nilichoandika

This Little Light of Mine

July 25th, 2023

Daily writing prompt
What would you change about modern society?
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These two things: first that it is a society, and second that it is modern.

This question took me back to different times in my life when I knew from the trembling of the rage, fear, life underneath my skin that I could do as I planned. It took me back to when I was nine years old and saying that I wish adults treated children better, that they listened to us when we were hurting and stopped the pain.

It took me back to the time in high school when I wished education was free so no one missed out on learning, on access to schooling (and now 17 years later I can say that I’ve been working on this for the past 4 years).

It took me back to the time when I lost the ones I loved so unexpectedly that I truly wanted better healthcare, that I could have done something or said something that stopped a friend from taking his life, and his mother from dying from the shock of it all…

It took me to the weeping, wailing, and rage of denied democracy…of violence against young men, of tribe going against tribe, of blood, of burning tyres, inflated prices that made me want honest government leadership.

It took me to those vacations that made me wish travel was cheaper, faster, efficient-that you could enjoy watching the sunset, take a dive beneath the waterfall, eat good food, have a laugh with friends…

Now, all I can say is that this little light of mine has learned that sometimes…if not all times, the greatest change you can make is within, and that is tumultuous as it is freeing.

Ayobami: http://www.pexels.com
For the love of Food

July 21st, 2023
Daily writing prompt
What foods would you like to make?
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There is only one dish that can get me out of a slump, that reminds me of joy, peace, and home…and forget the fact that I am Luo, which in context-if you are a Kenyan citizen, would try and associate me (as is with my tribe) with fish and ugali, but alas! I live for Chapati and yellow beans.

It’s the only dish I would like to make when:
- I’m feeling blue
- I’ve done house cleaning and want to listen to my spotify playlist
- I want to bingewatch kdramas on Netflix
- I miss my elder sister, because her chapatis are to die for!
- I miss family reunions- the laughter, stories and love from everyone.
From Cookpad.com: Chapati and beans made by Naomi Achieng
Of this I’m certain

July 17th, 2023

Daily writing prompt
List 10 things you know to be absolutely certain.
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I saw this #dailyprompt and it’s very simple, “list 10 things you know to be absolutely certain.”

Of this I’m certain, that for life there’s death.

Everything that is can cease to be.

I do not know about the other nine.

Igor La Prado: http://www.pexels.com
Home

July 10th, 2023

I woke up to the thought of you,

And it hit me that home can be a person.

Georgios Tsatas took this @www.pexels.com
Things I want to do in July

July 3rd, 2023
July is here and silly me, I can’t help but go on making lists of things I want to do knowing that I will either do them or fail to do them. What I am learning is that distractions are good, diversions are good too-sometimes, it may take you longer but if you know where you are headed, getting there is always a good feeling.

So, in June I got to read more books and stretch my #GoodreadsChallenge so now I’m at 68 of 183 books. I want to continue to share snippets of my thoughts on books that I have read in this month too.

There are three things I didn’t get to commit to in June:
1. Writing every day
2. Working out every day- I even bought a yoga mat that’s gathering dust beneath my bed now!
3. Being kind to myself-speaking well and positively to myself.
Kyle Glenn took this: http://www.unsplash.com

So, in July-the seventh month of the year, I want to:
1. Write 300 words of my new book- every day.
2. Work out every day
3. Continue waking up at 6am.
4. Take an online course or two, in a field totally new to me and commit to the study hours.
5. Drink more water, mind my own business.
6. Read more books both paperbacks and ebooks-especially that unread list on Netgalley.
7. Walk more often
8. Be more efficient and proactive at work-there are projects that are coming to a close and new assignments to be taken on.
Until then, have an awesome month- and in all that you do, my wish is that you are fully present, so each moment doesn’t become a regret but rather a building block into who are you becoming.
Words

July 2nd, 2023

And so the wise one said, “words get forgotten, if you don’t use them, they eventually die.”

So, if you love them- tell them.

If you are tired, say it.

If you are scared, say it.

