So I was just chatting with a loved one on gchat who's going through a rough time. I said this as an encouragement and the person asked me to share it to help others. So here it is, copied and pasted :)
People DO overcome depression
But when you're depressed, you don't think people do.
You think they're faking it.
When I was depressed freshman year, I thought every single person that was happy was just acting and was inwardly sad,
like me
But that's not the case
People don't think it is possible to overcome depression because they have never overcome theirs
Life has ups and downs, that is true
But they're not meant to break us
We're not meant to carry the bad forever
Being happy doesn't mean not ever ever being sad
But it means knowing you have the choice to be happy, to bounce back and learning how to exercise that choice
There will be bad days
But that's why you have to savour the good ones
Savour each laughter; be present in the good days
There will be bad days and you will still cry in the days ahead
But there will also be AMAZING days!!
The best days of our lives are ahead man
And you will laugh, and dance and be happy!
Think of those moments instead
Thinking of the sad moments to come doesn't let you be happy now
So choose to dwell on the happiness you can find each day
Live life one day at a time, finding happiness in each day instead of expecting sadness
Saturday, November 9
Monday, September 3
To Dream Like a Child...
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Something about sitting in a dark living room and watching the scented candle elegantly wave it's flame back and forth reminds me of what it is like to dream
I'm not talking about the kind of dreams I dream now; dreams of world travel and career opportunities
I'm talking about bigger dreams. Dreams the magnitude of a mother's love for her infant.
Dreams you dream as a child before the world slowly fills your ears with sweet whispers of doubt
Before your heart is clouded with fear and "realism"
I'm talking about the times when I believed, truly believed that I could change the world, that we could change the system.
That Nigeria could become a safe, uncorrupted, ideal country.
That women all over the world would one day suffer no harm, no violence, no injustice just because of their gender.
The days I had such a strong faith in the world and in humanity
Days, I believed that people with my dreams did not surround me but I would grow older and find these people who so adamantly believe in change who dream the dreams I have dreamt all along
We would grow camaraderie, bonded by our desire for change
By our disgust at the Nigerian government, by patriotism
That we would build a dynasty so powerful that it would rise and extinguish injustice
That we would in fact change the world
The days I believed Nigeria was a country worth dying for
But there is a sad tune that comes with age
It slowly dawns on you that you are not the first to have these dreams
If others could not change the system, why should I think I can?
It feels like my fingers have grown longer, physically but they would never be long enough, never be wide enough to touch every corner of the world that needs healing, that needs change
There was a time I felt like an Amazon
A time when I did not doubt the size of my arms, the potential of their reach
But as I grow older, I start to feel smaller
Like a mustard seed lying in a vast dry desert filled with white grainy sand
I would never grow enough to fully stand
Or when I do, I would have given into realism and abandoned the belief that I, of all people could change the system.
Maybe this is my necessary path to wisdom
Maybe I'm just realizing that there is a right time for the reality of a dream to be birthed
Maybe I need to give myself more time
But I wonder how I would know when I get there
How would I know when my fingers are long enough?
How would I know when the hands of the clock are perfectly aligned?
I guess time would have to tell
But in the interim, I have to keep my dreams away form the red line
Fight the cynicism embedded in the threads of the very same world I am trying to change
I need to rediscover how to dream like a child.
It's 4:18 AM, sleep is finally welcoming me home. I watch the candle flame kiss the glass one last time and blow its light out remembering one of my favorite quotes:
"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do."
Sweet dreams...
Wednesday, March 7
On the KONY 2012 movement....
Yesterday, I watched the short film KONY 2012 by invisible children on youtube. At the time I watched the video, it had over 55,000 views and right now it has over 9,000,000 views so I think it's safe to say that the video went viral! The video is aimed is at making Joseph Kony famous in order to hasten his arrest. If you haven't watched the video, take a moment to watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
The United States recently sent troops into Africa to find and arrest Kony, but have been unsuccessful so far. Unfortunately, the US may remove these troops out of Africa and leave Kony to continue terrorizing Ugandans."
I had heard about children being abducted to join armies before watching the video but I had never heard of the situation in Uganda or of Joseph Kony and I was unconscious to the severity of the issue and I am disappointed in myself for that.
Like most people, after watching this video, there was this fire of social activism that was ignited within and I kept thinking, Kony must be stopped so yes, I changed my facebook cover photo to KONY 2012 to help in raising awareness about this man, Joseph Kony.
However, this morning, my newsfeed was filled with a different side of the view about KONY 2012. Most people posted the blog "We got Trouble": http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/ . The author Grant Oyston talks about how invisible children donates only 32% to direct services and how he believes that the group is in favor of direct military information. Now there were individuals that posted this because they were genuinely concerned that people might be donating money to a misleading cause and others that just posted it because they just intentionally always like to be on the other end (you know those people that are always determined to argue against conventional wisdom even in cases where conventional wisdom may be right.)
So having watched the video, I decided to also read the article and to ask a friend from Uganda what he thought about the video especially since I didn't know about the situation in Uganda before. It is always helpful to get different perspectives to ensure that one fully understands the situation before forming an opinion.
