Take Care of Yourself

These nerve-wracking exams have made it virtually impossible for me to pen anything remotely profound of recent, but this rather sudden itch of mine to write this evening just must be scratched regardless.

Much Ado About Mentorship

I’ve considered myself a maverick for as long as I can remember, thoroughly relishing the thrill of paving my own path and going the extra mile. Growing up, there were very few things I dreaded more than being ordinary. In my juvenile, prepubescent eyes, if anything could be described as common, lacklustre or mediocre (I particularly loathed this word) then one thing was certain; that thing – whatever it was – definitely wasn’t for me.

No Perfect Parents

Do you still have any memories of your very early childhood? I realise now that a lot of people seem not to, but I do.

I particularly recall, with sweet nostalgia, the moments, way back in nursery school, when each of us would cheerily go “our car is a Peugeot”, “my mommy has a Volvo”, “my daddy drives a Tayota [sic] (God bless your heart, Urenna)” during virtually all of our lunch breaks.

Everybody's Different; Everybody's Human!

Nothing’s particularly wrong with people who generally prefer social media interactions to meeting new people in person.

Not every college dropout is out of school because of poor grades, economic challenges, drug problems, or the infamous “village people”; not every exceptionally brilliant student is interested in pursuing a PhD either.

Not every “successful man” or “homely woman” who everybody considers “ripe for marriage” is interested in getting hitched, and – in my humble opinion – not everyone should be.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Where are the right words when you need them?

There’s a ton of infinitely valuable lessons I have been reminded of this past year, but none more important than the fact that God loves me unconditionally. None more reassuring either!

Little wonder I feel so immersed in love and gratitude this morning.

Reach Out and Listen

Contrary to popular opinion, there are members of the human species who are quite easily capable of showing deep, genuine concern for the wellbeing of others with relatively no regard for their own welfare. The English language calls these angels altruists, and - of course - they're rare.

We however mustn't be flawlessly selfless to reach out to the ones around us who need a shoulder to lean (and sometimes cry) on, thankfully.

Respect the Little Things

If you've ever received professional music training - probably on how to play the piano or some other musical instrument - then you must remember just how structured your lessons were and how you had to repeat pretty basic scales, chords and arpeggios you were sure you had mastered over and over (and over...) again simply because your instructor was insistent on solidifying your foundations and ensuring that you learnt how to play with proper posture, correct fingering and overall solid technique.

Thank God We Don't Look Like What We've Been Through

One of my favourite things about meeting new people and deliberately getting better acquainted with them is the opportunity to see life through their eyes and be inspired by their survival stories. Life itself starts teaching us the very minute we're born that it is neither a walk in the park nor a bed of roses. We all learn that lesson eventually, but the more fortunate ones learn more quickly than the rest.

Usain Bolt in the 10,000-Metre Race

Imagine this for a second: You've just had the ghastliest Sunday of your entire life. You woke up way less enthusiastic than usual this morning, after barely getting a wink of sleep the previous night, and you had to will yourself to leave home at the crack of dawn for some special service in church. Somehow, your day has sped by in a flurry of activities even you cannot recollect. All you know is that it's 9.49 P.M. and you've just getting home. 

If Your Reputation Could Look in the Mirror

Practically every rational human being should be interested in building a solid reputation. That's a value we subconsciously adopt from early childhood. I know I did. It was, after all, the exceptionally wise King Solomon who wrote about how a good name is more desirable than great riches, and the man knew exactly what he was talking about.

Do It with Passion or Not at All

It's always something of a surreal feeling knowing deep down in your heart that you were made for so much more than the ordinary. More often that not, people have made impressive comments about your person that perfectly agree with that unmistakable feeling in your bones that you have a remarkable destiny that's tailor-made for you to fulfil. And so you've grown to not be bothered when the average Joe fails to understand - let alone share - your opinion about certain concepts. How could he possibly comprehend your intellectual ability when he doesn't even understand how a perspective like yours is possible?

Please Impress Yourself

Let's talk about something that's been on my mind for quite a bit, shall we?

