also great to read that you played rugby for so many teams. I watched rugby for some time, and it looked so hard to play. So gotta give you props for that. Good luck in your future so that you can add more things into your achievements :)
ReplyDeleteHey, Michael!
ReplyDeleteYou have such a rich familial history! That's fantastic!
Rugby is such a great sport - I wish it were more popular here. I don't know much about it, but I've been to a few games and it doesn't seem that much different from hockey. Well, aside from the obvious differences, but the mentality of the players are very similar in that most feel it's not a real game until someone's bleeding, haha.
Thank you for sharing and best of luck in your games! I hope you have a great season!
Hey you seem like a well rounded person. Its great that you are competitive and I wonder if I'll see that come out in your writing. I film football and they practice on the rugby field often. I'm sorry about that. I can't wait to see how the things you have listed in your introduction impact your writing. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteHello Michael,
ReplyDeleteI completely understand how you feel about being the darker of your siblings, but my case is more in the reverse. My grandfather came to the United States from Panama and my mother and little brother Jacob got all of the dark skin. However, my dad had children with my stepmother and they all look similar to me, so it is funny because in the summer when we are with our dad my brother looks adopted. However, when it is just my brother and my mom I look like the adopted one!
Very cool on being on the rugby team and being captain for 4 years. It’s also neat that you are in graphic design. I considered that for a little bit but it didn’t really pan out for me, so its great that you are enjoying it. I also lived in Oklahoma all my life so of course I love OU. I hope you do become a legend one day, that way I can say I had a class with you.
ReplyDeleteHey Michael,
ReplyDeleteYou sound like you have lived such an interesting life and come from a super cool and diverse family background! That’s so great and I was laughing in your introduction because you sound like a fun person to hang out with. Keep up all the good work and enjoy your life playing rugby and traveling around the united states! It was great ot meet you and have a great rest of the semester. Boomer!
I really enjoyed your lion comment about you and your siblings. Also how you mentioned that everyone outside of this state thinks of us and how it is not all true. I have some friends that play rugby and they love it! But it seems a little too intense for me. Congrats on all your accomplishments! Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteHey Michael!
ReplyDeleteNice Snapchat name. You have quite a lot of cultures in your blood. It must be interesting to learn about each one of them since they are all quite different. Can you speak in their native language too? It would be awesome if you could. Heck, even wanting to learn how to speak more than multiple languages is cool. Rugby is quite a tough sport to play so props to you man.