WordsAlive

So it is over ten days into 2021, and I just realized I am yet to gather my thoughts about 2020. I guess everyone had a time of retrospection, throwbacks, and so many end-of-year shenanigans. But here I am on Jan 14th (12:23 am), trying so hard to end 2020 in my head with this note.  I screamed “Happy New Year!” and did every other conventional activity that comes with a new year, but I walked into the year nonchalantly. No. I actually slept into the new year. I could not risk taking the “new year, new me” path because I knew I would get lost.  But this is me screaming: “Fu*k you, 2020!” Returning to school with so much energy in Feb 2020 was my starter pack. I just wanted to smash all my goals – live, love, learn, explore, connect, grow, stay happy, and maintain good grades. But I ended up staying ten months in school doing one thing: living.  It was a game. Survival of the fittest, maybe. Each month displayed the power of their numbers in ascending order. As we counted ...

Photo credit: Kanife Confidence “Cheta, bring those bags inside,” mom said as she found her way into the house. I murmured and dragged my tired feet out of the car, having been sitting for over five hours. The journey from Benue to Umudim in Abia state was indeed a long one.  We had returned to the village for Christmas; a yearly routine for us. We arrived earlier this year because we used the family car, not public transport.  The sun had started to set and it was getting dark but we didn’t miss the opportunity of glimpsing the 'village'  sunset. Mom had confessed to never wanting to spend her Christmas in the city. To her, the village environment during Christmas was “heavenly.” An hour after we arrived, Aunty Somachi; dad’s elder sister who was married in the neighboring village brought us some food. My heart leapt for joy because I really wasn’t  down to cook after the long, tiring trip. I just wanted to eat, stay on my phone, sleep, and get all the energy I need...

Sadly, we are all selfish. As much as we all encourage growth and whatnot, we still find it hard to accept that others have grown. We congratulate ourselves, we praise ourselves, we feel good about ourselves when we compare our intellect of years ago to the present time (at this point, it is no crime to be narcissistic). But we find it hard to accept that someone else has grown, not just any growth, but one that supersedes how we ever imagined.  For instance, a supposed mentor will preach growth constantly to a mentee, but will, in turn, find it hard to accept that growth when it comes.  So many times, we mistake naivety for humility and growth for pride. We like people to live by our rules. Even parents want that same 2-year-old baby who answered to everything they stipulated to still be the 20-year-old adult. Somehow, they still want you to follow their precepts, beliefs and all without understanding that you have grown to have a life of your own even though they still preac...

Bobo loved bress. Everything that tottered on the chest gave him joy. Quick fingered he was for he pressed in public, at home, at work, in church. Bobo simply lived to press, and press he did. Flat, round, fallen, upcoming, black, brown, bleached; Bobo pressed all. All bress soft and press-able the good Lord made them all! Bobo also had keen sight—the superman kind of vision. He could spot bress from miles away. Yes, Bobo was good like that. And though his friends warned that unallowed bress pressing and sighting would burst his bubble, sweet Bobo would sneer and say he expected a good many busts. He sure punned on the bust, lord knows! Blessing was the baddest, bustiest bitch around. She had 'em gaddem bress that nodded at all bress lookers and made fallen soldiers rise in defiant attention. Oh, Blessing had it all! And so she caged 'em bress in a bra like two peas in a pod. Blessing liked the attention her bress brought, and the daredevils who were game enough to want to feel...

1. I don’t have an English name (if you must ask why, ask in Igbo). 2. Not your regular human but I’m a Being (I’m not responsible for how you understand that). 3. “All-back” is my signature hair. Oh yeah! You read well. 4. I’m pretty sure God didn’t create me with honey or sugar but I ended up being sweet.☺️🤭 5. With all my intelligence and sense at my age, I still can’t differentiate between ginger and garlic. Ayi!!🥺🙈 6. I am not blind but I can barely “see” without my glasses.  7. I would rather sleep than do Hangouts. 8. I love food. So much. 9. I hate being generalized. 10. I am too nice. You should employ me as your friend with daily salary. But please, have sense. 11. Onions is overrated. 😣 I will legit pick out onions while I eat (I don't need eyeglass for that one😁). 12. I am a baby–woman. 13. I need you to keep visiting the blog. 14. I want you to know that I love you and I appreciate your indulgence. Your comments and shares, I really appreciate....

