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Presence
What’s something you used to worry about but don’t anymore? I used to go above and beyond for people and water myself down to make everyone feel seen or appreciated. However, this often led to disrespect and, at times, entitlement because people thought I couldn’t stand up for myself. Now, that’s not sustainable, is it?…
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Wanderlust – Africa
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Gratitude
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Respect is Reciprocal
What’s a skill you consider basic, that most people don’t actually know how to do? One of the most overlooked basic skills is respect. Many people mistake kindness for weakness and think that someone patient, generous, or forgiving can be taken for granted. True respect involves valuing others regardless of what they can do for…
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Rain or Reason
Do you think everything happens for a reason? Some moments come like gentle rain; others hit like lightning. We celebrate victories, mourn losses, and often ask ourselves the same quiet question: Did this happen for a reason? I want to think about this through a simple example: rain. When rain falls, it may seem like…
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My Concrete Jungle
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Traveling with Sunsets
What’s your biggest dream? My biggest dream is simple enough to fit inside a sentence, yet vast enough to outlive me: to travel the world and watch the sun set in every climate and nation. I don’t want to collect countries like stamps, but to gather evenings. To learn how the same sun speaks different…
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Around the World in Eighty Days & Passport of Mallam Ilia
What’s a movie or book that inspired you to travel? Around the World in Eighty Days made me believe the world was one giant invitation waiting to be accepted. Phileas Fogg hilariously raced across continents with his French valet as if delayed trains and missed connections were merely suggestions. Long before that, though, I had…
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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
What’s a piece of media (book, movie, song) that changed how you see the world? When I took this photo, I wasn’t trying to capture anything extraordinary. I was walking home from grocery shopping when this little guy caught my attention. It was just a small spider resting on a railing on the gate outside…
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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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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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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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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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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
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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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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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What This Blog Is Turning Toward This Year
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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…
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Pigeons
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Quote: Power is Gentle
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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…
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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…
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Protected: Love From Afar
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
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Whispers from First Earth
Beneath this sun’s ancestral flame,Where baobabs bear me witness, still—Africa stirs with sacred name,In every plain and every hill. The Nile, in silken stories told,Winds through Nubian dreams of old,Where Kush once ruled with a crown of gold,And river gods their secrets hold. Mount Kilimanjaro stands,A sky-pierced crown of ancient lands—The Chagga guards its snowy…
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Indigeneity 101c: Indigenous Knowledge and Ecology
I invite you to read an article in Romanian (which can be translated into other languages) about the importance of incorporating indigenous practices into our ecological efforts. The article provides examples of environmental initiatives from communities in France, Vanuatu, Nigeria, Kenya, and Chad. How can we sustainably resolve conflicts between humans and wildlife in rural…
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Quote on Elephants
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Summer’s Warmth
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Dance in the Rain
How lovely it is to dance in the rain at night,Like lost children—twisting, turning, and soaked.How sweet it is to listen to Nature’s songWhen nights are cold and the lights are out.How happy it is to hear the heartbeats of loved onesIn a vigorous hug or a gentle embrace, or even both. Would you become…
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Diary of A Village Boy: The Leopard Spirit 12 (Tales by Moonlight 2)
