Saturday, December 25, 2010

This time of year...

Whew! Finally have a chance to get my fingers to a keyboard..... Happy Christmas Eve everyone, and Merry Christmas in advance. It's been a busy few days, but some happy ones.

On Monday I took my last test EVER as an undergraduate student..... WOOO HOO!!!!

Tuesday, December 21st marked my one year bloggiversary.... One year bloggin', oh yeah! I remember how my journey to becoming a blogger all started....

It was 2008 and I was in the beginning stages of my self-imposed Naija discovery. Mostly I was Youtubin' it up on all the latest and greatest Naija tunes. I took a particular liking to Faze. The first song I heard by him was 'Need Somebody' and I was from then on hooked on the dude. Lol. I loved the reggae beat, the the storyline of the video, and Faze isn't hard to look at either, quite a handsome fellow. Hahahaha....

So I began listening to all-things-Faze and I eventually cam upon 'Letter to my Brother.' In the beginning he uses the phrase "Khaki no be leather." Though I know now that it means that something fake can't be compared to the real thing, I was puzzled at the time. After spending some time trying to figure it out (months, I think), I typed the phrase into Google and found exactly what I was looking for.

A blog post titled "Khaki no be leather" was one of the Google results. I clicked on it and found what has now become my favorite blog: Good Nigerian Girl  , or Good Naija Girl as she's now called. The blog post explained exactly what I wanted to know, but after that stayed around to read her other posts and I found myself tickled, smiling and literally laughing out loud. Good Naija Girl so eloquently writes about experiences that many Naija girls raised outside Nigeria share. I could relate to many of the things she wrote and I kept coming back to read about what she was saying.

When I was getting ready to start my blog, I emailed her to let her know I had been stalking her for over a year ( Lol) and that she was my inspiration to start blogging. She responded to my email and was so friendly. Now I consider her my big sister in blogging. :)

A couple weeks ago Good Naija Girl held a contest on her blog: the first 15 people to request would get a specially-made Christmas card from her in the mail. I got mine two days ago. Thanks GNG!

Lovely, isn't it? The message inside is just as nice. :)

Well, I've done all my shopping and wrapped all the gifts I bought (unlike last year when I was up 'till 4am wrapping). I've written the blog I've been itching to write for the last few days and my sisters are over here joking that Santa Clause is coming.... Lol. It seems to be Christmas. Which means there's nothing left to do but to wish you all a Merry Christmas. God bless you and your families. :)

Thursday, December 16, 2010

9 Things I learned outside the classroom

We've all heard that you can't learn everything in a classroom. Things you learn outside of the classroom can be just as important, sometimes even more so. Now that I'm done with undergrad (almost, still got two tests; go figure! o_O) I realize that there were plenty of things I learned outside of class that I consider valuable:

How to parallel park
It's funny, because I almost failed my road test because of parallel parking. But during freshman year of college, I learned how to parallel park BY FORCE! Hahaha....At my school parking is crazy expensive. I'm talking $3 a day or $200 a semester for a parking pass. Highway robbery! Lol. After my first few months of paying for parking daily (it was $2.25 then) I saw cars parking for free on some side streets and I joined them. I remember the first day I parallel parked. I texted my best friend, I was so excited. Lol. You have to walk farther to the main buildings on campus, but it saved me a lot of money. And built some necessary exercise into my routine. Lol.

How to speak pidgin English
I just dey listen to my friends wey dey for this place. And e get many videos for Youtube wey I just watch and pick am small small. :)

A ton of gospel songs
Freshman year I was part of my school's gospel choir. Drama in the ranks was my main motivation for leaving, although I still sing in my church choir.

Directions
I've learned how to get all over the place in Michigan without getting lost. A trait inherited from my dad. Lol.

A few words in Creole
Courtesy of my trip to Haiti.

How to function when my emotions are out of whack
Sometimes I really question my stability because of the range of emotions that I can experience in a short period of time. Lol. But I'm always able to pull it together and do what I gotta do. Usually. :)

What my real values are
I've had opportunities to do things that would have benefited me, but would've been wrong. I've also been in situations that really tested my beliefs and values. I'm glad to say that I came out of them with my integrity intact.

The value of real friends
There's people you know will always be there for you. To me, that's the definition of a real friend.

That God will always come through
I've learned that God is faithful, that He is merciful, and that He is powerful from firsthand experience.

So it was a productive four years, in and out of the classroom. I wonder what life lessons I'll learn next... Hmmmmm....?

Sunday, December 12, 2010

I graduated, naps and all!!!

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday the ground was clear; by the time I woke up this morning, heavy snow covered the ground and continue to fall as my family and I made our way to my graduation. I was still on time though!


When I first started at Wayne State University, I thought it would take an eternity to finish, but here I am, a four years later, and I realize how fast it went by. It's almost scary; I feel just as young and tender as ever, yet I am now a Bachelor's degree holder.

It's funny because strangely enough, I didn't feel that excited, initially. Heck, I was more excited for finishing simple high school!! Lol. I think it's because I realize that this is only a small step in my journey. There's sooooo much I still want and need to do. Nevertheless, I am grateful to God for allowing me to see this day. I know much more is in store.

Frohawk
But for real, I even forgot to make time to get my hair done for graduation! These days I been rocking a frohawk-type 'do mainly because I haven't had time to get it done or coerce someone into doing it (my mom and my sisters can do hair. I, for some reason, cannot. Lol). But I never planned on going to graduation with a frohawk! Lol.

It was all good though. I just put on my graduation cap and let it be!


My sisters and "anty." Naija people, you know how we do
My parents and my uncle. He's actually blood related, my dad's brother. Lol.



                      
                 
Nappy, but happy. Lol.
  
As I've said in blogs past, my next step is to attend a school where I will learn video, graphics, and web design. But thinking back on my undergraduate years, there were so many opportunities, events, and people that shaped my experience. It's mindblowing to think of it. That's a whole 'nother blog in and of itself! I'll have to do that one next.... :)

But for now, I have to end by saying that the Lord is good, and His mercies endure forever. The milestone marked today  is only a reflection of that fact.

Now I have to get back to writing my last paper!

In the meantime, look at this video of some adorable African kids!! My sister put me up on it. Lol.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Big Shout Outs!

On the right hand side of this page when you scroll down, there's a little box with the heading "Live Traffic Feed." It lists the last 10 people that have landed on my page. It even shows the website they came from. I added it almost two months ago and since then it has said that visitors to my blog have come from such diverse places as Iceland, Turkey, South Africa, United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland, Israel, Nigeria, Ireland, Scotland, Cameroon and cities in states all over the United States. I'm not sure if the thing is accurate, but if it is I'd like to shout out a big
H E  L L O !
to all you lovely people from around the world! I think it's so cool that you stopped on my blog and hopefully something you read here makes you laugh, smile, or think. I've been on a mini hiatus because of one killer paper that I'm working on in order to graduate, but I shall return shortly with more of my thoughts.   : )

Thursday, December 2, 2010

The Final Stretch

Graduation in 10 days
head spinning, in a daze
This thing has gone by oh so fast,
compared to how I thought it'd last.

I'm fighting now, to finish strong
Can't worry about things gone wrong;
Just gotta make sure these last ones go right,
the end and beyond is in near sight.

Dear God help me
Cause heaven knows,
the end presents the rockiest of roads
But that's OK, I have determined,
That for victory, I am predestined.