THE ALLURE OF THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT

This article was written in loving memory of my primary school days at Busara Forest View Academy (BFVA) Nyahururu.

 Spare the rod and spoil the child!!!





“The following students to meet me outside the staff room immediately!” roared Mr. Okello the deputy headmaster in his usual stentorian voice. The dining hall suddenly fell silent, so silent that one could hear a pin drop. We all looked nervously at each other. Although it remained unspoken, we each wondered who had crossed Mr. Okello’s path this time and silently sent a prayer to the heavens that none of us were on that sheet of paper he now held in his hands. 

Men, Boys and the Power Puff Girls

I am an avid fan of cartoons. One of my all time favorite cartoon series is the power puff girls on Cartoon Network. Growing up in a small town with no cable TV, I only had access to one TV station, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC). KBC at the time did not offer a variety of cartoons for an avid cartoon lover like me. Therefore, the move to the big city in the sun (Nairobi) at the age of 17 was one of the best things that could have happened to me. Not only did I now have unlimited access to Cartoon Network, but the move came at a time when I had just finished my High School education and had lots of time on my hands. What intrigued me most about the power puff girls was the fact that despite the fact that they were little girls who did normal stuff that other little girls do (like attend school and help with the house hold chores at home), they had superpowers and they spent most of their time fighting villains and saving their little town, Townsville.  Talk of girl power…

Girl power as a term of empowerment, expressed a cultural phenomenon of the 1990s and early 2000s. The modern woman today knows what she wants and how to go for it. However, despite the empowerment, despite the feminist movements, behind the power suits and the accolades is a woman who seeks to be loved and treasured. 

THE JOURNEY

I was a traveler on a search,

In a search for something I lost

I was searching for hope,

I was searching for a piece of me that was lost

I was searching for redemption, a second chance

I took a journey, a pilgrimage,

To a different world, a different place

I found what I was looking for,

It was different from what I expected

There were no holy lights, no angels singing

It was found in the most unlikely places

It came in a smile of a child, who had nothing,

It came in the love of a girl who was going to die

It came in the new found friendships I made

It came in the form of surrender,

Surrender to my creator, my God

It came in the prayers of my loved ones,

It came in the love of a man who was afraid to love

But was willing to take a risk by loving me

A CASE OF THE KETTLE CALLING THE POT BLACK

‘Don’t you dare throw stones if you live in a glass house!’

Human beings are inherently judgmental creatures. Each of us has our very strong views on what is right, what is wrong, what is acceptable behavior and what is not acceptable behavior. This is the key reason why society today has such a huge impact on some of the decisions we make as individuals. The irony however is the society is made up of individuals who are far from perfect. These very same imperfect individuals are the very first to cast a disapproving look when one fails to conform to the ‘acceptable’ societal behavior. Is it a wonder then, that we have a rotting society which we all choose to ignore in our quest to put forth an image of perfection?

WHAT IS LOVE?

Bob Marley once said this about true love.... He’s not perfect. You aren’t either, and the two of you will never be perfect. But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold onto him and give him the most you can. He isn’t going to quote poetry, he’s not thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break.  Don’t hurt him, don’t change him and don’t expect for more than he can give. Don’t analyze. Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad and miss him when he is not there. Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don’t exist but there is always one guys that is perfect for you.

 It never ceases to amaze me, the extent human beings are willing to go for the sake of love. Growing up I always had this fantasy of true love... (Blame it on Hollywood and all those times I spent in the library reading romantic novels, of heroes and damsels in distress). It is no wonder then that I am now and perhaps forever will be a romantic at heart. Last week I finally got around to watching the movie…Baggage Claim…and it so far stands out as my favorite romantic clip of 2014. I mean sometimes love exists under your very own nose but you are just too busy wishfully gazing at the horizon, searching for a perfect nonexistent love. Look around you. Love is everywhere. It’s in the air we breathe, the stars shining brightly at night and in the breathtaking view of an ocean at sunrise.

Ladies, Wait for the guy who pursues you :-)

Call me old fashioned, call me a sucker for a romantic story with a happy ending but I am and will always be a strong believer of the school of thought that a man should always pursue the woman. Yes, Yes, we are living in the modern world, equality rules and a woman can do anything a man can do and a woman can go after what she desires....Fine. I am not undermining the women's rights movement. In fact, i am an avid advocate that no woman should be discriminated simply because she is a woman.  However, dating is a different ball game all together.

HOW NOT TO BE A PEOPLE PLEASER

I may not know all the secrets to success. However, I do know that one of the secrets to failure is trying to please everyone!!!

If you have a people pleaser pattern, you have a pattern to try and fit into the description that people have of you, which might not necessary be you. So you live this mediocre unhappy life and you wonder why you’re not progressing forward. The way I see it, people pleasing is a disease, and just like all diseases, if you don’t treat it early enough, it is going to kill you!! I mean it!!Perhaps not a physical death, but an emotional, psychological and even a spiritual death. Being a yes person is simply exhausting.

So when you find yourself slowly turning into a yes person remember: