Guess who's back???
Amebo, pls let's pretend I didn't ghost you for more than two months...
Ahem,
A prodigal daughter returns. I know you are side-eyeing me and saying, “this one is not even serious.” I know. But hear me out.
You know that feeling where you have a lot to say but the words just won’t arrange themselves? (Writers please back me up on this) For the last quarter of 2020, I could hardly breathe. Nothing else consumed me but work and the wickedness Nigeria was doling out back to back.
I thought about writing to you during the protest and when 20-10-20 happened but I did not know how to call up humour or light banter. I was a mess and writing was undoable. Young people were killed while singing the national anthem and waving the national flag and our government tried to gaslight us about it. Bullets felled people in the street and we moved on like it was just another ordinary day. Bullets met people where they sat in their households and their loved ones watched them die. How could I write? What could I even say that would be funny or appropriate?
December came and I had a big project at work that had me singing Beyonce’s “they’ll never take my power, my power” in my sleep (don’t ask) and frantically hoping that I had crossed all my “t"s and dotted my “i”s. It also renewed my hate for the UI of the Facebook Ads manager.
But in all this, I missed writing to you…
I missed our camaraderie. I missed this space because here, I am free to be myself and write like myself. To write without much consequence or the worry of whether 1,000 people will read or share it. To just write.
This year, I want to get to know you better and I want you to know me better too. I want Ifeomation to be a little burst of joy for you on Fridays. However, I am scared that I may not live up to this promise of aproko-ing in your inbox every week.
So you know what?
If a Friday passes and I have not written to you please drag me on Twitter, Instagram, or WhatsApp (if you have my number) But in all, drag with care. I do be fragile sometimes.
So amebo, what are you up to this 2021?
What is new in your life? Are you “new year, new me”-ing? Are you getting back on the fitness train or trying to eat healthily? Gist me biko.
Fun Stuff
This tik-tok video expresses all I have to say about artist/creative blocks and I think you should watch if you are feeling bad about not creating.
There’s this Korty EO babe. I like her vibe and I think you’ll like it to. In this YouTube video, she talks about being 22 and jobless and you know what? The mental space she is in here is weirdly goals.
This is one of the most brilliant ads I have seen in a while and it reminds me why I love conscious marketing.
Here is the first paragraph of a short story I am writing. Enjoy!
Somewhere in Lagos, a girl sits by her balcony, wishing. The stars are out but she does not see them. She is passionate about the life she wants and not the one she has. Someday, when she has that life, she will hate it. But for now, she is passionate. She decorates her future home- the walls are painted in white or quarts pink or pastel blue. There is art everywhere of course- colourful, unsmiling women in headscarves. And plants. Yes, there are plants littered everywhere- green, alive and polished. The furniture is made of sandy brown wood and the cushions are covered in bright fabrics from her trips to Marakesh, Thailand, and some village in Greece. In all her daydreaming, she is alone. There is no lover or child or pet. Right now though, she has a boyfriend and she does not know where he fits in this future life. She also has a Nigerian mother who wants a husband and children for her.
Till next time!
Ya gurl,
Ify bekee