Is it just me or does anyone else ever wonder why we're generally so much more concerned with how impressive people perceive our lives to be than we are about actually leading better and more fulfilled lives? I mean, think about it. We’re super eager to take a myriad of pictures for Instagram just before a flight, or in front of those spotless fancy hotel bathroom mirrors (and no, ladies; it's not just you) and exotic condos and vehicles just so Facebook knows what’s on our minds. We’re relentlessly devoted to keeping up appearances on social media – whether it be through our photos and videos or via typed updates (oh yes, we type to impress too!) – just to prove to the world that we've at least got decent access to the finer things of life and are therefore better off than some other people. Do you ever ask yourself why we seem to think these things are necessary?

Going the Extra Mile with Compliments

Learning to consciously appreciate and acknowledge people's virtues is something I've discovered can make a person feel really great about themselves. As someone who’s naturally inclined to look out for the downsides about circumstances and people – myself no less (more so actually) – and in earnest pursuit of becoming my best self, I came up not too long ago with a strategy to compensate for my apparent penchant for nitpicking. Over time, I've made it a point of duty to work at figuring out at least one unique thing about each person I come across and spend time with, and going ahead to amply compliment them about whatever it is, even if it would mean going out of my way.

The Glad Game

Ecclesiastes 9:11 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

11 I also saw other things in this life that were not fair. The fastest runner does not always win the race; the strongest soldier does not always win the battle; wise people don’t always get the food; smart people don’t always get the wealth; educated people don’t always get the praise they deserve. When the time comes, bad things can happen to anyone!

I never heard about an Easy-to-Read version of the Bible till pretty recently, but I’m glad I stumbled on it when I did. There’s something refreshingly different about the perspective it gives, especially with verses like the one above. But more about that later.

Living the Deliberate Intentional Life

After standing in the scorching sun for ten very long minutes at the bus stop on the ever busy Douglas road, waiting for a vehicle heading to Ihiagwa to show up, one finally did, and the lucky few of us who could scampered in. It had been quite the Thursday, and I was itching to get back to my school residence.

As had become a weekly routine for me at this point, I had gone to the cinema at The Mall much earlier in the day to meet up with some friends and catch a movie. The Fate of The Furious was really the only item on my bucket list for the day, and believe me when I say it was every kobo worth the trouble. You really should see it if you haven’t yet. Great movie.

My Thoughts on Mental Health

Today’s post isn’t going to be a long one, but it’s one I hope reawakens our awareness to something that’s still such an issue in this part of the world. The fact that we choose to ignore just how serious mental illness can be.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

My Superwoman,

You've been on my mind way more than usual this past month. It's you I think about and smile just before I gently fall asleep each night. It's you whose loving thoughts I wake up to the beautiful morning after. It's you who's the subject of those soothing dreams in between. It's absolutely impossible not to think about you when virtually everything around me reminds me that you're not here, and that there's still that great big void that time will never fill. Evidently, I still miss you so very much.

Give Them Roses While They Can Smell Them

We hadn't had power for days, and I just lay in bed that morning, playing music on my phone with the little that was left of the battery. I've got playlists for the songs I want to listen to for each time I crave music, but this time was going to be different. I had over a thousand songs in my library and I was sure I had never heard quite a number of them. So I decided to let the player randomly play songs for a change, and you know what? It was one of the best decisions I had taken in a while. I'll tell you why.

The Irksome Thing About Unsolicited Advice

1 Thessalonians 4:11

1 Peter 4:15

I urge you - especially if you're Christian - to briefly look at the above passages before proceeding. You'd realise why.

I was attending a conference this Easter and something rather interesting happened. Something that made me realise that many people still don't understand the deal with offering unrequested advice and the beauty of minding one's business. I'm someone who has opinions about virtually everything and everyone, but these are opinions you may never get to know of if you're not very close to me and deliberately seek them out... or if I don't write about them, as I'm doing right now. I'm reserved like that these days. So I'll be quite frank and say that I was pretty piqued that this happened to me.

Because Michael Promised...

It was one of those nights without power supply. Worn out from the bustle of the day, I got into bed pretty early - as is usual for me on such quiet nights - ready to head right for dreamland, but, eager as I was to fall asleep, I found myself reminiscing helplessly about the past – the past year particularly. About the crazy rollercoaster ride it had been. The dreadful and depressing lows. The sprinkles of unprecedented highs scattered about here and there that I was super thankful for. And then the bouts of utter numbness and deafening silence that conveniently filled the voids in between. This reminiscence was fast becoming a habit, some sort of bedtime ritual, if you will. But there was something else to ponder that night that I hadn't really thought about in quite a bit.