If I Should Have a Daughter...

I've have this burning passion to often listen to Spoken Word. It's a form of art that combines written poetry and theater. What inspires me more is the zeal, the effort, the emphasis made on words so as to enable the listener go deep into them, instead of listening to them merely as a form of entertainment.
Anyone can read out a bunch of words adding a little drama but what makes Spoken Word different is that somehow you can always relate with the words, ponder on them, day after day, and be inspired, just as I am at the moment.
Here are a few couple of words, from 21 years old Sarah Kay's If I Should Have a Daughter. Happy reading!


If I should have a daughter…“Instead of “Mom”, she’s gonna call me “Point B.” Because that way, she knows that no matter what happens, at least she can always find her way to me. And I’m going to paint the solar system on the back of her hands so that she has to learn the entire universe before she can say “Oh, I know that like the back of my hand.”

She’s gonna learn that this life will hit you, hard, in the face, wait for you to get back up so it can kick you in the stomach. But getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air. There is hurt, here, that cannot be fixed by band-aids or poetry, so the first time she realizes that Wonder-woman isn’t coming, I’ll make sure she knows she doesn’t have to wear the cape all by herself. Because no matter how wide you stretch your fingers, your hands will always be too small to catch all the pain you want to heal. Believe me, I’ve tried.

And “Baby,” I’ll tell her “don’t keep your nose up in the air like that, I know that trick, you’re just smelling for smoke so you can follow the trail back to a burning house so you can find the boy who lost everything in the fire to see if you can save him. Or else, find the boy who lit the fire in the first place to see if you can change him.”

But I know that she will anyway, so instead I’ll always keep an extra supply of chocolate and rain boats nearby, ‘cause there is no heartbreak that chocolate can’t fix. Okay, there’s a few heartbreaks chocolate can’t fix. But that’s what the rain boots are for, because rain will wash away everything if you let it.

I want her to see the world through the underside of a glass bottom boat, to look through a magnifying glass at the galaxies that exist on the pin point of a human mind. Because that’s how my mom taught me. That there’ll be days like this, “There’ll be days like this my momma said” when you open your hands to catch and wind up with only blisters and bruises. When you step out of the phone booth and try to fly and the very people you wanna save are the ones standing on your cape. When your boots will fill with rain and you’ll be up to your knees in disappointment and those are the very days you have all the more reason to say “thank you,” ‘cause there is nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline no matter how many times it’s sent away.

You will put the “wind” in win some lose some, you will put the “star” in starting over and over, and no matter how many land mines erupt in a minute be sure your mind lands on the beauty of this funny place called life.

And yes, on a scale from one to over-trusting I am pretty damn naive but I want her to know that this world is made out of sugar. It can crumble so easily but don’t be afraid to stick your tongue out and taste it.

“Baby,” I’ll tell her “remember your mama is a worrier but your papa is a warrior and you are the girl with small hands and big eyes who never stops asking for more.”

Remember that good things come in threes and so do bad things and always apologize when you’ve done something wrong but don’t you ever apologize for the way your eyes refuse to stop shining.

Your voice is small but don’t ever stop singing and when they finally hand you heartbreak, slip hatred and war under your doorstep and hand you hand-outs on street corners of cynicism and defeat, you tell them that they really ought to meet your mother.

Watch it here, performed live, so inspiring!, so much truth in it.


I would love to go through and highlight the portions of the poem that I find the most meaningful, but I can’t – it all hits home with me. The way she speaks mesmerizes me. Her poetry is beautiful beyond anything else I have ever heard. And her mind, her thoughts, sometimes match up with mine and sometimes make me think about life in new ways that I’d never considered.

But this poem affected me more than any other she’s written (and believe me, I’ve watched most of them on YouTube). This is how I want to raise my little ones. This is how I feel about trust and cynicism and vulnerability. This is the message I want to communicate through my actions – that it’s not wrong to open yourself up to being hurt, to be in awe of our beautiful world, to love more than others think is wise, to believe that chocolate can fix a few heartaches, and to believe that everything, everything, happens for a reason.

10 SURE THINGS MEN KNOW ABOUT WOMEN

LMAO!!! So i stumbled upon this and it just blew my mind.... Sketch courtesy of @Ofilispeaks

Being Poor Is The Root of all Evil.

Before you wonder what made me think of this topic. I stumbled upon this video, and it seems to make more sense to me than the sermons i've been given recently.

Hope it inspires you as much as it does, me.

FACEBOOK PASTORS.... PFFFFFFT..

