Youtubers have this tradition of posting daily videos during the festive season untill Christmas(Vlogmas).That is a lot of hard work and consistency that I must admit this guys put.Since bloggers lives matter,I shamelessly present you my blogmas article a week to christmas.
Generally ,this year has not been the best of years, the pandemic brought so much changes in most of our lives. Looking back to when the pandemic began and right now at this point in time ,I am so grateful.
This year have carried one lesson with me ,that despite anything you go through ,there is always something to be thankful for no matter what. So, I am here to remind you to be GRATEFUL, try counting the blessings you have received this year and you will be surprised . This is a gratitude post to you my readers,thank you so much for keeping up with my articles.I love you all.
I must admit that at some point I was a Bei- Lieber ( Justin Bieber fan).Funny I even posted his photo on my Facebook page seven years ago and recently Facebook had the audacity of sending me that memory. I still follow up on him especially now that he is all grown up and his music is bomb! Not forgetting that he is now married and not the young boy we all used to admire with his signature haircut .Can we talk about his dressing code now? Well ,I think he could do better.
Anyway, this piece is not about Justin, but one of his songs recently reminded me of how I should examine my inner self ; Introspection . You must be thinking its one of his songs ‘Mistletoe’ because it’s a festive season , sorry boo; you are so wrong. Is my title giving you hints already? Or you’re still scratching that head?
The number of times I have had inner conversations with myself regarding my intentions in all I do is countless. You probably ask yourself this question so many times and maybe you don’t have the right answers as to what your intentions are in every thing you set yourself to do.
I woke up one morning and clearly questioned my intentions with regards to all areas of my life; It was quite a hard question for me because there is so much that it entails.
Each one of us has something that sets our soul on fire, so do you ever take time to ask yourself what your intentions based on what sets your soul on fire are ? Or you just wake up every morning and do what you do without pausing and reflecting?
Setting your intentions straight gives you a clear picture of what your end goal is and when your intentions are good, the outcome of what you do will surely be positive.
Your intentions don’t have to be complex, but they should give you a sense of accomplishment or happiness. So ,what are your intentions?
Cold calls are the unsolicited type of calls one makes to a person without really knowing the person or rather knowing the feedback to expect. In the corporate world, such calls are usually made to prospects or clients, more of telemarketing when pitching mostly about a product or service.
A number of us have received such calls from Safaricom, those Tala agents who call to remind you of the loan you owe them and despite the fact that you will probably hang up on them or ignore them they still call anyway. It hurts to be them.
Image From EngageBay.
When writing this article, I kept thinking of the many instances I have made this calls to people, it may have been my lecturers, someone who may have posted a job vacancy in some group and I had to shoot my shot despite the uncertainties and also when asking for some financial help (such a huge task for me I must admit). The fact that I may never be sure of what to expect from the other side makes it colder for me.
Let us talk about faith a little, not “your girl Faith” but Faith-Faith haha.This is generally having a strong confidence or belief in something or someone. Most times it gets so hard to have that complete confidence because of the coldness that comes with your situation but you still choose to believe.
Have you ever prayed for something or a situation that you completely got no control over and felt so anxious about, but still chose to pray regardless? Well for me I view that as a cold call to God.
We may never know if our situation will be okay but still believe that things will be fine ,now that is faith at its best. How about you try and do the things that make you happy without thinking too much about them, just enjoying the present and not focusing much on the what if’s ?
What will count is you making that call to that company regardless of what to expect, you shooting your shot to that lady/man you been wanting and also you making those bold moves you been spending all your life thinking about them .Be like Nike (JUST DO IT).If you die, you die ha-ha
Any Hu ,cold calls are nice and hectic at the same time, I have some experience in that since I once landed a job that required me to make endless cold calls to International clients throughout my shift.To cut this long story short, I got suspended because my internet connectivity was weak asf!.
