Here I am, curled up in the corner alone, having entered the new year. When I looked around me in church after praying and dancing in worship, people were hugging each other, shouting “congratulations!”. There seemed to be a collective persuasion that 2019 was going to be a good year. The weeks leading into this […]
catch up
Newness
I saw him again. Nothing had changed. He still wore his blue jeans and tucked in his t-shirt. He still wore his black belt and white sneakers. His still wore his sunglasses and baseball hat. This was the same outfit he wore the first time I saw him. He still took small, hurried steps; arms […]
On Growing Up Quickly
I’m sitting on the floor of my apartment. Barefoot, watching the sun go down. This evening, the sky is a glorious medley of gold and blue and purple. I have India Arie’s I am Light playing. Her words are powerful yet quiet. They are utterly deserving of repetition until they become my belief. They are my […]
Spring Break in Santa Barbara, Honduras
*muchachas – the young women who live at the Jardin The was so much about Honduras that reminded me of Nigeria; the warmth of the people and the country, the openness to strangers, the textured walls, the craziness of the drivers, the ambition of traders in traffic, the lush vegetation, the marvellous mountains, the cool […]
A Tale of Cancelled Flights, Frustrated Hope, and Other Related Shenanigans
Part 1 I was away visiting my family in Georgia over the Christmas break and it was such a joy to leave my studies and other responsibilities behind. I took the bus to Halifax and then went on from there. The trip was perfect, save for the flight from Toronto to Atlanta. The connection from […]
Open Letter to My Father
Dear Daddy, My first day at school took you by complete surprise. I am told that while you dropped Nna off at school, I wandered into a class, sat, and refused to leave. You didn’t force me to come home with you and simply returned at the close of day. You have always known this […]
Left Behind
On that sunny Friday in July, we gathered on our football field decked in white and blue. The girls wore headgears (gèlé) and the boys donned caps (fìlà). We had come to the end of the road in our secondary education. This was probably the last time ninety-seven of us would be together in one place. […]
Gloom in Spring
I’ve been feeling out of sorts lately. I can’t place my finger on it but it feels like my soul has withdrawn from me. I don’t quite know what that means but it is very quiet down there. Spring is in full bloom. The sun is out, the flowers are awake, and the trees sashay […]
Stretch Marks, Cellulite, and Self-Confidence
It is a rainy Saturday morning in May. I get up, the lessons of the past day, fresh and resounding in my mind. I scrub my bathtub and sink, thinking and thanking my Creator for another chance at life. I offer my words and my life as a sacrifice and hope they please him. I […]
