On Gratitude, Confronting Fear, and Toxic Traits

It is said that gratitude is one of the cures to the ills of life. In reality, we would prefer to be around thankful people than those who are grumpy all the time. When you take out time to look inward, you’ll find that irrespective of the situation you are in, there’s still a lot to be thankful about. Gratitude, then, ought to be the running theme in our lives.

For me, the year began with a surgical operation that almost took my life. Before going in, I ensured that I put my house in order and gave my husband instructions on what to do with my possessions. …

The One with Enyeribe Ibegwam — On Brotherhood and Literature

I first met Enyeribe in 2009 while we were undertaking a compulsory paramilitary training called the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Jigawa State, located in northern Nigeria. We became fast friends and managed to keep in touch since then, albeit sporadically.

Enyeribe Ibegwam was brought up in Lagos, Nigeria but now resides in the US. A writer, he has been awarded a PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize and was a finalist for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. He has received grants from the Vermont Studio Center and The Elizabeth George Foundation. His stories have appeared or are forthcoming in PEN America Best Debut Stories 2019, Prairie Schooner, The Southampton Review, and The Georgia Review. …

When they are NOT useful

“Don’t mix business with pleasure” is a prevalent phrase we hear a lot in movies. Still, in my own experience, it is “don’t mix business with emotions.” Often it is not as easy as it sounds; the lines become blurry, and being objective is difficult.

Not so long ago, I found myself in such a position where I needed to cast emotions aside to make an important decision. I shared my ordeal with my homegirl, Bimpe Shode, who has now been on the show three times! …

A Story about Leadership, Biracial Identity, and Mental Health

The first Burmese I met was my dear friend Nathan; we met in Boston in 2014 as summer interns at a biotech firm. When I shared his story two years ago, and we discussed, amongst other things, the similarities between our countries. Well, I have again met another Burmese whose inspirational story I will be sharing today.

Meet Han Seth Lu!

Han Seth Lu is a senior at the University of Central Oklahoma, studying Early Childhood Education with a minor in Leadership. Not too long ago, he ended his tenure as president of the University of Central Oklahoma International Student Council, UCO Global Leadership Ambassador, and was also Mister UCO International 2019. …

Inspired by my podcast episode with Aarushi Gupta — a 13-year-old podcaster and aspiring behavioral economist from Gurugam, North India

The year is 1999; I am a 13-year-old JSS 3 student of Federal Government Girls’ College, Oyo. A year later, I will have my very first crush but wouldn’t have known this then. Sometime in May, my country will make a seismic shift from the autocratic, military regimen to a less covert kind that will be laden with corruption. The sky is large, and the grasses are always green, it is the year before Y2K, plantain is my favorite food, and my life is simple.

I am an avid lover of country music and R&B, listening to the greats such as Don Williams, Dolly Parton, Westlife, and Celine Dion. Children of the World and Tales by Moonlight by Aunty Nkem are my favorite TV shows, stories from books by Enid Blyton, Heartsongs, and James Hadley Chase are the subject of my thoughts and imaginations. I will get on buses to make my way to the public libraries and bookshops in Onipanu and Yaba to borrow books, study, and buy music tapes. …

A Podcast Feature

Growing up as a child, my first introduction to Rwanda was through the movie “Sometimes in April.” After that, I pored over an encyclopedia and newspaper clippings trying to gather all the information available, but it just wasn’t enough.

I recently had the opportunity to chat with a Rwandan-Canadian on the podcast. We had a lovely conversation about her home country, of the ongoing inclusivity and economic growth (shoutout to President Paul Kagame), if she would consider moving back home, her identity, being a third culture kid (TCK) amongst others. She is Michaella Mutoni, a Burundi-born Rwandan who has lived in Germany, Senegal, and the US and is currently based in Canada. …

Podcast Highlight — Forgotten: Women of Juárez, by Oz Woloshyn and Mónica Ortiz Uribe

Please permit me to interrupt your train of consciousness this evening to create awareness about a longstanding and an ongoing issue in Juárez, Mexico. For three years, my husband and I maintained a residence in Las Cruces, New Mexico, a US city that shares its borders with El-Paso, Texas, and Juárez, Mexico. We have been to Juárez several times and even took our families and friends there last year for dessert on a Sunday to celebrate his residency graduation. I wrote about my initial visit here.

Recently, I learned about a crime wave that’s been ongoing in Juárez since the 1990s. Now, Juárez has been (and still remains) plagued with drug wars from feuding cartels. But this other crime is different. It targets women directly. It’s been linked to the cartel, but the culprits are not just the cartel. Since 1993, hundreds of thousands of women have been raped, tortured, and murdered. Often found in shallow graves in the city and some, whose bodies are yet to be recovered by their families. Most of these women fit into a profile — those of low socioeconomic status who moved from the countryside to the city to better their lives. …

For when Mother’s Day becomes too much of a trigger

My heart is a bit heavy today. But I think I will be fine. I am especially laden with self-doubt, guilt, and a reminder of things I lost. Exactly six years ago, we lost our babies, and despite not wanting to recall this date consciously, the devil did its thing. Plus, it probably didn’t help that it’s coinciding with Mother’s Day.

Being in your 30s childless/child-free is so weird, confusing, “freeing,” and frustrating. My bipolar ovaries keep constantly vacillating between “maybe, having my biological kids will never be a thing. …