Times are a Changin'

Because I’m going through a transition time in my life, I’ve decided to discontinue this blog.  I hope to start blogging again soon but possibly on a different platform that will allow me to express who I am more easily! Keep you posted. Thanks for everything guys!

Nigeria Arising

Abuja at Sun Down

If you’ve been following this blog you know that in June of 2014 I traveled to Nigeria. The trip, which I wrote a lot of blog post about, was absolutely incredible and is still the peak of my life so far.

It has been almost a year since I was in Nigeria and since then, I have been working on the documentary about Nigeria, which I filmed while I was there. And now (drumroll please) it is finally complete!

What inspired the creation of this film started with the innate need to discover a part of me that I proudly claimed but did not fully understand, that being the Nigerian side of me. I knew from experiences such as meeting fellow Nigerian Americans, interacting with my Nigerian family, and even seeing Nigerians like Chimamanda Adichie, David Oyelowo, and Chiwetel Ejiofor rise in America, that there was something special about the culture I was from. But at the same time I was being bombarded by conflicting images of Nigeria; the ones I saw in the news of the slums, terrorist attacks, corruption, and chaos! I knew that I was making a judgment about Nigeria based on fragmented pieces of knowledge but I wanted the full picture so that I could fully understand the place and culture I was from. To do that, I needed to go to Nigeria…and when I did, I found so much more than I could have imagined.

I shot over 100hrs of footage while in Nigeria and I wish my documentary could elucidate every piece of my trip, but a 100hr documentary is not possible (sorry!)…I do hope however, that this 10min documentary allows you to catch a glimpse of the people and country I claim so proudly to be a part of.

Check out my mini documentary called “Nigeria Arising”

 

THANK YOU to all the interviewees, sponsors, friends, and family who made this project possible and have taught me little about NIGERIAN PRIDE. My wish is that you learn something from this film and feel compelled to share it with others.

*Because I had to limit this film to 10min unfortunately not all of the interviews could be included! I do hope to make short follow up videos featuring some of my experiences in Nigeria not shown in this documentary.

Texaaaas

Spring break 2k15 lead me and my family to Houston, Texas! *said with a southern drawl* 

I’ve never been to the south so, in the past,  whenever I pictured Texas, my mind filled with images of cowboys, cacti and the desert. Although, I did see a few cowboy hats and cactus house plants but, for the most part, the Texas I saw reminded me of Florida while Houston itself was just like any other American city (it's actually the 4th largest city in the US). 

Why Texas? Well I have a whole lot of family that has been migrating there over the past few years, so we went to see all of them. It’s easy to see why my family is there... Houston is like a firkin’ mini Nigeria! There are parts of the city that resemble Nigeria exactly! Streets filled with African immigrants, African groceries and restaurants, add the hot sun and BAM your in Nigeria. 

I was in Texas for a week (Saturday to Saturday) during this time, as well as visiting family, I went to Kemah Boardwalk, The Museum of Fine Art, The Museum of Natural Science, and the aquarium. I swam and ate steak and enjoyed the warm weather; it was a pretty chill week. Texas was fun!!! I hope to be going back soon...

Kemah, TX

Houston Sunset

They have white tigers at their aquarium...

Museum of Natural Science

Throwback to Spring Break 2k14 in Flordaaa > Click Here 

The Center of the Universe

Last week I spent my weekend in The Center of The Universe...also known at Time Square, New York City. It was a fabulous time of course, the energy of the city streets, the lights, the smell of falafel (Mmm!), Hollister (yes!), and occasionally...weed (uhhh). It all makes ones senses quite convoluted. 

Why was I in NYC? Because college, college, college! It is audition and interview season for those wanting an acting career. I spent most of the weekend being  nervous out of my freakin' mind! But all went well and I feel very confident about my audition! If you've wondered why I haven't specifically mentioned what schools I've applies too that's because I'm making an effort not to tell you but the big reveal will happen around March or April when I begin receiving certain  letters in the mail, although, the fact that I was in New York should give you a hint. 

Now check out some of the fun things I  saw last weekend! And I should tell you, I'll be in NYC a couple of timed over the next few months so look out for more Center of the Universe adventures.

Legalize Weed Man

Johnny Depp - Madame Tussauds

Broadway's Aladdin - Amsterdam Theater

The Center of the Universe

Sam Smith Live at The Liacouras Center!

