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Nature & Nurture
Do you think we’re shaped more by our experiences or by who we are? My answer: yes. I’ve always been curious, which is why I keep stumbling into adventures. My life has also gone through a lot of remodeling. Growing up in Nigeria taught me resilience. Moving across continents helped me develop adaptability. Graduate school…
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Big Cats
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The Go-Giver by Burg and Mann
Which book have you read more than any other? One book I often revisit is The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann. Its main message is simple but powerful: meaningful relationships are formed when we focus on what we can give rather than what we can get. Whether in friendships, family, or romantic…
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Cactuses and Roadrunners
Are you a lifelong learner? Strange New Mexicans: Cactuses and Roadrunners Before I left for New Mexico, I feared I would be among the only a few people there. I imagined stretches of arid desert land, barren and dying of thirst. However, there were more people than I could count, along with wildlife encounters and…
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Green Spaces
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? If I could live anywhere, I’d choose a city where gardens are woven into daily life—where green spaces invite slow walks, quiet reflection, and a stronger connection with nature. But in the end, my heart hopes to return to Africa, where I’d love…
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Bloom Again (America)
What’s a lesson you’ve learned recently that shifted your perspective? I thoughtonce something stopped blooming,its story was over. Then a wildflowersmiled from dry, stubborn ground,and now my certainty softened. Tell meof the orchid on my windowsill—bare stems, silent months,nothing to admireexcept the patience, water,of care unrelenting. One morning,I saw a green promise. And today, it…
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Anchored
What’s the best way to deal with negative thoughts? This poetic piece below is a response to the blog prompt above. Good night. I do not wrestle every shadow. Some thoughts arrive like uninvited birds, landing briefly before taking flight. I have learned that not every visitor deserves a home. When fear whispers, I answer…
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Part of my Bargain
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The Spider: The Things We Almost Miss
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Four Languages: The Good, the Better, the Bad, and the Ugly
Which languages do you speak and how did that impact your life? When people ask me how many languages I speak, I usually say four: English, Igbo, Nigerian Pidgin, and French. Before any French speakers get offended, let me clarify: I speak English reasonably well, Igbo proudly, Nigerian Pidgin enthusiastically, and French courageously. By “courageously,”…
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A Soul’s Garden
What’s a common misconception people have about happiness? They said happiness was somewhere out there—waiting in the distance,hidden behind achievements,recognition,and the things we hoped to one day possess. But I discovered a different truth: Happiness was a seedalready planted within me. A garden of the soul,watered by gratitude,nourished by love,and growing through purpose and faith.…
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Listening: The Skill I Wish I Could Instantly Master
If you could instantly master any skill, what would it be and why? If I could instantly learn any skill, it wouldn’t be speaking another language, writing a bestseller, or mastering an instrument. While those skills are valuable, I believe the skill I would choose is the ability to listen truly—to listen deeply, compassionately, and…
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What I’m Passionate About
What are you passionate about? “Your real education starts now, with friends you’ve made and friends you get to meet, with stunning successes and miserable defeats, and with a humble acceptance that your greatness comes from the mess around you, not despite it.” Conan O’Brien. People often ask what motivates my work. Central to my…
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Unmoved
If humans had taglines, what would yours be? It doesn’t matter what others think as long as you are doing the right thing and are at peace with yourself. Talking about peace: I was nominated for the Paul Bartlett Ré Peace Prize, administered by the University of New Mexico Foundation. I’m very grateful to the…
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Names and Identities
Names have long influenced how others perceive people and places. At a conference I once attended, I had the opportunity to discuss naming and power. One example that stood out was the term “Middle East.” For many residents of the region, the name itself carries little meaning because it is defined from an outside perspective.…
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When Stillness Calls
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Reimagining Black and Indigenous Student Representation at UCLA
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Treasured Belongings
What personal belongings do you hold most dear? This is a response to the blog prompt Some of the personal belongings I cherish most are those that carry memories rather than monetary value. Photographs, old messages, handwritten notes, and gifts from loved ones mean the most to me because they remind me of different moments…
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Between Cold and Comfort
How do you feel about cold weather? This is a response to the prompt above. I’ve visited several American states, including Nevada, Georgia, New York, and Illinois, mostly during winter or spring, and it was always cold then. In this blog, I’ll focus on these three states known for their cold weather: Vermont, Oregon, and…
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Beyond Mentorship
Share a story about someone who had a positive impact on your life. One person who had a lasting positive impact on my life was a professor who believed in my potential long before I fully recognized it myself. Beyond the classroom, they took the time to mentor me, guide my academic growth, and open…
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Belonging
What do you do to be involved in the community? This is a response to the blog prompt above. Being involved in my community means showing up where I can be helpful—through teaching, mentorship, research, and service. As a scholar and researcher, I create spaces for learning and conversation, whether in the classroom, through workshops,…
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Muse: You feel like a hug
I was thinking about summer while writing this, not because of a break from schoolwork, but because of the hot weather. I don’t know if it’s too early to start worrying about a warm summer, though. I’m considering going somewhere, maybe taking some train trips, and writing about it, or camping somewhere remote and also…
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Faith in Christ
What gives you direction in life? By the waters that still my soul, my heart will trust in You! Hillsong What guides me in life is my faith in Jesus Christ. In a world filled with uncertainty, distractions, and shifting expectations, my faith keeps me grounded and reminds me that my life has purpose. When…
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Yurt Luck: Me and the Coyotes!
