Some days are just gloomy. You know you really have no right to be sad but you just are. You know you should be grateful for the amazing life you have but somewhere inside you, you know it could still be better than it was. I wish for alot of things right now, but wishes aren't horses. The only way to fly is to buy me a set of wings..(or a G6.lol) Regardless, I'll never stop being hopeful. God's plans for me give me a future and a hope. That's after all why this blog is called sugary sea...the bright optimistic side of life.
If you ever feel down and out, be encouraged. There's always a light at the end of the tunnel as far as we hope in God. I do have to add though, that there may be light at the end of the tunnel but you will only get there by walking towards it. Fait + works peoples!
I’ve been thinking that nowadays we know too much, we see too much, we hear too much. Information overload! In school, on the news, in church, on the tube, bill boards and magazines ...like everywhere you look but the thing is the more we know the less we do. We’re so used to news of disasters around the world that we are barely moved by the latest ads pleading with us to donate. It’s really sad and I hope that even if I can’t change the world, I can somehow start to contribute more to its development.
Sometimes I wish I was born in idyllic simple village times. People were much more content with what they had and way more involved in their community. I mean I’m grateful for technology and modernisation but it still has its down sides.
Enough moaning. I thought it would be a good idea to introduce a “Thankful Thursday” :). It’s so easy to focus on all the things that are not going right. So today I’m grateful to God for good food! Lol. Yes, I love my food. But lately, I have been eating well, you know veggies and fruits and my wonderful oat clusters. And the other day I made an apple pie. I never ever thought I would enjoy making food but now I do and I just have a greater appreciation for food. So ,yay, Thank God.
And here are two super cool food blogs that have been feeding my food love:
Fit foodie finds : She’s a healthy college kid that makes the yummiest assortment of breakfast oats. Lots of experimental ideas for healthy eating...Note: not for the faint hearted.
Modern African Cuisine From efo riro to chin-chin to rice and Plantain...this blog leaves me salivating with all the pictures!! Almost any type of Nigerian food you can think of is on here, I can’t wait to start trying my hands on some of those dishes. ( Future husband be thankful!)
Lastly, I came across This version of Wheatus's Teenage Dirtbag and I love it! Can't stop singing it. Enjoy :)
This is such a strange word. It one of those words like menstruation and breasts that are so uncomfortably and clinically feminine. Words that scream you are a WOMAN! I haven’t always been a fan of describing myself as a woman. I mean when I visualise myself in the future, what I see is a woman but in the present...nope. I know I ‘m still young, but this may be a feeling that I carry along with me as I grow older. I prefer the daintier version ‘lady’... or anything like that. Woman is almost a call to fill the shoes of all the ‘women’ before you...women like my mother, my principal in secondary school, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first female African president and all the motherly, womanly, strong women out there. It’s a call to play your role in the fabric of society. The point of this whole preamble is about the essence of womanhood. What is the essence of womanhood that is so indefinable and almost intimidating? Are we simply the child bearers and home makers, meaningless without being placed in a family as wife and mother? Today’s modern feminists reject this idea. We are more than that they say, we are also breadwinners and presidents and CEO’s and activists ...we are powerful and equal to men.
Are we meant to be powerful and equal to men? Aren’t we the supposed “weaker sex”? Don’t shoot me yet, I consider myself to be a feminist. Not a bra-burning feminist but the type who wants to see men and women given the same opportunities and the same rewards without discriminating on the basis of gender, the type who is against the exploitation of womens’ strengths and weaknesses to promote stupid agendas. As I have grown older my view on the roles of women have taken a beating. At first I thought we were strong and oh- so-powerful, and then I thought we were hopelessly weak...and now? I’m realising that we are strong in our seemingly weak states. Are you confused yet? Lol.
I am reading this book called Woman: An asset to the nation by Nike Adeyemi, Sam Adeyemi’s wife. Some of the things she says leave me rather err...x_x but the more I read this book, the more I see the shape of a woman utterly different from the one I had envisioned all my life. A different brand of feminism than the one the world tries to sell today.
