A Trip to the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC)

See, y'all I'm trying to be a good and consistent blogger, but life is saying something else😓😢

Anyway, amma kip kip trying. I remember when "amma kip kip" shirts were such a huge trend, and if you did not have one, you were uncool. I was uncool.

I digress.

This weekend, I went to the now famous, somewhat exclusive National Museum of African American History and Culture!! It was Lit yo. It's now my favorite museum in the world. Like the name suggests, it's beaming with culture and history. And I count myself extremely lucky favored to have won that ticket to go visit. My plan was to wait till it was no longer exclusive to ticket, which at this rate might not be until a year from now.

Anyway, since most people do not have the opportunity to go visit, I will share some pictures I took with you here. But, it's a must visit: the history, the beauty, the culture, and drumroll...the FOOD. I say go for the Arts, stay for the food. Such good food they have there. I feel like if you have no interest in the culture (which, DUH! why won't you?), you should still go just for the fine dining ha. I will call this post NMAAHC part 1, because I am definitely going back some other time. I was only able to cover about half of the museum because of time, and because well, your girl was busy. "Busy on a Saturday?" you ask. I know. I did not choose this life. This life chose me😑. Moving on.

P.S: I'm quite incredibly proud to be black; whether African (a la immigrants) or African Americans, or Caribbeans, we have such a rich and deep culture, it's inspiring.

Without much ado (aka I should stop rambling), here are the pictures. Enjoy!

Barbara and I! We had such a great day together.

Random folks photobombing my picture

Gorge!

Take two

Hear hear

You don't know pain until you've had to take a picture in a public place with people just carelessly blocking your view ugh

"As the Afro spread and the African Americans embraced their natural textures, the media and the workplace resisted. In the 1980s and 1990s black workers fought racist policies that labeled their natural hair unprofessional and unacceptable. The problem lingers, but there is progress. Black hairstyles today are just as often personal choices as political or social statements. Much like their African ancestors, African Americans were a glorious variety of hairstyles."

Triggered!

                                                                                  Hmmphhhh!

"On October 16, 1968, Tommie Smith, John Carlos, and Australian Peter Norman staged one of the most iconic and important protests against racial discrimination. Shoeless and dressed in black socks, each American athlete wore a black glove on one hand. Smith and Carlos stretched the two black gloves high into the sky to symbolize power and unity. Smith wore a scarf that signified "blackness".The black socks stressed the poverty plaguing black America, and their bowed heads represented their prayers for black Americans."

You could click on any of these tiny images, and it would project a random story of a black American: their family, history, or just everyday struggles. 

This is just a slice; I promise it's so much more. You should visit too.

Love, 

and some black magic,

I

P.S:
Here is my quote for the day:

“If you turn away refugees, exclude immigrants, & ban Muslims, please don't tell people you follow Jesus.
 You'll ruin it for the rest of us.”

The Problem With Stereotypes

"Do you know xyz?"

A friend asked me recently, about a certain celebrity.

"Nope. First time I'm hearing of him. But then again I don't follow pop culture that much."

I already blurted that out before I realized the gravity of what I said, and what might be the repercussions.

You see, since I'm Nigerian and this person doesn't have that much encounter with Nigerians—I'm probably the only Nigerian she knows—there is a high chance that the next time she's talking to someone else about Nigeria, she could say "Oh Nigerians don't follow pop culture." And the only premise for such bold assertion would be my earlier response to her.

Whereas nothing could be further from the truth. Nigerians love pop culture; and there is a booming entertainment industry in Nigeria. Yet I as a person could not be less interested in pop culture. That's exactly why one person does not and can not define an entire group of people: be it race or tribe or nationality or religion.

Chimamanda Adichie once said, the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, it's that they are incomplete.

My story or anyone else's story is just one story; a single story.

I hope we would remember this the next time we are tempted to judge an entire group of people based on the actions of one person. I hope that from time to time, we all take a step back to check our prejudices, because we all have those.

Love,

I

P.S TGIT is back! It's been too long :)

Where is the Church?

"I wish I was able to live like many people: to be very unbothered by everything going on in this crazy crazy world."

Friday Reflections

1.) Look, I'll be the first to admit  that I really slacked on posting reflections at the end of each week last year. I am back and better. Haha

2.) Like I said yesterday, it's the end of an era...

3.) I spent most of my day working. I did not see the point to bemoaning on social media about what I can not change. America has spoken.

4.) And while we must never remain quiet in the face of injustice, we should and must in the words of POTUS44 (deep sigh), pick ourselves up and get to work; fighting for the values we believe in.

5.) It was like the apocalypse yesterday.

6.) Speaking of work, where are you on achieving everything you set out to do this year?

7.) Remember, it's the little things that build up to the big, monumental things. So start putting in the work right now. I promise you a little work here and there every single thing will definitely amount to something by the end of the year.

8.) Criminal Minds is the creepiest show ever. There are sick people in this world. You can't begin to even imagine.

9.) With God, all things are possible.

Love,

I

The End of an Era

Happy New Year!