So, above is a screenshot of a post I saw on Facebook which i found really difficult to comprehend because of its amusing sentences. It started with "999 is a reverse of 666" and he also said it was a revelation... Loooool!!!.. and he also said The second coming of Jesus is around the corner, which i don't doubt.. But in my confused state i asked a simple question, "What does 999 have to do with the second coming" and i got lambasted in the comments that followed...

With the increasing number of revelations we now see and hear, especially on Facebook, i have almost promised myself to start ignoring them... but they are a few good ones tho... 

My people abeg, what do you think???

INSPIRATION

YOU ARE EXACTLY AS OLD AS YOU THINK

You are exactly as Old as you think.... Think about that... Age is just a number, maturity is in the head. The true measure of age should be determined by your level of thoughts, depth of insights and manner of reasoning.. That why you can see a 21 year old behaving like a kid..

So, invest in experiences, invest in your mind and challenge yourself this is how men are made. This is how maturity is built.

As for me, Age is just a number, Maturity is in the Head...

INSPIRATION...

Have a Splendid Sunday Everyone!

You Can Only Connect The Dots Looking Backwards

In Life we all have plans for the future, goals we want to achieve, dreams we wish would come true and all sorts of ambition for our life; but the funny thing about life is that it's very funny. Some people end up becoming what they never planned to become and the likes of it but what i've realised is that; you can only look back at life and see how the dots connected to your current state. You cant really see how it will connect to the future because what is life without uncertainties.

 So what do we do??

Invest in experiences, challenge your mind, strive to do something you've never done before, think like there's no box and learn new things. When I was younger I learnt how to design websites, i also learnt graphic design and a couple of other things. Well, I stopped doing them but sometime early this year I got involved in a fashion project called FASHIONOVA which was hosted by a company I Co-Founded Necktar GT and those skills i learnt way back came in handy.So, the things you get yourself involved in somehow will connect to bring out something incredible in the future.

"You can't connect the dots looking forward you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something: your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path". - Steve Jobs

I'm working on a top secret project that'll be unveiled soon... I never know where this would lead.

INSPIRATION

My Acrimony with the Aviation Sector and 'Dignitaries'

Barely 72 hours after we celebrated the 53rd Independence day Anniversary of this great country, my desires for her have even burned brighter (check out The Nigeria I Desire ).

In the wee hours of Thursday, the 3rd of October 2013, Another tragedy struck in Lagos when a chartered aircraft carrying the remains of  a former Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, 20 passengers  and crew crashed less than a minute after take-off from the local wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja. (for full news, click here). With all due respect to the dead, i'm in fact, a very pained citizen!

With the mentality of my dear people, let me lament firstly on the fact that 'pesin don die,but u stil wan kill am again'. Please, let sleeping dogs lie, (rather let late people, rest in peace). May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace! (somebody shout amen!!)

Secondly, in fact i'm angry at this country, Our aviation sector has been so poisoned, flying on a plane is like a suicide mission. At the airport, you would meet Nigerians of all religions, practicing their mode of worship, so as to ensure a safe journey, this, am sure only happens in Nigeria. Even after your flight has been delayed for over 6 hours for 'maintenance reasons', you are still not ensured a safe flight and landing. I can only but pity the crew members who know the risk of their jobs, but have no choice.

I share a personal experience with gratitude to God in my heart, I recently boarded a Nigerian local aircraft  in Lagos bound for the capital city of Abuja, not only was the flight delayed for 7 hours, we finally took off, and we got to Abuja and couldn't land. According to the co-pilot, 'rain was falling'  in Abuja. We hovered in the air for over 2 hours, in fear and panic for the unknown. We all thought it was over, until the pilot announced that we were turning back to Lagos. My dear readers, i pray you would never experience such panic in your life. I heard fellow passengers say their last prayers!, children crying, mothers cursing, everyone afraid!. But with the Mighty Hands of the God of this country, the Almighty One, We landed back in Lagos safely and who can imagine that the aviation fuel in the plane finished as were were almost taxing to a stop, in fact i can say the plane taxied, and halted not because of the decreasing acceleration, but because the fuel finished (Somebody Shout Alleluia!!!). The rest remains a story for another day..

The more annoying thing is that our dear leaders know, and they are, as usual 'On top of the situation, in their private air crafts and jets, while those who voted them into power die every time in plane crashes. Now private air crafts are crashing,  who knows the next trend of safe transportation?

The most annoying thing about this country is the fact that, even in death, all men are not treated equally. The names of 'dignitaries' flood the headlines of the newspapers, but the names of crew members and 'laymen' are almost omitted. They are people's loved ones, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, best friends too! A manifest is written and names of dignitaries are topping the list in bold letters, and the 'rest' are written as footnotes. Condolence messages and visits flood the house of these 'dignitaries' while the loved ones of the 'others' are left to mourn alone with no support.