After reading the article, here are my thoughts, I understand that the organization itself might be flawed. But I still think the awareness that the video created is valuable and that it is very important for people to know what is going on in the world before we can even start to talk about solutions.
Also, I don't believe that arresting one man will lead to the end of the LRA. It is important to get the roots of the problem because if the situation (and conditions) that allowed a person like Joseph Konyi to exist for so long and commit those crimes and still thrive and get away with it are still the same, then I fear that 2 years from now, even if Konyi is killed, this evil will just continue on with a new leader. It is more important to kill the idea than kill the person. But still, arresting one person might not be the solution, but it's a step. With the awareness this video created, more people are interested in doing research find out who this Joseph Kony man is and actually understand the LRA and their actions and awareness and understanding of the problem and the entire situation are one of the first steps towards finding a solution
Also, a part of me is tempted to be uncomfomfortable with this because of the whole notion of the west coming to Africa's aid again. But like Okonjo Iweala said in her TED talk "let's have a depper discussion on aid," when it is you or your loved one involved, you don't care whether it is aid, you don't care what it is. So if you put yourself in the shoes of those young children in Northern Uganda who are living in constant fear of being abducted, it doesn't matter where assistance is coming from or what the philosophy of this assistance might mean. They just want to be safe.
It is improtant to remember what Chimamanda Adichie calls "The Danger of the Single Story," I hope that the popularity of this video will not lead to the misconception that this is what Uganda is all about.
I hope that this doesn't just end up as a fad. As the Facebook profile pictures and cover photos eventually change from the "KONY 2012." posters, I hope that the spirit of social activism that this video created, remains in our hearts
~ghonsie
The United States recently sent troops into Africa to find and arrest Kony, but have been unsuccessful so far. Unfortunately, the US may remove these troops out of Africa and leave Kony to continue terrorizing Ugandans."
I had heard about children being abducted to join armies before watching the video but I had never heard of the situation in Uganda or of Joseph Kony and I was unconscious to the severity of the issue and I am disappointed in myself for that.
Like most people, after watching this video, there was this fire of social activism that was ignited within and I kept thinking, Kony must be stopped so yes, I changed my facebook cover photo to KONY 2012 to help in raising awareness about this man, Joseph Kony.
However, this morning, my newsfeed was filled with a different side of the view about KONY 2012. Most people posted the blog "We got Trouble": http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/ . The author Grant Oyston talks about how invisible children donates only 32% to direct services and how he believes that the group is in favor of direct military information. Now there were individuals that posted this because they were genuinely concerned that people might be donating money to a misleading cause and others that just posted it because they just intentionally always like to be on the other end (you know those people that are always determined to argue against conventional wisdom even in cases where conventional wisdom may be right.)
So having watched the video, I decided to also read the article and to ask a friend from Uganda what he thought about the video especially since I didn't know about the situation in Uganda before. It is always helpful to get different perspectives to ensure that one fully understands the situation before forming an opinion.
After reading the article, here are my thoughts, I understand that the organization itself might be flawed. But I still think the awareness that the video created is valuable and that it is very important for people to know what is going on in the world before we can even start to talk about solutions.
Also, I don't believe that arresting one man will lead to the end of the LRA. It is important to get the roots of the problem because if the situation (and conditions) that allowed a person like Joseph Konyi to exist for so long and commit those crimes and still thrive and get away with it are still the same, then I fear that 2 years from now, even if Konyi is killed, this evil will just continue on with a new leader. It is more important to kill the idea than kill the person. But still, arresting one person might not be the solution, but it's a step. With the awareness this video created, more people are interested in doing research find out who this Joseph Kony man is and actually understand the LRA and their actions and awareness and understanding of the problem and the entire situation are one of the first steps towards finding a solution
Also, a part of me is tempted to be uncomfomfortable with this because of the whole notion of the west coming to Africa's aid again. But like Okonjo Iweala said in her TED talk "let's have a depper discussion on aid," when it is you or your loved one involved, you don't care whether it is aid, you don't care what it is. So if you put yourself in the shoes of those young children in Northern Uganda who are living in constant fear of being abducted, it doesn't matter where assistance is coming from or what the philosophy of this assistance might mean. They just want to be safe.
It is improtant to remember what Chimamanda Adichie calls "The Danger of the Single Story," I hope that the popularity of this video will not lead to the misconception that this is what Uganda is all about.
I hope that this doesn't just end up as a fad. As the Facebook profile pictures and cover photos eventually change from the "KONY 2012." posters, I hope that the spirit of social activism that this video created, remains in our hearts
~ghonsie
Saturday, February 4
I finally bought my Chimamanda Adichie book collection!!!
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| When it was all wrapped up |
I remember the first time I met her in Abuja at a national competition, I cried (yes it was that serious lol). I have met her once again since then and at both times, I didn't have any of her books with me for her to sign because I didn't own a personal copy :(.
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| Ah! This is my definition of happiness lol |
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| I just took it out of the wrap |
As you can tell from all the exclamation marks I am really excited! lol.
Now I feel like a true fan.! :)
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