Tiffany Freeman took this: http://www.pexels.com
June Updates

June 22nd, 2023

We are barely a week away from July and this month, like the first five before it have come and gone by so fast that I feel I’ve barely achieved much. I was going through my writing archives and working on short stories, writing again and reading more- that the past two weeks have been very fulfilling for me.

I’m at the point where close friends are bold enough to ask me to my face, “when is your next book coming out?” I am also at the point where I look forward to answering that question without grinding my teeth. So, here’s the truth- I finished writing a book in April, but I am not satisfied with it, it does not feel like it is from me, so I haven’t shared or published it and for two months, I drowned myself in doubt in wondering whether I would write again. It was easier to post here that I am writing or working on a book, than to say, I had written something but it fell short of my expectations.

So, for the first time since I started writing, these past two weeks I grieved. I finally understood what it means to invest time in creating something and then not loving or seeing it when it’s done…and that hurt me more than I let on.

I was reading Grief and Renewal: Finding Beauty and Balance in Loss by Miguel Ruiz and Barbara Emrys and he shares something that enabled me to finally come to terms with this, he says “be patient as you learn to be more aware.”

So, did I write a book? Yes.

Am I proud of how it turned out? No.

Does that hurt? Yes. I wrote this book for eight months and it feels like I failed.

Does that mean that I won’t write again? No. Actually I am writing now that I have accepted that I can do better, share something else with the world.

I am looking forward to going through my recent book haul- as I keep at it, strengthening my writing schedule. Until then, live, love, laugh…be kind to yourself.
Feeling

June 9th, 2023

I saw this,

And it reminded me of a feeling,

Nothing grand, just calm…
Reading Kingdom of Shadows by Alan Furst

June 5th, 2023

I write book reviews through my feelings, and this is one way of admitting that I rarely go step by step exploring genre, themes, context, characters and places in my reviews. Instead I write about what I felt, related to, was intrigued by and since I haven’t been writing, reading books has become my solace.

I collect phrases, character descriptions, statements, places like I am collecting points. The result is an endless collection of notebooks which chronicle a journey of where I’ve been for the past year.

My latest trip is from Alan Furst’s Kingdom of Shadows. The story follows Nicolas Morath, a former Hungarian Calvary officer, and his escapades ranging from his assignments in Vienna, and the favor he did for his Uncle, Count Polanyi. He trades in conspiracy, and in his field, with his expertise, he knows not to take everything as it seems, especially not with Hitler edging Germany and other countries in Europe towards war.

In keeping with my collection, from this book I add two phrases to my notebook-and will say that it’s definitely worth those high reviews it’s gotten because this is espionage smoothly glossed over you cannot help but wonder who is wrong, who is right and the number of passports and identities Morath took on in his assignments.

“It had a life of its own, the war, like an immense rumor that wound its way through the newspapers, the cafes and markets. But somehow, in Polanyi’s voice, it was fact, and Morath, for the first time, believed it.”

“It was thunder that kept him awake, from a storm that never rained, yet never moved away.”

I hope your week goes well and I am still making my way back to writing, when I make it to the end, maybe there’ll be a book worth shouting to the world about.
May: Monthly Wrap Up

May 29th, 2023

We still have two days to the end of this month, but since I’m here I can’t just up and leave and wait for June to come bearing her awesomeness without sharing some key updates from May.

Reading: I got to read some books on Netgalley this month, and can’t wait to catch up on more books because I have exams in July and that would make the end of June a bit hectic for me to get anything done. So thus far, 45 down…138 to go!

I am currently loving Where the Waters Meet by Zhang Ling.

People: May is my Mom’s birthday month and she’s a straight up Gemini, so getting to sit down to lunch with her and have a laugh made this month awesome.

Work: A lot has happened and I am gearing up for an intensive June because there is room for new projects, new ideas and new direction in the way we work and it is exciting.

Entertainment: Look, this month there was no way I could go by without watching some K-Drama and top of that list has been these two that are soon coming to an end. There is Dr. Cha and The Good Bad Mother (which is described as comedy drama but there’s more heartbreak and pain and thirst for vengeance than there is laugh out loud moments)