A tale of death and the hope of a new beginning
“How did I get here?”
My breath’s cold— and the air, chilling. Above me, the stars light up the sky. It’s a beautiful night like any other. But in front of me stands the Mediterranean.
“How did I get here?” I said to myself. My legs shiver — buried in wet sands as the water fiercely beats against them. It was almost like the waves dared me to take another step. Fear gripped me. Standing here, on the edge of the Mediterranean in Ganapoli, Libya, I questioned my very existence and my reason for embarking on this journey.
Not far…
My biggest lesson from rafting to Europe six years ago
“All I need is just to get there — everything will be fine.”
This is the thinking of millions of Africans, as we dream of life, in Europe.
Six years ago I caved in, to life. Up to that point, I’ve been brutally whooped – broken with nothing to live for. In the span of ten years, I’ve lost my father, dropped out of school, lost a brother, and lost a six years relationship. Finally, I lost myself and sank into a deep depression for the whole of 2014 up till early 2015.
“No one cares but you”
Who would you be if no one was watching?
I work at a very cool restaurant that rubs shoulders with the ancient Cathedrale di San Lorenzo in Centro Storico, Trapani, Sicily. The Corso, Vittorio Emanuel is busied every day with tourists as well as locals walking back and forth. At the end of this vintage street, stands Il Palazzo — an antique building with an old gigantic analogue clock that rings its bell every hour.
It just clocked 1 pm, and as usual, the bells were ringing loud, when a man completely absorbed and dancing to music from his headphone…
It’s been six years. Here are the lessons I plan to always carry with me.
“What are you saying?” My mom shouted. “You’ve rejected the idea for years!”
I could barely look my mom in the eye. I was tired. Tired of everything. I’d lost my father. I’d lost my brother. My career wasn’t going anywhere. It’s a scary feeling. Knowing that nothing’s working. Knowing full well you’re wasting your life.
“I’m done,” I said softly with my best friend Eddie standing next to me. “Eddie and I are leaving.”
My mom, who’s never short on words, saw the look on my face and decided not to fight. She knew I couldn’t be persuaded.
This…
1. ”No matter how hot your anger gets, it cannot cook a yam.”
I was chatting with a friend Michael Thompson and he mentioned how much he likes the African expressions I sprinkle into our conversations. To be honest, I’ve never really thought about it since I’m from Africa and what I say is what a lot of my people say. But it gave me the idea to put a collection of my favorite sayings in one place.
As Nigerians, we speak a lot of street slang, encoded with deep wisdom. Stuff about life and the hustle and bustle that comes with it. Like in a lot of places, especially in Nigeria, people…
Good friends are rare but ain’t hard to find
“No man is an island.” This means we all need others around. We need friends and family who can be there for us.
People with solid character and good intentions make life easier. Whether they’re family members, friends, or coworkers.
Therefore, it’s great to know how to spot a cool person. It’ll help you to pluck out the bad fruits and keep only the good ones. And to know who’s a plus and who’s a minus — who adds to your life, and who subtracts from it.
Below are five traits that show someone is a solid person.
They don’t waste your time
Someone with…
Success in writing is about providing exactly what readers want to read
Do you struggle to come up with solid blog ideas that can increase your readership and earnings? Then you’re in the right place.
If you want to survive financially through your writing, then you must not only write, you must write what people want to read.
Below are a few blog ideas that will help you start getting more eyeballs on your content. And hopefully, the money starts rolling in sooner rather than later. Because wherever the eyeball is, the money goes.
Love & Relationship
Whenever I’m scrolling through the internet, and I see an article titled; ‘How to know if she’s the…
A peaceful relationship isn’t built on love but on character
‘What do you think makes a relationship successful; love or character?’
There are many reasons why relationships and marriages end. After my own relationship almost came to an end a couple of days ago, it took me down a path of self-reflection. I’m curious, more than ever, as to why relationships fail?
Why do couples who seemed happy at the beginning of a relationship end up resenting themselves? To the point where they can’t stand each other anymore.
With many failed relationships from my past, here are a few results from the autopsy which could explain the cause of death…
Hitting 30 ain’t all that bad after all
Two years ago, I hang out with some lovely young ladies, alongside my friend. When one of the girls, after asking my age and I told it to her, said to me, “Oh, you’re old.”
I didn’t know aging was gross until that moment.
Young people have the dubious notion that aging isn’t for everyone. And it’s something they happily frown on. However, aging, done right, comes with its own pecks.
Besides the often ‘you’re old’ remark and the awkwardness that comes along with it, growing up or hitting the thirty mark is beautiful. …
They’d say; sometimes, you don’t reap at all
Some years ago, I sat in an examination hall and gave everything I got. An examination that would gain me admission into a university of my choosing. When I left the exam hall, I was certain I’d done my best and I could ace my papers.
Two weeks passed, all I got were crickets. My friends got news of their results one after the other.
Two more weeks passed, yet, nothing. Almost all of my friends, at this point, had seen their results except me. …