I'm sitting on my bed and thinking about the end of this profound era called the Obama administration, and then it occurs to me that I have not blogged this year. So here I am: blogging.
Honestly, the year did not start with me bursting with energy and optimism. I was on vacation from work, so I took a vacation from blogging too. I am back now though. Yay! I plan to be more intentional and disciplined this year, with blogging but also with every other aspect of my very busy life. I think this is the busiest I have ever been in my entire life, but I love it. Love love it. The best part is I am even more inspired to write and blog more, so we'll see how it goes. In coming months, there should be a new face to the blog; a new blogging schedule; and hopefully more consistency. Ugh I'm usually afraid of declaring so boldly in public. But, this year is all about doing it afraid! I'm currently reading a book I love, and can't wait to talk about it in my Book of the Month, a series I enjoyed so much, I have decided to bring that into 2017 as well. I have many other written down goals for the year, and I'm quite pumped and hyped about them. I pray God gives me the grace and strength to achieve them ALL.

Today is the last day of President Obama's presidency. I really am speechless. First of all, the class and grace, and all that he exudes will be greatly missed. But most of all, he was (and is) a brilliant, extraordinary, and disciplined president. There was not a single scandal in all of his presidency, which in American politics is a pretty big deal. To top it all, he is a man who genuinely loves his family. I mean, the way he treats his wife and kids, it really is amazing. Because of him, many can. His legacy will definitely live on; I don't care how hard they try to destroy everything he worked for. History will definitely be kind to him. I am confident of that. This is by no means a tribute...I wouldn't even know where and how to start that. But this is a reminder to me and coming generations that you can defy odds; you can dream the "impossible" and become it if you work hard. How else do you explain a son of a Kenyan man, who was raised in Hawaii becoming a president in America? The same America, where merely 60 years ago, a person with the same color as him could not VOTE, much less run for office, much less run for the HIGHEST office of the land. Or how do you explain Michelle LaVaughn Robinson from South Side Chicago, daughter of blue collar workers, who ends up as the First Lady in the same house that was built by slaves? Yeah. Impossible is nothing.

It's the end of the most beautiful, most profound, and most amazing era.

Here is to President Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th president of these United States!

In Memory of 2016

"Either way, I WIN."

I remember listening to Christine Caine sometime ago, when she told a story that has come to matter a great deal to me. She talked about being diagnosed with thyroid cancer and needing surgery. She was scared and terrified, as anyone would be in the face of such a precarious situation. So she prayed and cried out to God for help. After praying she realized there could only be two possible outcomes: one, the surgery is not successful and she dies. In which case, she goes to heaven, and that's a WIN; The second outcome is a successful surgery,  where she comes through hale and hearty. In this outcome, she also WINS. She said upon this realization, she assumed a new level of confidence and said “Either way Devil, I win”. Whatever the outcome, I WIN. That’s my biggest lesson from this year. In retrospect, I wish I was more confident of this fact. That whatever happens, NO MATTER the outcome, with God on my side I WIN. In the course of this year, I KNEW without any iota of doubt that there's a God and he's rooting for me.

And, If God is for us, who can be against us?

This year started very much like 2014; filled with optimism and confident in what was to come, I was certain the sky was the limit. But like the annoying sequence of my life I described here, things started to take an awkward turn when rejection after rejection started to pour in. When I say rejection, I mean from every single facet of my life. Everywhere and everything and everyone kept saying NO. I did not understand. I hard worked very hard, I was very qualified, I was ready; why were things not going my way? Anyway, it was a new year, but I was sad, depressed, angry, and most of all the situation was familiar. It was turbulent emotionally: one minute I was hopeful, the next I was ready to give up.

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.

In the course of all these, I learnt how selfish people really are, and I decided  to care less about others or what they think. Because in the end people only mostly look out for themselves.  This brings me to my next point: family. I can't say this enough, but my family really, truly rocks. This year taught me the importance of family.  My family always supported me and believed in me even when I couldn't dare believe in myself. My parents always insisted that no matter what, we should count our blessings and trust God. They were (as they always are) right. God kept picking me up even at my lowest. He kept reminding me of how awesome, steadfast, and amazing he truly is.

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.

For the first time in my life,  I almost bought a lie devil sold to me. I thought, "perhaps there is a God, but maybe he doesn't really care about us." But nah, God SHOWED me he rules in the affairs of men. I will never forget watching Bishop TD Jakes' A Crumb in Crisis on YouTube.  My God!  It changed my life. I watched it when I needed it the most.  I became rejuvenated. All that anger, hurt, disappointment, rage that I was feeling just dissipated. God reached out to me even when I wasn’t looking. He reminded me that no matter what happens, God loves me. I wasn't out of the woods, but it was clear the battle was not mine but the Lord's. Hence, devil had lost.

This year, God taught me to wait; life is more about the journey than the destination. Now, for a control freak and quasi-perfectionist, this is terrible news. But we must learn to forget about our own timelines and completely depend on and wait upon God. He taught me there is no surviving without God. Most of all, he taught me it's okay to question things. It's okay to be lost. It's ok to express your feelings to God.  I would advise anyone going through a tough time to check out Matt Bay's "Finding God in the Ruins" on YouVersion/Bible App.