Do you find yourselves reading those motivational books or rather listening to those random TED talks on Youtube that really slap the reality on your face of how somethings are really important, a basic thing such as sleep is deemed as so important for our well-being. I get excited reading e- mails because maybe that application you sent three weeks ago had now gotten a response and you are there hoping and praying that you are among the shortlisted applicants but to your surprise it is that site you had signed up for a decade ago that had sent its weekly mails OMG! Apparently, I get some good life lessons from a couple of sites that I once signed up for 10,000 years ago ,one of them being the Quora app.I get reminders of how sleep is quite important and how waking up early is more beneficial to once daily productivity. This usually hit hard because I’m in that bracket of people who struggle to catch sleep to a point of now branding myself and bragging to people of how I am becoming a night owl oops! You’d prolly think I work overnight. I am the type of people who would even get to bed at 10pm and convince myself that I really need to catch some early sleep, but would still be up five hours later trying to “catch” that sleep. I am made to understand that sleeping early and at the exact time is quite effective and trust me I still struggle to do that in as much as I know of its importance. The thing with staying up late for some people ,is the fact that you will have to wake up so late to a point of feeling so useless and begin questioning your productivity.
Image from The Boston Globe.
You see, despite reading all those e-mails and sites that speak of how sleep is important, I am still the same old me who tends to sleep quite late and still wake up late at times {I think my problems wake me up nowadays ha-ha}. This applies to every other thing that we tend to set ourselves to do after getting the motivation from books,blogs,speakers but still hold ourselves back and fail to do whatever was intended. I am made to understand that change starts from the mind {more of a shift in your mindset} and when you finally make a decision to do something ,you really have to fully make up your mind about it. I guess for me to start sleeping early as planned, there is need for a change in my mindset !!
No wonder Sleeping Beauty looked so good…she took long naps, never got old, and didn’t have to do anything but snore to get her Prince Charming. — Olive Green
More than ever ,it is my desire to see the society prioritize sexual and reproductive health issues. I long for a society where some topics will be openly discussed without creating stigma around them. I long for a society where both men and women will have equal grounds when it comes to sexual and reproductive health. Sexual and reproductive health advocacy is one key area that requires open minded-ness,patience,understanding especially when it comes to dealing with individuals. Most communities have different views when it comes to related topics in SRH and that is why so much should be done to bring people on equal grounds .This may be hard since everyone has different perspectives when it comes to different topics ,therefore it requires so much patience and determination to achieve all this. As an advocate of this, I believe it is not easy to convince some people that pedophiles don’t deserve to live, rapists don’t deserve to freely walk in the streets with their heads held high ,giving birth is actually a choice and no one is entitled to making a choice for you, men are also human and toxic masculinity should not exist in this era. Dressing code should not be used against women who have experienced any form of abuse.
Sexual and reproductive health states that everyone deserves a good sexual experience ,free from coercion .Therefore, inhumane acts such as pedophilia, sexual trafficking ,rape should be dealt with severely.Such acts usually lead to trauma, depression and other mental health issues and that is why I strongly advocate for this. If each and everyone of us has firm grounds on this acts, then it would really be easy to deal with issues in our societies. As I said at the beginning, I am greatly looking forward for such a society, a society that is free from such negativities.
Sometime last year I listened to a whole album by Jhene Aiko ,the album has quite a number of songs about 20 or so.But there is this one song that really got to me ever since ,’born tired’. The title of this blog is actually an extract from the song ,that is how much I love it. But on the real though, this song is for you who feels ‘tired’ but still have so much energy,positivity,confidence ,zeal in yourself. Most of us are in that phase of trying to figure out this thing called life, seems like a puzzle to me and it honestly sucks .It’s still okay that you don’t have all answers regarding your life. This song constantly reminds me to look back at where I have come from ,who I have become and appreciate every single step. I may not be there yet but honestly, I am proud of myself, you should too.
Image from depositphotos
I know you are tired but remember to :
Never be afraid of re-inventing yourself.
So often we get locked inside the roles that we think we should play in order to appease other people, embrace your truth and identity with an unapologetic strength. Through this you will be able to use your own voice without letting people scare you out of using it.
Break out of your patterns and rhythms
I admit I can be toxic to myself and others sometimes; I think we all are in one way or another. For growth or change to take place I believe one has to examine whatever intentions, motives or ways one has ,are they positive or negative? Examining this will make you realize that if you do things the way you’ve always done them, you will always get the results you’ve always had.
