-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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,…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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”…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Frankie, Angel & the Six Musketeers
-
April
-
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.…
-
Whimsy
-
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,…
-
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…
-
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…
-
What is the last thing you learned?
-
Before America: Musing of All Places I’ve Become
-
A House I Built Within, Without a Map
-
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.…
-
Humility
-
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…
-
Becoming Time
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Indigeneity 101d: Indigenous Animals 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…
-
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…
-
How Tumbleweeds Teach: Humor as Pedagogy
-
What This Blog Is Turning Toward This Year
-
A Gratitude Note: Lessons from the Journey So Far
-
My UCLA Study Space
-
Diary of a Village Boy: The Leopard Spirit 13 (Tales by Moonlight 3)
I ignored the onlookers and went to sit with Fata. The evening was still young, and more children arrived as time went on. The moon shone differently than before; the white underside looked like it was cloaked in a light gray hue. The evening wind was busy doing its thing, and the little commotion of…
-
Perspectives: So Big, So Small
-
From Los Angeles to the Wild: A Road Trip to San Diego Zoo
-
Pigeons
-
Quote: Quiet Wins
-
Alcatraz
I was there once—intense views,spirits rising and falling,all of us entrappedon this piece of land. I heard the seagullsand the silent whisperslifting with the sunrise—people, dust, memories. Cold weather, cold hearts,remnants of man’s resentment.Nature goes on living;this is no reservation. Guilt, conscience, prayers,tears, the 1960s, modernity—love, maybe hate.Are you ever worriedabout the past? I see…
-
Quote: Power is Gentle
-
Sandia Mountain 2
I miss the sight of Sandia Mountain—its quiet congregation of morning clouds,brief visitors dissolving in the first light. On the bus, with the window as a frame,I witness a slow-moving masterpiece:mountain, sunrise, cloud—a trinity that feels intentional. Sandia follows me, or so it seems,a steadfast citadel keeping paceno matter which road I take.I wonder what…
-
Why Fairytales Matter – Slides
-
Amuse: Past Life, Present Laughs
-
Homelessness 2
Do you truly understand what love is? It’s the powerful realization that homelessness doesn’t define a person’s worth. Homeless individuals are everyday people—just like you and me—deserving of kindness, respect, and love. Recognizing their dignity can ignite compassion within us and inspire real actions to help uplift their lives. So next time you see someone…
-
Love is a Choice
Love is a choice, so I chose it—not because I had feelings that fade over time. Not because I notice your height or weight, but because I decided to. Not because I think I should, but because I made a decision to. Most times, there won’t be butterflies; other times, misunderstandings may occur. Sometimes, it…
-
Roses
One bright Sunday, I came across a beautiful rose blooming unexpectedly in a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of Albuquerque, Rio Rancho. It was a simple moment, but the charm of that surprise flower made it truly unforgettable. The striking beauty of the desert landscape shows that a single event or element can transform the…
-
Go Forth and Sparkle
-
The Bee and The Bloom
A bumblebee buzzed with bumbling grace,Zipping and dipping all over the place.It spotted a flower, so red and sweet,And said, “Well hello there—my sugary treat!” It wiggled and jiggled and landed just right,Its belly fuzzy, with stripes shining bright.Then whispered, “Dear flower, don’t mind if I stay,I’m just here for nectar… and maybe to play.”
-
Random Thoughts 1
-
So… It Actually Rained in LA