The year was 2026. It was a stormy September night. One of the worst ones young David had experienced. Lightning forked across the dark sky and the sound of thunder seemed to reverberate from one end of the universe to the other. The windows rattled as the the rains hit them ferociously. David, sixteen at the time, sat at his desk by the window of his musty room, peering into the darkness outside. A dim table lamp, provided the only light source in the otherwise dark room, just enough light for him to see the words in the textbook he was reading. He knew it was futile though. This was one of those nights he knew he wouldn't understand much. Lightning flashes illuminated the room for brief moments and if you were there, you would have spotted the old Burna Boy poster duct-taped to the wall, along with several movie posters and a huge map of the world with a big 'X' scrawled over it.  By general standards, this first floor apartment he lived in, somewhere in mainland Lagos, j...

The back of my head itched as I raked my hands through my hair, trying to calm the mumblings in my head. I drove in dissatisfaction as my mind struggled to figure out why my day felt incomplete. There was something I was yet to do. I was bothered. I’d done everything perfectly today except for one thing, which kept me restless. I woke up at exactly 5:30am, completed my official report at 6:00am, had my bath at 6:30am, and got ready for work at 7:00am. I ate breakfast by 7:30am, and got to the office by 8am. I always had a complete day; doing my routines at the appropriate time without skipping any. At 8pm, I was already on my way home. The car sped through the darkening day, its headlight flashing, warning the incoming traffic. I scowled as my grip on the steering tightened considerably. It frustrated me greatly that I had forgotten something. I took deep breaths to calm myself, my frustration mounting by the second. It was becoming a not-so-perfect day. My day wasn’t fulfilled. I ne...

I sailed as an island From the coast of euphoria Drowning in the ocean of self Risk taken, not perturbed by the cries of caution Journeying through the strangers' path of familiarity; A loner's escape route. Void of expectations You came with friendship. Tossed by the wave of insecurities By the storms of reality And the tides of mistakes But we sailed. This time, as an us-land, Not by the craftsmanship of a sailor But with "Values" as our captain Anchoring on our dreams On the cabin of togetherness Built with the plan; "two are better than one". Friendship Beautiful cruise with loads of imperfections But we were never like the Titanic. ©agim_amaka

They skip Eph 6:4; that verse kinda alters their ego.  All they seem to do well is make rules and set a child on the highway of expectations to fulfill and seek total obedience without questions. To them, training a child is all about financial responsibilities: paying fees, providing food, shelter and clothing. Even though all these are basic necessities a child needs, there’s more to training a child .  They seek respect and submission of which they deserve but give no “attention” or a listening ear to a child’s  opinion. They  are always right and the child is always wrong; thinking they don’t need correction from the child but the child needs correcting from them.   To them, a child is bound to make wrong choices but they can never make wrong decisions for the child . Oh yes! Because they love the child too well to mislead him/her. How thoughtful!  They equate age to wisdom; elders they are, you must not question their words. As a norm, they im...

Everyone knew she was a friendly, nice, beautiful, rare bred and well-behaved girl. Yet, no one knew how much she hated her life. No one could guess how much hurt she had contained. To the world, she had an enviable life; men desired her, people envied her, her praises were sung aloud. But no one knew how it felt like to be stripped of humanity, to be ridiculed and dragged into the place of helplessness. She couldn’t change anything about her life, she was locked in it: a prison others had made for her. No one knew the fierce heart that beat within, no one suspected the stored resentment, the gathering fury — guilt and hatred, the aching hunger to break free and escape. She had no power to change her life but she had the power to freedom from the prison called life, from the terror she was born into. Suicide.

FOOD FOR ALL Every living thing seems to have something they feed on to keep growing and developing. But in this context, food may not necessarily mean something edible but a source of sustenance.  Even in an abstract sense, food exists in several forms, some of which are considered below: Physical food sustains the physical body. Knowledge is the food for the brain. Meditation is the food for the spirit. Music is the food for the soul. Love is the food for the heart. Thoughts are the food for the mind. Ideas are the food for stories and creativity. Sun is the food for plants. Plants are the food for other living organisms. But, ONE MAN’S FOOD IS ANOTHER MAN’S POISON. Safe to say; different strokes for different folks. Little food facts you should know : -Not eating before bed time burns fat. -Expiration dates on bottle water has nothing to do with the water. -Nutmeg is a hallucinogen. Despite the lockdown, we won't relent in feeding both our body and other abstract things that ...