Have you ever been camping? Have I ever been camping? If sleeping in a circular tent in the middle of golden hills, surrounded by suspiciously confident insects and the kind of silence that makes you hear your own thoughts too loudly, counts—then yes. My camping debut at Blue Oak Ranch Reserve was less “survival expert”…
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Across the Ocean, Toward Myself
Describe a risk you took that you do not regret. This is a response to the topic above. One risk I took that I do not regret was crossing the ocean to pursue my studies in the United States. Leaving home meant stepping away from everything familiar—language, family presence, cultural comfort, and the everyday certainty…
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From Zimbabwe, with Love and Stories
Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you. One morning, on the bus to school, I was fully prepared for my usual routine: sitting quietly in a corner, checking off items on UCLA’s student newspaper Sudoku column, staring out the window occasionally, and mentally debating whether I was awake enough…
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Four Poems of Oke Iroegbu
(i.) The MoonThe Moon is following meAnd with her light I seeWherever I walk she stalksBehind my shadow she followsAnd how she sweeps the landLooking for me in the quiet clan. (ii.) Village SquareThe nights dancing festivalBrings all, big and smallThe farmer, the wine tapperThe cobbler and the dancerA night of skewered meatAnd one, were…
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Frankie, Angel & the Six Musketeers
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April
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Laughter
What makes you laugh? This is a response to the prompt above. Laughter, for me, often begins in the small, unexpected moments that gently break through the seriousness of everyday life. A thoughtful joke shared at just the right moment, a friend’s playful honesty, or even recalling something slightly embarrassing can suddenly lift my spirits.…
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Whimsy
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Actually
What was the best compliment you’ve received? This is a reply to the prompt above. The best compliment I ever received wasn’t about my looks, eye color, my singing, my style, or even my cooking (which, for the record, deserves its own award). No—someone, or rather multiple people, always told me this. However, one time,…
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A Poem of Los Angeles, First Part
Urban Space & Ecological Memory Los Angeles is often seen as a spectacle: film studios, freeways, and the ceaseless growth of a city driven by movement. But beneath this image lies a landscape that has long been inhabited, named, and listened to by Indigenous communities whose ties to land and water come before the city…
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Small Ocean in the Corner
Small Ocean in the Corner A quiet tankBreathing blue lightin the corner of the room. Pebbles hold small storiesof water and waiting,plants sway like soft thoughtsno one hears. The lamp hums gentlyabove a glass horizon,turning an ordinary nightinto a small ocean. Outside, the room sleeps—couch, curtain, shadow. Inside,a world floatsin patient silence. Developing My Concrete…
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What is the last thing you learned?
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Before America: Musing of All Places I’ve Become
I want to share a part of a short story about not giving up. The longer version will come as we go along. There is a strange quiet that comes when recognition arrives late. Before America, before UC Berkeley and UCLA.Before the awards and recognitions: Mastercard Foundation Scholarship and Alumni Fund, International House Berkeley Awards,…
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A House I Built Within, Without a Map
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Catch the Falling Leaves
I sit where the grass remembersevery footstep and every season,one shoe pressed into the afternoon,the earth breathing beneath me. The trees are letting go again.Soft brown confessions drift downward,each leaf rehearsing its last small dance. I’m going to stare into the horizon,wait for the sunset,and watch and catch the falling tree leaveswhen they say goodbye.…
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Humility
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New Mexico: Mountains, Stories, and Knowledge
I’m in New Mexico for the UNM AISA 2026 conference, and the first thing that caught my eye was the Sandia Mountains rising to the east. There’s something about these landscapes that makes you pause and reflect on the delicate balance between humans and nature—a balance I’ve been contemplating a lot in my research. My…
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Becoming Time
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Below—apparently
They call it sub-Saharan—as if Africa were a submarine,ducking politely beneath elsewhere,periscope up, waiting for permission. Excuse me. Sub like “less than,”like a footnote that forgot it was a library,like history that somehow happenedbefore it was discovered. I’m thinking out loud. A desert becomes a ruler.A line in the sand gets tenure.Everything south of it is “sub,”as…
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Notes on Leisure
What do you enjoy doing most in your leisure time? This is a response to the prompt above. Leisure, for me, isn’t the opposite of work; it’s where I reconnect with myself. I enjoy unclaimed time—time that doesn’t require me to produce, justify, or perform. During these moments, thinking slows and becomes less goal-focused. I…
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Yosemite and Grand Canyon National Parks
Name an attraction or town close to home that you still haven’t got around to visiting. This is a response to the prompt above. I’ve always hoped to travel to Yosemite and the Grand Canyon National Parks in California and Arizona, respectively, to experience their vast, breathtaking landscapes, towering red rock formations, and intricate canyon…
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Indigeneity 101d: Indigenous Wildlife and Spaces
I like to think with nature. Much of my research is shaped by Indigenous ways of knowing and the question of how Indigenous knowledge is produced, preserved, and erased. I’m especially interested in moving beyond a human-centered view of the world to consider more-than-human life. We often talk about speaking for Indigenous peoples, but we…
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Less is More
Where can you reduce clutter in your life? For a long time, I believed clutter was just about possessions. Extra clothes, crowded desks, piles of books I intended to read. But I’ve realized that the most draining clutter isn’t always visible. It’s the kind that quietly builds up in attention, time, and thoughts. I first…
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How Tumbleweeds Teach: Humor as Pedagogy
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What This Blog Is Turning Toward This Year
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A Gratitude Note: Lessons from the Journey So Far
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My UCLA Study Space
