WRITING: The Motto

Hello there! I'm trying to be a little enthusiastic here. It's two-thirty in the morning and I'm up on my laptop. Man, I just felt like I had to write something. Actually, I've been thinking about this post for about a week now but I just didn't know how to put it together. Before I go any further, this isn't about Drake's song The Motto.

"Aspire to inspire than to be inspired"..... Brilliant quote, isn't it? I don't know what it is but I always feel like I have this bigger picture. It's crazy. I mean, I've felt this way for quite a  while now and the feeling just won't go away. 

Whatever it is that I may do, I just hope it will be phenomenal. I always say I'm going to be quoted and I'll make sure it happens. That's just one of the many things I'd like to happen. Trust me, I do have some mighty big dreams. In all seriousness, where would we be without dreams?

 "Those who dreamed, achieved,"  yet another brilliant quote. I don't know who said that but growing up it was printed on exercise books we'd use in school. Thinking back, I guess it was low key encouragement to hold on to your dreams. 

Just think about, everybody's who's made a name for themselves. It definitely did not happen overnight. I wouldn't say I'm the best at giving a pep talk but just remember the motto- "Aspire to inspire than to be inspired."

"Don't give up. There are too many nay-sayers out there who will try to discourage you. Don't listen to them. The only one who can make you give up is yourself."

Sidney Sheldon

WRITING: Crooked Smile

PERFECTLY IMPERFECT?

"Say cheese!"

"Hey! Let's take a picture?"

"Poniso, join our picture."

"Let's have family pictures taken."

Four phrases heard almost every day. Funny enough, many aren't filled with dread upon hearing these words. For people like myself, the utterance of these phrases brings about an uneasiness. Let's go back to 2004 to when my story begins.

A fifth grader with a mouth full of one too many baby teeth. My story begins with a "lump" growing right above my upper-left canine. Not too long after, the same happens on the right side of my mouth. That, my friends, was the start of my photo phobia.

Fast forward a few years later, my teeth are now fully developed and I have two misplaced canines and two misaligned incisors. Talk about a blow to my self esteem. Sometime in 2012, I got my first set of braces. I had those on for about three months. Basically, they were more or less like retainers in the sense that they weren't permanent and had to be removed when eating and brushing. Nevertheless, I was delighted with the development- I was one step closer to "fixing" myself. Shortly, I went to get another pair which I had on for about six to nine months. Again, I didn't mind having to wear them because my journey to perfect teeth had just begun.

My nightmare begun after having snapped one of wires in my braces. My visit to the orthodontist revealed to me that my journey to dental perfection had just begun. Turns out I needed yet another set seeing as the ones I had on already had done their job and were no longer needed. After a consultation, I came back to have my braces taken out a few days later. There I was, back to square one. Would my nightmare end?

Of late I have taken the more positive approach. Hard as it may be, I try to look passed my flaws. Trust me, it easy to look at yourself in the mirror and see something that you so  badly want to fix but can't seem to at the moment. But hey, let's just call it my trademark ;) I think the bigger picture here is first me embracing myself. I think only then will I find satisfaction.

"You keep falling victim cause you're insecure.And when I tell you that you're beautiful you can't be sure"

*Crooked Smile- J. Cole ft TLC (lyrics video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCxaXqwRhvw

WRITING: I'm Going To Be Qouted

Dream, dreaming and dreamt/dreamed. Same word, difference tenses. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "I have a dream." Note the use of the word HAVE and not HAD. 

I too have a dream. I want to be quoted. That's right, I want somebody to say my words, have me quoted in publications and even during conversations. Funny dream, isn't it. I'm sure many of you weren't expecting that.

Lupita Nyong'o
2014 Oscars Best Supporting Actress

Thing is, I want to leave something behind. I want when my name is searched on google, more than my Facebook profile appears. No. I'm having none of that. I don't know when or where I'll be quoted but I know it will happen and when it does, it will only be the first of many times to come.

I like to read it sadly I haven't done a lot of it in the past two years. My favourite author is Sidney Sheldon, he's amazing. Anyway, in the Other Side Of Me, he makes reference to standing out from the crowd. I can't give a direct quotation but if memory serves me right, he said something about standing out from everyone else. He wanted to have his legacy and not die as a nobody. He spoke it and that's exactly what he got, his legacy. What's to stop me from getting mine?

"Those who dreamed achieved."

I dreamt, I still am dreaming and hopefully I will have achieved in the not too distant future.

WRITING: Soar

I've always wished I could fly. I remember this dream I had some years ago and I could fly. It felt so real. I remember I'd start off by sprinting, then jump into the air and soar. One word to describe it, awesome. There's just something about flying. If I were to have a superpower, it would definitely be flight. 

In my high school Literature class, we briefly studied I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.  I wouldn't say I'm interested in poetry per se but this poem spoke to me. Call me crazy but I want to be like the free bird-I want to fly. Birds are so lucky. If you read the poem, you'll understand that two birds are being talked about, although it's hypothetically speaking. I'll take the poem as it is on the surface. 

Unlike the free bird, the caged bird does not chirp happily. No, it is caged and longs for something it never had. It has been hindered from flying. I'm that bird. I long for something I've never experienced. I want to fly. I want to soar. 

Here I am, a human, wishing to fly. If I could, even for a day, I'd jump at the opportunity. For a few years now, I'd say three, I've been wishing to go skydiving. Call me the extremist, lol. The first really extreme sport I did was slide across a gorge back in my home country. Looking down, I had a quick thought of what would happen if the cord snapped. I pushed it away though...it's all about the thrill. Okay, I think I'm getting carried away here.

Back to skydiving. I want to feel the wind. I want to have an undistorted view. I want to see what the birds see. Unlike flying, which normally involves soaring I'd be plunging downwards. It's the closest I could get to flying so I'll take what I can get. Hopefully, I'll get to do it.......soon.


I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill 
for the caged bird
sings of freedom

The free bird thinks of another breeze
an the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom. 


Maya Angelou