Ever wondered what the world would be like if it were all-male or all-female? Intriguing as it might sound, it will come to a sad end of discontinuity. Even with the coexistence of several genders in the world today, much is left to be desired in terms of gender roles and equity. This begs the question of gender equality in present times.  The concept is quite self-explanatory; describing a state of equal access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making. While this concept prevails to an extent, the world is still plagued by stereotypes and gender roles, which prove inhibitive to gender equality. What we forget in retaining a society that doesn’t ingrain gender equality in its fabric is that every gender has a role to play on the economic and social fronts. In this light, the contribution of gender equality cannot be overlooked or overemphasized owing to its role in growth and development. Not only does it facilitate u...

If darkness had a face Not a friend or an enemy Dwelling in nothingness Wrapped in desolate existence Born of nature. If darkness had a face Men will forget their passions at its sight Staring at it unflinchingly until the sun rises again. If darkness had a face Its eyes hollow, and heart shallow Filled with beautiful doom The oblivion of light. ©agim_amaka

Does anything actually make sense anymore if we all will eventually become dust someday?  We chant ‘All will be well’ But all never gets well. Each passing day, we console ourselves With the future we only HOPE for. Today is the future you fantasized about ten years ago… On the long run, it seems there’s no future, just yesterday and today We live for the moment with memories of past experiences. No matter how many rules you apply, the question remains unsolved We only end up trying to live up to expectations, validations and approval. The target shouldn’t be to make it in this life Nobody ever does in the real sense Because man is insatiable. Just live while you can! ©agim_amaka

The night seemed to be in a deep romance with silence for hours, as Bella turned and rolled around the messy floor, her back aching from how she laid. She shrugged and muttered to herself, “wish I could close my eyes in peace a little longer”. With swollen eyes as a result of crying far into the night, she reached for her torchlight; to aid her get to the bathroom. Luckily for her, power was restored. “Tik-tok, tik-tok” the wall clock chimed. It was that time of the night again. Bella made her way to the bathroom to take a dump and freshen up, not knowing if she was preparing in disguise or not but she just wanted to feel water against her skin. The few minutes spent in the bathroom was relieving, as her mind was void of thoughts. Back in the room, Bella tried to tidy up. She eyed the broom sitting at the corner next to the wardrobe before glancing at the pile of dirty clothes in the laundry basket, feeling reluctant to do anything. Her fingers raked through her hair, finding an i...

Do you have a replica of yourself in another body? Someone who isn’t related to you by blood but then there’s this obvious connection, especially someone of the same sex on the basis of FRIENDSHIP. Hey, not sexual though, delete those “silly” thoughts from your head! Mind you, friendship is relative but there’s still an iota of generalization in the term. It could mean different things to different people but there must be a connection. I will be throwing out few rhetoric questions though, read along and give answers to yourself. Do you follow the cliché way of choosing your friends or you consciously choose on your own terms? Do you generalize the reasons for your choice or it is solely personal? Do you prefer connecting to someone who has an entirely different personality/temperament from you? Or you connect to someone who is like you; not exactly but there are many similarities? Well, different strokes for different folks it is then. Truth is, connecting with someone who is en...

Knowledge - an edge The world is evolving and we cannot be certain to what height the human species may aspire in their approach towards perfection, of which when attained, life loses its spice in variety. Yes! There's beauty in imperfections and somehow that's what makes life interesting. Perfect is boring. I bet you know. We may safely accede in the pleasing conclusion that every age of the world has increased and still increases; the real wealth, the happiness, the knowledge and perhaps the virtue of human race. Knowledge is constantly undergoing a profound and progressive fragmentation. We can only continue this growth with knowledge with deep-rooted curiosity. You cannot know enough without being curious. Curiosity, they say, "killed the cat". You're not the cat so you're free to be curious.😉😁 Be curious and feed your curiosity with knowledge. Widen your niche and be open to learning, unlearning and relearning. The on...

Kinda feels good to own a blog, yunno...?😁 To broaden my niche and instill the reading habit for all and sundry. This is supposed to be a welcome speech. Well, not everyone was good at speeches back in high school. Maybe, I top the list. Welcome to WordsAlive. It's my pleasure to take you through this adventure. Yeah! I feel excited to be your  pilot. Trust me, you will have fun. So, I will advice you subscribe now because I won't be held responsible if gist pass you by.😋😁 Also, do well to leave your comments, questions and feedbacks. It's a good way of sowing into the ministry. This is one of the shortest speeches in the world.😜 You have to agree. See you around, guys.