While I Was Away...

I'm back! Its been a while...

I was originally meant to post as soon as I got back from Nigeria, but that obviously didn't happen. Instead I've just been trying to get myself ready for university again.

I'll keep this post brief, but Nigeria was quite the experience! The food was amazing (as expected), the sun definitely wanted to kill me on certain days and I saw a traffic light! However Nigerians being Nigerians, they didn't exactly pay attention to it and drove past it anyway. The country has definitely changed drastically from the time years ago. There was WIFI this time! I felt like someone had given me a very early Christmas present. It basically meant that I felt like I hadn't left London.

The power of WIFI also meant that I could watch a few Nigerian shows/ mini series. Here are a few that I feel you should check out:

Skinny Girl In Transit 

This show is the bomb! (Yeah I threw in old slang and what?) Anyway, meet Tiwa she's what we'd call the classic oversized girl who is looking for love. However the thing that I love about this show is how the Afican culture has been incorporated into the show. For me personally the mum makes the entire show! Her witty Yoruba comments will have you in tears (it's subtitled don't worry). The sister is an absolute enemy of progress and to be fair you could easily snap her in half.

What I also appreciate about this show is that aside from following Tiwa's journey to love, it highlights real problems in Nigeria. *spoiler alert* in the most recent episode, it addresses the fact that in Africa, a woman's size and skin tone can affect her job prospects. The skin tone thing is arguably a worldwide thing, but that's for another day....

New episodes are released every Thursday at noon on YouTube   (there's been 8 so far so catch up!) so if you want something short and entertaining to watch then definitely add this to your list.

One Chance  

Honestly I'm not sure about this one. This show might be harder for me to adjust to because I don't live in Nigeria an so I don't really get it. It's basically about three friends getting on a bus that ends up being some sort of trap that and they are held hostage and told to keep quiet and do as their told. Like I said I don't necessarily get it. The first few episodes are great! Your're kept on edge, but after a while it just sounds like constant screaming with no story development or character development. I only watched up to chapter 4 or 5 and got tired of the screaming as the story seemed to have no actual progression. 

What I would say is that the theme tune (if we call it that) is amazing. Whoever the artist is, is amazing and who ever constructed the animation did a great job. Character development is definitely essential here though, see comments like "the woman in the headtie' raised a few brows for me. We know no one's name at all! 

However to make a series out of on experience that a sure more than a few Nigerians have experienced is definitely a good thing. Hopefully this means the government might take notice. 

MTV Shuga 

IT'S BACK! Yasssssss Shuga is back! Do I even need to explain my excitement. Well if you haven't watched Season 3 please go and do that. Tobi, Femi, Princess and Sophie are back with a few new people too! We are only two episodes into the new season, but it seems like we are focus on the on aftermath of everything that has happened including Princess getting pregnant! This show is just amazing, from Dorcas's (Sophie) acting (yes I'm biased, but she's great) to the camera work. It's basically a show about HIV and how to stay safe as well as how to cope with having HIV. Femi's story is definitely something I'm looking to watching develop as well as what happens to Princess and her baby. Go and watch it! 

NdaniRealTalk 

I deliberately left this till last. Not to talk about the show itself, but more the topic at hand this week. In short NdaniRealTalk is a show that just discusses a chosen a topic of the week with a few famous people. Not much to it, although the views can make you think a lot. Which brings me to the topic at hand this week. The pressure of proposals. 

I think it was the scenario that was given at hand that had me in confusion at first. So you have been with someone for ten years and they haven't proposed. My brain actually started spinning a little. Ten years and no ring?????!! what's going on here?? I get you want to know someone, but after ten years you're still not sure? Ladies I'm pretty sure I'm sure that not wrong in saying you might be more than a little confused and have many late nights thinking what's taking this guy so long?

It also highlighted key things like how women sometimes think they can change a man so stay put as well as the Nigerian mentality of 'what other men are out there'. It was definitely an interesting discussion and worth the watch.  

First Performance Ever!

Hey guys! Sooo on Wednesday (25th March) I performed one of my poems live for the first time! Can you believe it? It was for an event called Voice of Praise that was happening at uni. The interesting thing is that I wasn't originally meant to perform at the event, in fact I didn't even know it was happening. My friend called me a week or so prior to the event and asked if I would do some poetry for the event. Me thinking it was a thing where they wanted to see my poem and I wouldn't have to do anything was like yeahh no problem. Then she went on to say that I would have to perform it and I won't lie, I immediately started to feel sick. So many thoughts ran through my head the major one being I'm gonna have to perform...like in front of people type of performance. I instantly started calling everyone panicking!

I eventually calmed down and went on to decide what poem I wanted to perform. I settled on I'm Just Sayin. A number of reasons made me choose it to be fair. It's a very emotional poem that was written at 3am when I was feeling very down and frustrated with life. Also the poem was short and quite straightforward to remember which was a bonus! Below are clips from my performance (I know their short!) hopefully I should have a full video soon!

Oh yeah before I forget! one of my goals this year was to perform my poetry! So big tick!! On to bigger and better performances!

I'm just Sayin

You see many a time I get told I can't do many things that because of the obvious thing I shouldn't really do many things you shouldn't explore that thing because it could be dangerous or don't try that you have to think of the consequences but maybe just once I refuse to think because I spend so much time in thought that I practically live in it,   so much time in thought that it feels as though I'm in a cage in my own self it's suffocating me

It angers me so much that you feel you can dictate to me what I can do might I remind you this is my life you are most definitely not wearing the shoes. I have a physical difficientcy I never disputed that not once did I argue on that but life is all about risks, risks I am willing to take

I'm just saying!
For goodness sake!
I've lived this for many years plenty more to come this ain't really a game anymore there's really nowhere else for me to run

Can I even run? let alone walk to even go anywhere? if I've dealt with this like it's a single fragment of hair that fell out of place, slight exaggeration, agreed but sometimes I have to force myself to feel like I don't care because if I don't it's what if this goes wrong what if that happens!