But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

See, God had plans for me.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

April 2016, doors SWUNG open.

When it rained, it POURED.

God came through with full force. The miracles that have happened  in my life since April till this moment have been nothing short of God's relentless love. There is a God, and he loves me. Grace came through. Grace told me, "screw your achievements. Screw your qualifications. Screw your efforts." This is not platitude; It is not a cliche: God ALWAYS comes through. I am now on the path of achieving one of my biggest dreams. It's HARD but it is worth it. Most of all, I feel at ease.

2016 was the year I did the Whole 30 challenge and was pushed to my limits. I saw M twice this year after not seeing each other for years. I even had the time to take a vacation out of the country. I served in church for the first time ever. I remember first joining the presentation team and just mighty frustrated with how hard it was. In retrospect, everything this year seemed unnecessarily hard. I have since come to realize that only a few things give as much pleasure as the joy that comes from contributing to God's kingdom, no matter how little that contribution is.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

The above was the YouVersion verse of the year 2016; the bible verse that was shared, bookmarked, and highlighted most often by Bible App users worldwide in the year 2016, according to YouVersion. Indeed, if I had a verse of the year, it would be that. My plan on living intentionally was not completely foiled. I consistently blogged every most Sundays this year. That's great news for my constant journey to be  more disciplined. Further, I felt led to change the name of my blog to further reflect who I am. Despite a crazy and hectic schedule, I took the time to read for leisure, and went a step further by reviewing them on this blog in the Book of the Month series.  I gave my time more this year by serving and volunteering more for those around me who are less privileged. I lost my grandfather this year, but it was a life well lived and I'm grateful for the life he lived.

I can't talk about 2016 without talking about the election that shook many of us to our core. Like I mentioned here, I am enraged, furious that America did not elect her first female president. Yet when the story is being told in the future, I want my unborn children, niece(s) and nephew(s) to know that I stood on the right side of history; I stood with Her. I'm still constantly intrigued at everything that happened globally and politically this year. I read about what he whose name shall not be mentioned called Michelle Obama: an ape that belongs to Zimbabwe's forest. I just couldn't understand how one human being could have that much hate and vitriol in them. The election was devastating but it made me much more resolute to stand for what I believe in; and to always  embody the very values I profess. For a little while I was so uninspired by the political climate of the entire freaking world, that I forgot my principles. But the biggest lesson from that is when you fall, get right back up and keep fighting. I am more determined than ever to speak out for the poor, marginalized, voiceless, destitute, oppressed...because I'm confident that's what Jesus would do. I realize that I live in a bubble of my excessive privilege. Grateful as I may be for that, I am inclined to do more with the plenty God has bestowed me with.

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.

To those who found this year challenging; those who mourned; the people who failed woefully; those who tried so hard and struggled so hard, yet have nothing to show for it; those who demonstrated faith, unwavering faith, yet had their prayers unanswered; the people who felt like if there is a God, he probably hates them; those who don't even know who God is; The ones that spent every minute of 2016 in hospitals; those who cried themselves to bed every night; I hope you find joy, peace, and laughter in the coming year.

I have written down specific goals for 2017. But I'm not naive; I know I need God more than ever. I'm excited and hopeful for 2017.

Bring it on 2017. my FAITH is STILL UNWAVERING.

Love,

I

P.S: sorry this was very long. You are the real MVP for reading all the way through :-)

Merry Christmas!

I promise I have not forgotten I own a blog.

I had to come out of my quasi-hiding place to wish you a Merry Christmas! So this is to everyone who has read this blog this year; I'm grateful. I rarely ever talk about people reading, not because I don't want people to read or  care about people who do; I DO. It's just how the blog was birthed; a kind of online journal that helps me keep record of my life, so I can look back someday, and see how far God has brought me.

With that said, I think in coming months, I'll be more particular about YOU. I know how quiet YOU are, but Blogger says YOU always come around, so thank you. Although, I'm probably one of the more awkward people in real life, I've never had a problem communicating with writing. My pen/keyboard has always been more effective for me to communicate my feelings. Therefore, here goes. Thank you so much for sticking around, and following me on this journey. I'm grateful for you.

I hope everyone has/had a Merry Christmas. I'm very particular about the reason for the season: Jesus Christ. And sometimes, I still cry just thinking about the sheer love God has for us; that he would send us his only son while we were yet sinners. It's amazing, isn't it?

I don't want to talk too much here since I hope to still post my usual recap in the "In Memory of..." style. I do it every year; so I'm somewhat confident I will do it this year too. So help me God. Because chale, I have been LAZY. I'm really enjoying the Christmas break and just time with family. So writing has been a real chore.

Anyway, you are worth coming out of hiding. So excuse the rambling, but MERRY CHRISTMAS again.

God is AMAZING.

I wish you "Joy unspeakable".

Love,

I