She is strong yet gentle, wise yet humble, productive but not wasteful, beautiful but not vain...she is a complex walking paradox. She is very much a Proverbs 31 woman...a woman I have always been very suspicious about (Like really?! Is she superwoman? And ...you want me to be like that?...err no thanks! she’s rather too ‘womanly for me) BUT, the more I read about her, the more I realise that I need to be like her to be anything like the woman I imagine to be in future. When God created the world, he gave Eve to Adam, and to the world, so that everything would be good. We are the finishing touch. Without a woman playing a role in the way that she ought to the world would not be good. And the state of today’s world speaks for itself. I got taught something like this in class yesterday...some guy (of course it would be a guy*rolls eyes*) thinks so too.
I have ALWAYS supported the “what a man can do, a woman can do better” movement. BUT the more I learn, I realise it really should be “What a man can do, a woman can do differently”. I am still learning this but men aren’t our competition, they are our partners. Hard to imagine partnering with some big headed chauvinist lazy pig though! I feel women/girls/ladies need to be educated on what being a woman entails. There are very few role models nowadays. Us girls need to stop being lazy and “unwise”. And I think guys need lessons too! Most of them have warped ideals of women...they want Naomi Campbell in the kitchen (^ _-) lol. God bless all the guys out there that recognise the true value of women!
Another question for another day, is can we have it all? Be super career women and super mummies and wives? Do we need to be all of these things to justify our womanhood?
Why are there so many amazing kids nowadays?? Like seriously? What are they feeding off? They’re all like super confident and intelligent. When I was younger I was a just a shy cute mummy’s girl..x_X. Anyhoos, so here’s a little rundown of some super cool kids.
1. I came across this video of Birke Baeher on TED.com He is an 11 year old aspiring organic farmer(now that's what you all ambition) and he gave a great talk on Ted.com about the dangers of our current food system. Super smart and conscious kid!
2. Next up ...Miss whip your hair herself...10 year old,Willow Smith. I love this child! She’s super cool and has the self assurance of a 25 year old. Some people worry that stardom will take a toll on her and she would end up being a ‘Britney’ But I DIASGREE. She just seems very solid. Her brother is just 13 too and he acts and raps as well...Will and Jada are lucky parents!..or maybe pushy parents...who knows
Cool Kids!
3.Another youtube find...this 7 year old rapper "p-nut" is the cutest rapper alive! He's got swag, drives a cadillac, raps about his 3rd grade rush...whats not to love!! lol
Lastly, this is the cutesssssttt child singing Justin Bieber's 'Baby'
The other day, I saw a video of this American girl speaking Yoruba on facebook. It was just a tour of her walk to school and she spoke a mixture of English and simple Yoruba like “ekaro o” (Good morning) and was able to hold a simple convo with a group of hostel boys about what she had for breakfast. I was amused so I went to her you tube page, watched a couple of other videos and found a link to her blog http://www.northoflagos.com/.
I was more than amused, impressed, blown away! Like, here is a typical American girl, who was learning Yoruba at the University of Wisconsin and went the extra mile to take a year out to the University of Ibadan to consolidate her learning. First question I asked was how in the hell did she get the idea to study Yoruba? A language that is dying out even within its own tribe, a language that a huge chunk of its young generation scorns, preferring to speak variations of “American” and “British” English. *note emphasis on VARIATIONS of American and British English...lol This girl left her comfortable American uni to live with host parents in Ibadan because she saw a beauty in the language and culture of a people and appreciated the uniqueness and richness of the culture.
So, if someone all the way from America can go all the way to learn our language and appreciate our culture...why can’t we???! It’s really so sad to see young people who are so willing to shrug off their Nigerian heritage, language and culture to be more westernised. Yes, I blame globalization but then I blame us more. I grew up speaking English at home and listening to Yoruba being spoken by my family. I loved the language but in a way I felt almost cut off from it because I didn’t speak it. Fast forward to school days, and then I realised most people didn’t want to be associated with the language anyway. They noted it’s presence around us but then we were not really immersed in it, our Englishness made us aloof to it. And so it became cool NOT to speak Yoruba. If you spoke it too much you were razz and local. That was the beginning of the death of our culture.