Believe in yourself
I am not quite of a confident person, trust me if I was ,the world would have known my name by now . For you who is still not confident enough, I am here to remind you that whenever you need to get something done, slap self-doubt in the face and let the confidence ooze out, dont even think about it.
Choose peace
One must be willing to accept that some situations aren’t about being right or wrong ,they are about peace. This applies to the connections we often make with other people.
Offer your best self
When your offer your best self, you automatically increase your value to the people around you. A couple of times I tried looking for acknowledgement and validation from others ,but that was really a bad idea .People around us change all the time, but who we are at our deepest core never changes. Believing in your intuitions, core and beliefs will lead you to a phase of believing in your own potential more that external words of encouragement or praise.
Good luck to your tired self but keep the fire burning .Xoxo
Hello Beautiful people,I am glad to share that I have been nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award.Thank you Anoushka-theexpressivesapien.wordpress.com for nominating me.Be sure to check out her blog ,she has an amazing content on books and movie reviews .This is my first nomination as a newbie in blogging,I am proud of myself.It feels good to know that there are guys out here who love my content.
About the award
The Sunshine Blogger Award is given to those who are creative, positive and inspiring while spreading sunshine to the blogging community.
How does it work?
1.Thank the blogger(s) who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog
2.Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you.
3.Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
4.List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.
Anoushka’s Questions .
1.What inspired you to start Blogging?
-Well,I express my thoughts and opinions through writing.Overtime the interest grew and I chose to try out.I am loving the experience so far.
2.What is your favourite thing to do when you have time to spare?
-I love reading,(book- lovers in the building wasssssup!),apart from that I binge watch alot .
3.What is one thing you can do that you are proud of yourself for being able to do?
Being able to listen😂.Trust me being a good listener is not easy.I applaude myself for that.
4.What/Who inspires you?
I am inspired by people who feel enthusiastic about their life, or their family, and who convey their enthusiasm and good energy to me. Being with people who are passionate about what they do motivates me.
5.What fictional character do you most relate to?
The Wonder Woman.
6.Describe yourself using 3 books/movie titles
Fan girl -I’m abit of an Introvert.This book describes me well.
Dazed and confused-God bless my twenty something ,because a girl is exhausted already😂
Hunger games-It goes without saying😊
7.What book could you read 10,000 times and still enjoy?
Born a Crime By Trevor Noah.You should read it too,the humor in this book is on another level,I mean it’s Trevor right?
8.What is your advice for new bloggers?
Consistency is Key!!.Write,write and keep writing even in days where you will experience writing slump.Offer value to your target audience such that they’d want to revisit your blog some other time.
9.What fictional character do you wish was real and why?
The wonder woman.I admire her strength,speed and wisdom.I need such characters in my life.
10.What is your preferred way of reading?An actual book or an e-book and why?
I prefer an e-book,I tend to read alot and fast too.Actual books are still okay but e-books for me work well.
11.What is one thing on your bucket list you wish to check off by any means?
A good laptop .I’d sell my kidneys to get a good one😂
NOMINATIONS…
My Nominations goes to this amazing bloggers whose work I admire and enjoy reading.
I have this terrible phobia of dead bodies (Necrophobia),my confidence level when it comes to viewing them is still at zero.Imagine a body hanging from a ceiling, scary right?.I am a lover of life,I “enjoy” all the highs and lows,who enjoys the low moments really?.Despite all that I am always mindful of whatever thoughts I feed my mind with because life can really be stressful but does that justify one’s choice to commit suicide?
The World Health Organization reports that close to 800,000 people die due to suicide every year,which is one person every 40 seconds.There are indications that for each adult who died by suicide ,there may have been more than 20 others attempting suicide.This happens to be the leading cause of death among 15 – 29 years old making it a global phenomenon.
Image From The Idealist.