Its got to a dangerous point really a point so bad I felt the need to ask what does it feel like  to walk.  The question seems simple enough but I felt bad  for making them feel bad when really and truly they should feel bad for taking something so small for granted because you don't  really understand the severity of the question till you are asked so I'm asking you

What does it feel like to walk? To put one foot before another to feel the pavement beneath the soles of your shoes to have full power over the balance of your body to look in the mirror and see your full height to even know your height

What does it feel like to be you? I get that question a lot too it's not that much of a shock. Smart mouth me says it's fab to be me  I wouldn't change it for the world but the me that's buried under this lack of self confidence the me of confusion the me of desperation the me of frustration doesn't really know because at times I feel like this third entity who could burst out as a ray of sunshine then I notice it's a part of me but is it me?

I ask this because I envision my first date, standing, my wedding day standing, meeting my in laws, standing. Standing seems like the next best thing, but given being glued to a chair the whole time who wouldn't think that

So I am no longer saying in fact I'm now telling you I may make it seem like a bed of roses the same way I regard walking when I see you, but know I got this. I got this. not you so even though I'm technically wheeling through it trust that I don't know what I'm doing but I'm having fun investigating the stunts I can  pull these shoes are far too big for you God put me here  and all  I want you to do is watch me pull through

Wedding Flow

I don't ever blog about my outfits and stuff but it was my cousins engagement yesterday! Basically I was mad exited and let me tell you, the tun up was real! It was my first time actually getting dolled up for someone's party that I wasn't just invited to do spectator! I was feeling myself last night if you can't tell and it was the first time I wore gele so I felt like a really African Babes! 

I look buff init?? 

H'anyways it was just a quick one 

I'm out!  

Inspired #YouthSummit14

So earlier this month I went to The Youth Media Agency's Youth Summit at the BFI. Having never been to one of these I was excited, but I also wasn't sure what to expect so with an open mind, jacked up phone and big up wheelchair I began my trek to the BFI. 

The whole point of the summit was to give an insight of how to get into the media industry so there was speeches from SBTV, Reprezent Radio, Fully Focused, Vice (whom I've now become obsessed with) among other organisations. It was also good to see what organisations like the BBC and Channel 4 are doing in order to help youth get into the industry. Overall it was a good day and I have to say by the end I was full of knowledge, a new career path in mind and knackard (being up from 7am just ain't the one for me). 

Towards the end of the summit, one particular thought was running through my head. What if we had something like this running in Africa? I won't lie the idea was kicking through me for most of the afternoon, but there was so many people around and to be honest I was just too shy and thought they would say something like Aww, that's such a cute idea and in their heads it's just like This girl is mad, no just no when I'm sitting there dead serious like Nah, on a level..I wanna do this, it could be a mad success as well as helping many. Let's do this!

Now in the comfort of my home behind my computer screen safe from rejection I propose the following idea to anyone willing to help! 

Youth Summit Africa 

So as we know, Africa is a huge continent, but with a country that still can't bring back it's girls, Ebola and civil wars, it's safe to say Africa hasn't got the best representation. What better way to counter this representation  than through the youth? And something like the Youth Summit could help this along.

Let's face it the government in Africa don't really care much about the youth so long as money enters their pockets, they can send their kids to school in the UK or America, drive the biggest cars and build the biggest houses not much matters. The divide is so huge that we are effectively oppressing ourselves to the point that if we don't have the best things you are irrelevant. 

To be fair the Afrobeats scene has exploded so much that people are starting to embrace where they come from a lot more. However this isn't enough for me. Not everyone can sing and to be fair some artists in the industry right now can't sing, but like I said having money goes a long way in these things. However not everyone has money, but this doesn't mean that they haven’t got the talent or drive in order to learn. 

So what if we actually take the knowledge to them? Teach them, help them, educate them. Not every kid is made for school and is set on becoming a nurse, doctor or lawyer. So we reach out to the youth and give them the opportunity to learn how to use a computer, camera as well as teaching to  read and write so they can become the next director, scriptwriter, blogger, vlogger or presenter? 

I know it's a big idea coming from a teenager, but it could benefit so many and change the face of Africa as well as giving kids new found hope. I for one am tired of watching kids suffer at the hands of greed and selfishness.

 Aren't you?

So how was your Christmas?

So Christmas has come and gone and to be honest I don't think I was really in the spirit this year. The only thing that really got me was the food! Now I dunno bout you but I ate loads and it wasn't your traditional turkey, Yorkshire Pudding, spouts and all that. In fact we had the opposite. It was jollof, mac n cheese, fish cakes, spring rolls and other things all curtsy of YinxTasty    

Now another thing with being African is that we run behind time quite often so while everyone was having "Christmas Dinner" at like 2 or 3 pm my "dinner" didn't arrive till about 8 so it was like an angry mob when the table finally got set, but still enjoyed myself and had Afrobeats playing the whole time!

Here's one of my favourite right now:

From my baby Wizzy - Eledumare (like saying "I pray to God" but Eledumare basically means God if that makes sense) 

So anyone else have an African Christmas?? I'm not forgetting my Oyinbo's too how was your Christmas?