Sam Smith Opening Act at The Liacouras Center in Philly

Believe it or not, I have never been to a live concert, that is, until yesterday when I saw Sam Smith live at The Liacouras Center in Philadelphia. 

When you experience Sam Smith you are experiencing what it feels like to transcend into a higher state of consciousness. Not only was the perfection of his voice magnified but as an audience member I had the opportunity to experience the beautiful person behind the music!  Sam Smith is the type of person I would like to have as a friend, I would have him sing me to sleep every night.

Sam Smith Program and Poster

The moments when he talked to the audience, were my favorite. He told us the stories from his own life that  inspired many of his songs.  For example "Good Thing" was based on his experience of letting go of someone he was deeply in love with that didn't love him back, "Money On My Mind" was written to express his anger with someone in the music industry and "Make it to Me" is a love letter to his soul mate that he has yet to meet. 

In the middle of the concert he jokingly assured the audience that although many of his songs sounded depressing, that he wasn't some dark, sad, always frowning guy. He said his next album will definitely have a brighter tone because he doubts anyone would want to buy The Lonely Hour...Part 2 (haha!). I'm looking forward to it because this means he will be able to smile more, which is very exciting because as I discovered at his concert, he has the most adorable smile! 

Throughout the concert he had me, my friends and the whole  stadium up on their feet. In one moment we were two stepping, in another we were making the place light up like a galaxy and a few times I just kind of sat in total aw and tried to absorb the perfection of the moment. Thank you Sam Smith!

#Throwback Nigeria

New Haven Market, Enugu

I've been back from Nigeria for exactly two weeks so I figured it was time for a little bit of reflection on the whole experience...get ready for serious nostalgia!

Here, as I promised in a previous post, I’ve answered some of the most  frequent questions I've received about my trip, hopefully they'll give you a better understanding of the type of things I encountered while I was in Nigeria!

Goat Heads -New Haven Market, Enugu

Street Kids, Lagos

What was the most unexpected thing you encountered in Nigeria?
My parents did an excellent job of telling me what to expect, so nothing was too overwhelming. But it was still a shock to see how the social class system worked. In Nigeria you’re either well-off or poor; the middle class population is almost nonexistent. Because there is no middle class to serve as bridge between the lives of the rich and poor there is a harsh class system, one in which the two groups don't associate at all unless business and money are involved or one is talking advantage of the other.

#BringBackOurGirls Protest Signs, Lagos

How safe were you considering the threats of Boko Haram?

I never felt the need to worry about Boko Haram because much of the violence was happening in Northern Nigeria while I was mostly in the South East and West. But towards the end of my visit many public places began doing car checks to prevent car bombs. The worst was finding out there had been a bombing in Abuja, a city I had just been in a couple weeks before the attack. You could tell that Boko Haram was always on people's minds. Every person I interviewed for my film spoke of their anger towards the terrorist group and newspaper headlines always tended to focus around the groups latest engagements.

View from the Intercontinental Hotel, Lagos

How about electricity? Did you have internet?

Internet and electricity were a little more… scarce. It was not as if I could walk to Starbucks to enjoy free Wi-Fi! Instead I regularly bought and loaded cards onto my phone that gave me Internet access. As for light and electricity, supply lines for whole parts of the town would go off for hours at a time and this happened at least once a day while I was in there. Because electricity cuts so often individuals have gas run generators that they use power their homes (which is extremely expensive)!

the type of security wall that surround most homes

Seams like you met a lot of people. Were people friendly?

The thing about Nigerian culture is that they are not polite. But I mean this in the best way! As in, they say what's on their minds, they are honest, and they are real. For this reason I was able to meet and relate with people at a deeper level because there was no pretending. People were nice because they genuinely liked you and you can tell because they made an effort to make you know it. For example, a text message saying "I like you, we should hang out tomorrow", forward, direct, yet meaningful. Be careful though because this can work against your favor, if someone calls you fat…try not to take it personally...

Ibadan

Coming back, do you have culture shock?

More like separation anxiety! I miss Nigeria so much. I love having constant electricity and free Wi-Fi here in the U.S but I would give that up to spend a few more days in Nigeria. I plan on going back to realllll soon ;)