This is a sincere cry of plea. Please this should stop!.. All men are equal in the sight of God. They deserve to be treated equally, If  you think all fingers are not equal, try cutting off your thumb and see if you can still hold anything well.

With a deep and sincere heart, My condolences go to all who have lost their loved ones in plane crashes, May their Gentle Souls, Rest in God's ever welcoming Bosom! Amen...

And also to the loved ones of the #ALUU4, May they find peace in God's hands!

Relationship = Loss Of 3 Friends. At least

It's been a while I wrote something on Relationships but i have something to say today.. ghen ghen .

I did a little reading here and there a while ago and discovered that when you enter a relationship, you lose a couple of friends. I wondered why until I entered my own relationship a couple of days back..(Head Bows). So YES!! you actually lose about 3 friends at least (Note At least). The girls that were your friends but had a secret thing. You'll lose them. The girls that actually thought you were on their parole. You'll lose them. The guys that can't phantom why you chose the girl. You'll lose them. The guys that have babes less finer than your's. You'll lose them... okay slight exaggeration.. But you'll lose much more because the time you normally spend with those peeps of yours will be converted to her own time... 

I'd love to show you her pic but...... just follow on instagram you'll see her pic wella....

Btw, I just Finished reading CHIMAMANDA ADICHIE's AMERICANAH and that was a great piece of literature.. I'm inspired to start writing fiction hehehehe...

REVIEW: FORGIVEN MIXTAPE by OJAY

Osimahon Happiness Jonathan, better known by his stage name OJAY, is a Gospel Recording artiste, Songwriter, Worshiper at heart, Minister and a Motivational Speaker from Lagos, Nigeria. He was born on the 1st of October, 1993 into a Christian home. He gave his life to Christ at the age of 14. He discovered his gift of singing at the age of 13 while always listening to music. After giving his life to Christ, he became a very active member of the Choir in his school days. He made up his mind to go fully into Gospel Music at the age of 18. OJAY is an anointed singer who has decided to preach the gospel through his music and is dedicated to it. He is very passionate about people who feel there is no hope for them. He has made up his mind to think Christ, talk Christ and act Christ. His Vocal capability is awesome and wonderful. He is really gifted and has the ability to give you the melody you need.

Forgiven mixtape is OJAY’s first main project and the project’s intro titled HERE WE GO is a remake of KB’s song. KB is reach records rapper and remaking any of his songs is not an easy thing to do but OJAY created a perfect intro by using the same chorus of the original song and at the same time beautifully blending the verses to the chorus.

The second song FORGIVEN features guest appearances by Chris Rio and Riel. Chris Rio did a wonderful job with the vocals on this song and Riel’s powerful entrance gave the song the energy it deserves while still maintaining the song’s calm nature. Overall, the song is a good calm song.

NOTHING IMPOSSIBLE is a very eclectic song combining R&B, Rap and Reggae. J-Swiss verses on this song were top notch and I personally like OJAY’s reggae part of the song. The hook on this song is very catchy and I promise you that you will find it difficult trying to get the hook off your head once you listen to this song. I love this song.

DANSAKIRE features Abrizzle and 4runner. I call this song the pendulum song- taking you back and forth between the head bumping melody and the body swerving melody. The message on this song is powerful. The song talks about giving all the glory to God. I hope OJAY will do a faster version of this song on his next project. I think a faster version will be off the hook but the song is still a nice song to listen to. I know some people will disagree with me on releasing a faster version. Some people will definitely love this song the way it is.

WITHOUT YOU for me is the main stand out song of the mixtape. OJAY’s strong vocals mixed with the lyrical content gives this song a fresh sound I haven’t heard from any Nigerian artiste for a while now. This song is my personal favourite.

YOUR LOVE is a song I like mainly due to the lyrical content. It talks about God’s love for us being greater than the love any man could possibly give us. I also like the hook on this song.

The PIANO REMIX OF WITHOUT YOU is the bonus song on this project and I must admit that the piano on this song is wonderful.

Overall the FORGIVEN MIXTAPE is a good debut project and OJAY has shown he has the potential to take gospel music to the next level.

Download Mixtape Here
Twitter handle: @OJAY_MUZIK

Release Date Of "9INE" Season 2 Episode 2 #WhyILoveSexSeries

Sequel to the First Episode, This Episode is extremely exciting, Watch out for it!!

October 8th is the date.

15TH MAY 2007 FINAL EPISODE

15^th May 2007 was the worst day of life and I still remember it with so much hurt and pain.

