We will find a place,
A shelter from the world,
From the likes, comments, tweets, retweets, re-posts, screenshots.
A world where you and I,
Dwell in solace.
We will find a place,
Where you and I would be,
Still.
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Dear Stardust,
How are you?
How does the sun look like where you are?
Is she bright yellow up above you, or tangy orange as she travels home? How does she look like?
And you?
How do you feel right now?
I spend my days writing these letters to you, talking to you the best way I can, using what I have.
Sometimes, I feel like I could pour my heart on paper more than on a device.
The internet never forgets.
I want you to behold my handwriting, to see how I slant my consonants, hide my vowels…
Stardust, I guess I just have better conversations with you when there is a pen and paper between us.
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Writing like every other art, takes time and I have always yearned to know how to write better, sell better and inspire other writers as well. So when I came across a recommendation on Scribd, Eight Letters to a Young Writer by Teju Cole I had to read it.
What started out as a weekly column grew into this small booklet full of wisdom, that draws from the African experience and love for story telling. Teju writes on eight key areas that he’d love Aburo, the young writer to focus on and these are: Simplicity, Freedom, Voice, Inwardness, Artistry, Home, Interviews and Fearlessness.
So, I’ll share my favorite insights:
pexels.com - Keep it simple. There is no need to use big words when a simple word could do.
- Avoid adverbs; like seriously!
- Read! Read more than you write. And my absolute favorite part was when he said, “Read slowly, like someone studying the network of tunnels underneath a bank vault in preparation for heist. What can you steal from the techniques of masters?”
- Rely on observation– your environment is interesting for its own sake. To achieve this, keep a journal, carry a notebook and write daily.
- Be courageous, nothing human should be far from you.
- Continue to fail better-it is wise to keep writing, to keep improving, learning and connecting with other writers and grow in your skill.
Mr. Cole went ahead and made his work public hoping to inspire more young writers like me and I’ll share the same work here for you to read as well.
Have a great week and keep writing!
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You,
You are like a wave,
swift, resilient, powerful, refreshing,
To be conquered by none but yourself.
So, here I stand, unhinged
Do as you wish,
Destroy me only if it means that you’ll let me adorn you with love.
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I am not this person,
I just enjoy playing her once in a while.
So, if you, my love are truly sorry,
Then let your remorse be accompanied by a book,
Or books.
I could plant a garden of flowers,
So, no more red roses or white roses,
Say ‘sorry’ and add ‘I got you this!’
My love, if…if truly you are sorry,
Then do as you wish, and hope that I’m pleased.
If…
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It is International Women’s Day. Women are every where, and in most nations there are events, conferences, demonstrations- all a call for better treatment of women, provision of equal opportunities for women, regard for their welfare, well being and in some of these nations- bills are being pushed in parliaments to protect women in workplaces.
This is not just any day for me, it’s my birthday as well. Every year on the 8th of March I am reminded of two things: One is that I share my birthday with all the women in the world and two, is that I am truly a Pisces.
I was reading The Good Boss by Kate Eberle Walker yesterday- and it was so good that I couldn’t put it down and this is because in writing about bosses and the workplace, she reminded me of my experiences as a woman at work and there’s something she shared from the very beginning that stuck with me:
Women not only need to do their actual work but they also need to think about how they are being perceived as they are doing it.
On the pressure women face at work, The Good Boss by Kate Eberle Walker
About the book:
When it comes to a woman’s day-to-day experience and her career trajectory, one key player has the most significant impact: her boss. If we really want to support women in the workplace, managers must step up.
The good news is that many of the things you can do to be a better manager for women are easy.
In The Good Boss, CEO and business consultant Kate Eberle Walker offers timely, tactical advice based on her experience coaching managers, as well as the lessons she learned working her own way up the corporate ladder. Eberle Walker outlines nine straightforward rules that any manager can follow to help the women on their team—whether they oversee one, one hundred, or one thousand employees.
So, what are these 9 rules? How about I share 5 of my absolute truths and favorites!
- Call her by her name
- Don’t ask “What does your Husband do?”
