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Me and My ‘Mental Ruts’
So, it’s been quite some time since I last wrote a blog post. It’s been a funny few months for me, as I can imagine it has been for many people. We are still in the middle of a deadly panasonic, after all. As that continues to rage on, as racism has continued racism-ing, as the politics of this country has descended further into the gutter and as things have changed in my personal life, I’ve at times found it hard to think straight. I’ve found it difficult to process my thoughts, to concentrate for long periods and to keep information straight in my head. Time seems to simply pass…
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Happy Birthday to Me: A Love Letter to Myself
WARNING: omphaloskepsis I’ll be 32 years old tomorrow. If you had asked me ten years ago what I envisioned my life to be now, I’m not entirely sure what I would have told you, but I don’t think I would have envisioned what my life actually is. I wouldn’t have seen myself as a 32-year-old career changer. I would have seen myself as established in my career (at the time I wanted to be a barrister); I wouldn’t have seen myself as a former teacher/Subject Leader – I wouldn’t have seen myself in education at all. I wouldn’t have seen myself transitioning towards a career in commercial law; in fact,…
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Black Death and Why I Am Finding My Faith Again
Sigh. I feel like I’ve said this a million times in my last few posts, but 2020 has been an exceptionally trying year, especially for Black people. I feel, in the last few months particularly, like every day that I wake up I have a new reason to be angry, to be frustrated, or to grieve. As Black people we have lost so many as a result of institutional racism and injustice and we continue to do so. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. George Floyd. Christopher Kapessa. Belly Mujinga. Mercy Baguma. We have had to watch while white supremacy works at its most effective: Jacob Blake being shot in the back…
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Self-Doubt and the Importance of Remembering Your ‘Why’
WARNING: There’s going to be a lot of omphaloskepsis in this post. If you think you’re going to struggle with that, I suggest you look away now. For those of you who are staying with me, I also want to say I am no self-help guru or life expert. But life in recent months has had me mulling this over a lot, and I thought I’d share a bit of myself and one of my coping mechanisms with you. This will probably come as a surprise to those who know me personally or who have worked with me in the past, but I promise every word of what I’m about…
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Rules of Engagement: Why We Need to Be Respectful of Minorities’ Time and Space
I had (what I’m now going to call) a rather insightful week last week, and I learned some valuable lessons. Lessons that I think life has been trying to teach me for some time now that I haven’t really been listening to, thinking that things are and will be fine and I can just keep going as I am because that’s just how I do things. Well it seems 2019 is here to tell me that’s not true, and it is doing so by slapping me in the face with what is true: I am only human, and every human being has their limits. 2019 has started really well…
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Adoption: why is it seen as the lesser option?
CN/TW: This post contains graphic descriptions of childbirth. I’m nearly 30. As is the custom, I’m at that age where older family members and some older friends start asking me questions that are not only intrusive but are actually really annoying. “When are you going to get married?” “Do you want to have children? When are you going to have them?” If I’m lucky, I might get away with just that. If not, I’ll hear some dreaded reference to my biological clock, and I’ll have to try really hard not to kiss my teeth – this time not solely out of annoyance but also out of resignation, because I…