Now, I worry that if I can’t even speak Yoruba fluently and frequently, my children would grow up speaking and listening to English and then they would lose any awareness of being Yoruba at all! I really cannot bear to imagine this and as a result, I have been driven to speak Yoruba more often and just appreciate our culture more. I think this is more a problem with the young Yoruba’s than say the young Ibo’s or Hausa’s who are distinctly more Ibo and Hausa in their identity. Young Yoruba’s have embraced westernisation in exchange for their language. *can you say slave trade all over again*
I am not saying ALL young people are like this but compared with the older generations the proportion of non-native speaking Nigerians is MUCH more. I am not saying we shouldn’t be westernised. God knows we are too educated and exposed not to be but what I’m saying is that there should be a more symbiotic relationship between both. Speak English and Yoruba. Eat burgers and pounded yam (I am sure this is much easier for all of us). Wear your Brazilian hair and still be able to tie a gele, and on and on. Being African/Nigerian/Ibo isn’t synonymous with being fresh or bush or razz. You can speak excellent English and still be able to speak your native language. This is not about making it ok to speak bad English, or dress shabbily or anything like that. If you can speak your native language and cannot speak English without gbagauning in this day and age, you oughtta be ashamed!
But PLEASE can we just appreciate what we see around us more and not be afraid to be truly Nigerian, while remaining citizens of the world. Keep our culture alive!
Rather late but happy new month guys! We are Marching forward...lol.*forgive*
So on the sidebar, there's a list of my current favourite things. I say current, because I cannot guarantee the length of my love relationships with these things. I can be very fickle sometimes but while the love affair lasts, I shall try to show you why I love them so!
I’m going to start from the bottom of the list...not for any particular reason but it’s the most recent relevant occurrence on my mind.
Zara Okpara: So the other day my cousin/aunty (she’s everything all rolled in one...Lol) and I found out we had the same style crush after she saw my little list in the sidebar. Normally I don’t really like sharing my favourite things (selfish, I know) but some things are too good not to share. After seeing her face among a sea of others in various magazines and blogs, her face quickly became familiar because she was always looking on point. In today’s scene where everyone is trying to be over sexy and trendy and cool...everything at the same time! She comes as a blast of fresh air with her subtle sexiness and understated chic.
Here, she looks feminine, sexy and kinda edgy with the low back of the dress and the shoes. The JBL dress is a number and she keeps it simple with no accessories, killer shoes and flowing locks. I woulda ditched the purse though but she still looks great.
Again she keeps it fresh. Bright red lippy, loose shirt and keeps the focus on the print pleated skirt while the red bag adds a bit of pop. She complements her figure with the loose fitting pieces and gives off this I-don’t-try-too-hard-but-still-nail-it look.
And my favourite:
I LOOOVEEEE this neon green Bridget Awosika skirt! Like when I saw it I wanted to die...not literally but gosh excitement! (neon green is one of my favs right now too,partly cuz of Bridget Awosika’s look book) I don’t really know where to start from here. I love the colour palette of black, neon and purple and the chunky necklace; everything just works together so well! 10/10 This look is currently one of the nominees for the best dressed for Jan/Feb on Bella Naija. I have obviously voted for this look but unfortunately the ultra fabulous and famous Genevieve appears to be trumping the cards. Oh well, there are plenty more months in the year.
So, from all my gushing, I guess you could say I love Zara's style in general , these are just a few pics I found loitering the internet. But in almost everything I've seen her in she looks good and not only that she wears the type of things I want to wear. Most people have people they look up to for style inspiration although they’re usually distant American stars, however in a bid to support our own, I’ve found one closer to home. Good thing it’s kinda part of her job to stay stylish as she works as a PR manager for the fashion house, Jewel by Lisa, So there’s no fear of a downward trend anytime soon. Keep ‘em coming girl!
Do you have any (African or otherwise) style crushes? Do share!