- Speak up so that she doesn’t have to
- Be an equal opportunity Asshole
- Don’t sit in her chair
These 5 rules are the ones that I kept screaming “YES!!!” when reading because I’ve experienced them more so rule number 3: Speak up so that she doesn’t have to and this was in relation to a boss that was female and she would talk down on all of us, quick to insult and delay salaries if we did not please her!
Talking about what a woman’s spouse does is a complete no-go area. In some instances it is more like you can get away with or afford so much because your spouse does this and that. And while we are at it, if she qualifies for a position, an opportunity- give it to her, give her the chance and in some interviews I lost out on an opportunity because I was single, unmarried and without a child and I remember on particular interview where the man on the panel asked me, “this job comes with a good pay package and if we take you in, give you a two or three year contract, won’t you get comfortable and choose to start a family?”
Finally, rule number 5: don’t sit in her chair is the reminder that if a woman goes away on leave, when she comes back ensure her space is either as she left it or better than she left it. Don’t give someone else her office, chair, position or regard- not unless you are promoting her to a better office, position and holding her in high regard.
The Good Boss is a book that I know will speak to many women in the work place on the challenges we face, and also a must-read for managers- both men and women on ensuring a safe space for women at work.
The book will be available on Amazon stores on March 16th 2021 for $18.99 on Kindle and $24.95. You can pre-order a copy: on this link. Visit the author’s website: here
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For years, I kept my eyes on the road,
always on the lookout, waiting, hoping,
ready to hear the words “you!”
Not just me, my sister, her friends, their friends…
little feet, dark afro hair, big dreams, little feet, big eyes
Waiting to be told that “we are worthy, and we matter.”
So, like a bus that never arrives, I stood up,
I placed one foot before the other,
walked until the sole of my feet bled.
I chose me, I smiled with me, I loved me
I loved her so much the years breezed past.
And when a still small voice tries to tell me otherwise,
I glitter.
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March 2021 is here and it’s my birthday month!
I have been spending more time wrapping up construction projects, initiating new ones all while keeping in mind the deadline of March 19th. We’ll be having the national exams commencing on this date, so by policies of the ministry, no outsiders are allowed in schools while the exams are on.
I started reading The 10X Rule: The Only Difference between Success and Failure by Grant Cardone, and he says that 1) you should set targets for yourself that are 10X greater than what you believe you can achieve and 2) you should take actions that are 10X greater than what you believe are necessary to achieve your goals.
When he said that, “The biggest mistake most people make in life is not setting goals high enough,” I found myself evaluating all the goals I set this year and looking back, I noticed that I haven’t set tangible and high goals for my writing.
On reading:
- I subscribed to Scribd and will be reading some of my favorite African Writers this month.
- I just got some new titles on Netgalley too:
On writing: I have two projects that have me taking gulps of coffee at night and jotting down notes at every turn. So, I am looking forward to publishing the two titles this year and taking a break to explore and research content for a non-fiction story project. I have settled on the working titles, a brief outline for each story and covers that seem to appeal to me right now.
On traveling: I haven’t traveled for leisure this year and I was looking forward to doing so on my birthday, and it falls on a working day so my plans to unwind will wait until Easter.
Have a wonderful week and whatever you do be kind to yourself.
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Lately, it feels like I’m Atlas.
I carry and I’m weary under the weight of the world.
So, I look for solace in the confines unknown,
untapped by none but my mind.
I go after solace,
Like I’m in a race.
Today, right now…with you, I want to rest.
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I look for you in the places you used to inhabit.
It is easier to close my eyes and remember you,
I’ll admit that I am a coward.
Yet, isn’t it so comforting to play safe, to be in control,
To know that you cannot to make me cry?
I look for you in the memories I have of you,
Like silver and gold, I seek to blend you,
Yet when the light strikes what I know of you…it disappears into the void of the past.
Like silver and gold, I seek to mend you,
Yet when the light strikes what I thought of you…it unravels how much I missed trying to mold you into my idea of perfection.
Like silver and gold, I seek to mend my ways,
I wonder how far gone you are to turn back and see me standing right beside you.
Image Courtesy of: Pexels
nilichoandika 