During my random scrolls on Facebook I happened to bump into the above image,clearly everyone was all smiles including Chester Bennington(Former Linkin Park band member).Unfortunately he commited suicide,his death was ruled as suicide by hanging.Other cases reported include a Kenyan musician by the name Papa Dennis who recently met his death after jumping from the 7th floor of a storey building in Nairobi, Pangani area.During this period a boy below 15 years commited suicide after the parents were against him accompanying them to the market.This shocked me,I can imagine the guilt the parents will bear after this incident.Sad indeed.
A suicide method often used.
Most suicide methods used by people include; Hanging,suffocation,drug overdose,drowning,jumping from height,use of lethal arms and stabbing.
Statistics reveals that women are roughly 3 times more likely to attempt suicide,though men are 2 to 4 times more likely to die by suicide.While women attempt suicide more often ,men choose more lethal means of suicide such as use of guns.
Risk Factors
Risk factors are those factors that are likely to increase a person’s chances of commiting suicide which may include ;
Depression
Loss of a loved one
Unemployment
Relationship breakdowns
Misuse of drugs and alcohol to cope with emotional issues.
Protective factors
This is a characteristic or attribute that reduces the chances of attempting or completing suicide.This may include;
Optimism towards life.
Resiliency-The process of bouncing back in the midst of adversities.
Good health and access to physical and mental health care.
Strong bonds with family and friends.
Attitudes and norms prohibiting suicide.
This factors can contribute to decreasing suicide risk but resistance to suicide can be temporary.Therefore,programs that support such initiatives should be widely spread.
An example of such is the Befrienders Kenya which is a charitable organization focusing on suicide prevention by offering FREE emotional support to those who may be in distress and therefore in danger of dying by suicide as well as creating awareness in communities.
Suicide is a hugely sensitive,complex issue with a tangled multitude of causes -and the very nature of a death by suicide means we can never fully know the reason behind it.
For the longest time discussions about menstruation have been a “woman’s” problem ,I think its because the society has instilled that mentality in us or maybe not.What do you think?
Before unlearning this notion,it always felt awkward having these discussions with the opposite gender.Walking down the store to purchase a pack of pads was always petrifying especially when the seller was a man.I recall waiting for the number of customers to reduce for me to purchase my pack of pads,then going ahead to whispering my need to the seller ,dumb right?
Funny enough,this guys(sellers) had to wrap that pack with a newspaper ,infact it was A two-paged newspaper to avoid a third-party from seeing what was wrapped underneath.Who still does that in the 21st century?Anyway to cut the long story short,I think there was,and is still some discomfort when it comes to having these discussions with men compared to having them with women.This men include our fathers,brothers ,partners and male friends.
To make the menstruation discussion an easier task for each one of us, it is wise to embrace the following;
1.Embracing open conversations.
Let’s normalize having open discussions with the men on matters menstruation.This will make it easier to curb the ignorance that exists around this issue.Men have their issues as well,therefore engaging them and listening to them will lead to a smooth transition on conversations surrounding menstruation.
2.Normalizing Sex education in schools.
Though this program exists,I feel the methods used to convey messages to students is still worrying.I look forward to seeing boys and girls engaging in discussions together .We are used to having sessions where boys and girls are separated.If my memory serves me right,I think this is what happened when I was in my seventh grade.
3.Unlearning some notions.
In Nepal,menstruating women are oftened banished,they are usually isolated till the shedding is done.This still happens in some households despite the act being criminalised in 2017.Informing and educating men on issues surrounding menstruation would rout such acts in our societies.
For the few men that I have had a chance to converse with on matters menstruation,the majority of them think that them being educated on this topic will give them a better understanding of how they can help the women in their lives.
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Let’s embrace having these discussions since listening to issues faced by both genders can be frustrating .Therefore, it is a good achievement for our society if we normalize creating more awareness of such “sacred” topics.
In Kibra giving pads to the girls courtesy of Herempowerment.
Let’s support the women,offer a helping hand if you can especially during that time of the month.Let us put a smile on these faces.
Something about life is that it happens while we are busy making plans regardless of who you are.Life just happens!
Planning is of little importance ,but planning is essential-Winston Churchill,Former British Prime Minister.
Apparently the whole world is in the midst of a pandemic,i mean who saw Covid-19 coming?Me neither.Imagine being in your final month as an Undergrad?You feel me now?The pains are severe but we move on regardless.
