Fope's Blog

It's June a.k.a. birthday month and I'm taking stock of my life...again. I don't know how or why, well maybe I do, but January to April were incredibly lonely. I wasn't always alone, but it was just lonely. I had just gotten back from my Naija trip, during which I almost always had something to be excited about. Even basic stuff like the constant honking of  okada   guys had me alert and somewhat excited about life. Then I came back to Canada and moved 7 hours away from home. New city, new school, new phase of life (sorta), no more mother to whine about my day to, no more siblings to bug me, and then there was the super dry city...oh, and winter too. Basically, a whole lot of change and the result? Bam! I gained 15-20lbs and didn't even realize it, and I also got involved in some *sigh* let's call them avoidable things. Photo credit:  wolfgangfoto  via  Scandinavian  /  CC BY-ND Now, it's June and I've had really really good months so far, and

This week has been beautiful. I’ve loved almost every minute of it. My hair experiments have turned out pretty well. My skin - despite the attention-seeking dark spots- has been fantastic too. If I'm being real, it has nothing to do with the happenings of the week. I've been in a really content place. It's the kind that comes with being at complete peace with God. Even before realizing that the dictionary defined contentment (word for word) as being "in a state of peaceful happiness", I knew it was exactly how I felt. I absolutely love it here and I'm fighting fervently to protect this space.  As seen on my Instagram page The biggest thing I'm coming to terms with this week is the idea that my unworthy little self is somehow meant to radiate God... to reflect him… somehow. How?  I guess I know what that's meant to mean. I get it, but at the same time, I don't. Why would God even think me worthy to have a part in His grand scheme of th

Two whole months of not saying "pim!" Haha. If you grew up Nigerian, you should be familiar with the word "pim!" I’m throwing in the exclamation mark to replicate the strong feelings and high volume with which it is said. It's the sound your mom might have made when you sobbed at the end of yet another unnecessary ass whooping. Amidst heavily-filled tear ducts, sobs that felt like gasps for air, and a hand holding your lips in place, you might remember seeing her with her index finger over her pursed lips with a face sterner than any of your childhood demons saying the infamous "If I hear pim!” All in the bid to get you to swallow your sorrows and not express whatever betrayal or sadness had you in tears. You may have wondered for the umpteenth time why you were adopted if they had no need of you. Photo credit:  DFID - UK Department for International Development  via Foter.com  /  CC BY-NC-SA Even those "if I hear pim" m

It's 5days late...but whatever! Yeah, my blog turned 3...five days ago! Every year, on the Blogiversary, I go back to read my very first post . There are some typos there and some messed up formatting, but I'm leaving those there so that every year when I look back, I can actually see how far I've come. The bulk of this year was spent trying to find my blog's niche, but now that I've gone back to read that first post, I have no idea why I stressed about the whole niche thing. I made it pretty clear at the beginning that I would be "writing whatever I please on here". Maybe it's the broadness of that statement or maybe it's my preoccupation with the potential of monetizing my blog that drove me to look at other bloggers to see how things were being done. Or it could have just been me trying to grow. It most likely was a mix of all of that. I'm big on mentoring; whether it's active mentoring or just close observation of an obje