“Henry; boys, men and the male gender is wicked” I voiced out in agony. “Because of their evil sexual desires and lust, they ruined the life of a young girl and terminated all her hopes and dreams. They ensnared me into a life of sadness, unhappiness and guilt” I continued in a bitter tone.

“Simi, I know how you feel and trust me, until you forgive those men you will forever remain hurt” Henry spoke with intense peace radiating in his eyes

“What do you mean? You don’t know how much they hurt me? You don’t even know half of the psychological damage that they did to me? You don’t....”

“Shhh” Henry whispered lovingly. Before I could angrily respond, he spoke out gently “I’ve been there before and mine was a case of rape by our house-girl when I was just eight (8) years old”

I stared at him in shock and disbelief. “Trust me when I say that until you forgive them, you can never have your sanity back” he interjected immediately.

“But they hurt me” I whispered gently in tears.

“Yes they did! But your restoration from hurt, pain, anguish, bitterness only begins when you let go and let God” Henry muttered gently

“How do you me I let God?” I asked with a puzzled look on my face.

“It’s simple really, forgive them and leave them to God”. Henry looked into my eyes and continued “Forgiving them is freeing yourself from the hurt they caused you and allowing God to deal with them on your behalf”.

For the first time in my life, someone made a whole lot of sense and I could identify on what I referred to as “the beginning of my healing process”.

“I forgive them Henry!” I cried out loud. Henry stood up, raised me up and gave me a hug. Instantly, I felt a kind of strange peace within my soul and at that moment, I boldly spoke out “15^th May 2007 can never hunt me again” 

The Nigeria I Desire... #IWANTANIGERIA

This piece is dedicated to you and the millions of young Nigerians who are justifiably angry, but who dare to desire a New Nigeria. I believe it is possible.

I desire a  Nigeria where every Nigerian child has access to quality education; a country with some of the best universities in the world that would bring forth ideas that would stun the ends of the earth. I desire a Nigeria where our graduates will be worthy of their degrees, not recipients of “sexually transmitted degrees”


I desire a  Nigeria where her people die in the presence of loved ones rather than in lonely foreign hospitals; a country that would break boundaries in the field of medicine. I desire a Nigeria that would treat foreigners as well as her own.

I desire a Nigeria with  an ever efficient and effective aviation sector, where there will be no air disasters and no flight delays; and airlines will ensure that their flights are on schedule, and if there are delays the airlines will tell passengers the exact reasons rather than the nonsensical “operational reasons”. I desire a society where customers will be queens and kings. I desire an aviation sector that will be planned for a growing population. I desire a country that renovates and builds airports for today and tomorrow. I desire the day when it will take passengers at our international airports less than 10 minutes to go through immigration.  I  desire a functional rail system and motorable roads, with the resultant decline in road accidents.

I dream of a Nigeria where human life is worth something, where human rights are respected, where good governance, right to life, security, and environmental safety are the norm rather than the exception.

I desire a Nigeria devoid of celebrated corruption; a nation with responsive and responsible leadership; a country with diligent and committed followership and a country that detests unnecessary call for 'hurray!' when it is not yet 'uhuru'.

I desire a Nigeria of free and fair elections; a country that does not see assumption of political office as a do-or-die affair.

I desire a Nigeria where the Coat of Arms means a lot,where the anthem is not sang for naught, where the currency is not bought, where the flag is without blot, where the motto calms down wrath, where the leaders have the led in thought. I desire a Nigeria where its leaders would have a better way of settling disputes other than hitting each other with The Mace .

I desire a Nigeria with citizens being equal, where parental connections won’t be the ticket, where I see men boasting of three square meals, graduates smiling a their work places, I see the green in our flag showing on our lands.

I desire a  Nigeria in which the primary objective of the men of God is to save souls and not to get population and collect offertory from large congregations. I desire a Nigeria where all religious leaders eat from one bowl, knowing its one God they all serve.

I desire a Nigeria that i would 'google' images of and see beautiful people, wonderful landscapes, excellent economic analysis, well organised government system, not hungry children, wounded men and women, riots and flooded roads, crowded streets  and dump sites .(well, try it and see!)

I desire a Nigeria that would not only win gold medals during the Olympics  but also host the Olympics proudly and gallantly.

I look forward to a Nigeria where every citizen and, even, foreigners would take pride in. An icon in the league of nations, a country where poverty will be at the barest minimum; a nation of outstanding inventors, producers and manufacturers, and not a nation of only consumers.

I desire a new Nigeria!
Happy 53rd Independence Day!!

Feel free to add your desires for this great country in the comment box..