I recently enrolled for a two weeks’ course on Professional Resillience it was great ,i honestly got so much insights when it comes to tackling uncertainities.I guess that is where this post inspo came from.
Life is hard,especially now when normalcy is a thing of the past.The thing now is to basically get new strategies of adapting to this situation at hand,and that is what Professional resillience is all about.Bouncing back in the midst of hardships ,adopting and finally adjusting.
Mental Health similar to Sexual Health is so important,being able to stay sane in the midst of insanity is an underrated sport,we all have to admit that.
I have to acknowledge myself for how i have constantly been pouring out tonnes of gratitude each and every day.Honestly it’s close to impossible to feel gratetful and depressed at the same moment.Every day above the ground is a total blessing.
Anyway,listening to people talk about life makes me happy,deep talks for me hit hard, i love.To make this post a success a few friends shared the coping mechanisms they have been using to enable them keep in check during this period.
Ps:(I was able to interview both my male and female friends)Looked at mental health care from both the male and female perspective.
Reading this might honestly be far from what you are doing to stay sane during this period,but getting insights from this beautiful stories from amazing ,strong people might excite you .
Keep scrolling down for this amazing stories from amazing people.
1.FINDING A NEW LOVE
Jessy Awinja – Student, Enterpreneur
Honestly,this era of Covid -19 has not been a walk in the park.I recall how anxious i was in the beginning of all this but i am grateful that in the midst of all this uncertainities i was able to find my new love and that is Crotcheting.This has really kept me in check,doing what i love makes me so happy.I am currently speaking 3 languages;Yarn,hooks and needles.
Ps:(Jessy is doing an amazing work ,You can check her beautiful hand-made outfits from her Insta page-@awinja.)
2.LET’S DESIGN OUR LIVES.
Max Imweno-Student,Graphic Designer
Staying sane for me during this period has been easened by alot of things.First,since our new normal has shifted to almost everything going virtual,i make efforts of attending youth summits and conferences.Being a Youth Empowerement Advocate,i do not let such opportunities pass by.
Being a graphic designer has also enabled me to tap into so much creativity during this period.As it is said;Good art inspires,Good design motivates .
3.LET’S BE PHILOMATHS
Brenda Gitahi-Student,Enterpreneur
Where do i even begin,staying sane during this period has pushed me to go beyond my comfort zone and seek more knowledge .For now i am really enrolling to those online courses, working on my School project as well as reading books.
I recently started a Lampshade Business that i am so proud of.Finally seeking God is key for me at all times.
4.BE POSITIVE
Bradley Floyd-Student,Enterpreneur
Well to be honest this pandemic is still far from over but we gotta face up and hope for brighter days ahead.
Now back to the activities that I do during this period.I have to admit it hasn’t been easy on me but it has brought some blessings in disguise because I got a job that is keeping me going.I make efforts to connect with loved ones and that too keeps me in check.Not forgetting my love for movies,i get to watch abit of them during my free time.
5.WORK HARD,PLAY HARD
Rhoda Were-Student,Enterpreneur
It’s actually a tough time but we all need to stay sane and keep healthy.I try so hard to avoid thoughts that will stress my mind.All I do is let things flow, pray,work a little hard to cater for those needs we all have.Connecting with loved ones has also played a major role in maintaining my sanity.
Ps:Rhoda runs an online clothing page on Insta @affo.rdable wears.Check her page for affordable outfits
6.BE A LIFE-LONG STUDENT.
Kevin Ngetich-Student,Graphic designer,photographer
I love to free my mind especially during stressful times.Covid-19 has not been an exception either, since i have really put efforts towards keeping my sanity in such a time .Learning new skills has been key for me.The urge to constantly learn is honestly keeping me in check.
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I loved how each and everyone was really specific with the efforts they are putting to stay sane during this period.I love listening to the Nitty Grittys you know.Men are weirdly less great at really prioritizing mental health but i am glad they are making efforts .Let us engage on the comment section as you share the habits you have developed in order to stay sane during this period.Peace of Mind matters!
TEACH HIM INITIATIVE. 