ALUU4

I am supposed to be writing an essay, but I thought it was only right to write a bit about my home.

I write this piece with great sadness at (not what my country is turning into but) what the educated youth of my country have decide to adopt as a path for justice. I didn't  wasn't able to watch the video but I saw the pictures and I was saddened. This story is another that causes my heart to weep and my eyes to release a downpour of myrrh. If you haven't heard of this story go to
http://lindaikeji.blogspot.ca/2012/10/3-uniport-students-burnt-alive-for.html

What made this story worse for e, was the amount of people who recommended that the perpetrators of this heinous occurrence be killed. What makes this commentators any better than the animals that killed those boys? I say animals, because it is animalistic behaviour to attack without a hearing, to beat someone till their face is covered with blood, they are almost dead and then put a tire  on them and burn them.

For the first time, since I became an adult, I am sickened and ashamed to call myself Nigerian. That the youth whom we think will make this country a better place, with so much exposure: csi, law and order so many action movies, would deem it fit to take matters into their own hands. What happened to justice.

You cannot say that you were afraid that these boys would go scot free, if indeed they committed whatever crime they were accused of, because we all know that crime is severely punished in Nigeria. I am amazed that this happened in a university community. It scares me that so many people could stand around and watch this happen with excitement. What does it say about our country.

I am said for Nigeria, that we have taken our love for bad news to a higher level. nOW WE DONT JUST WANT TO SEE PEOPLE SUFFER OR NOT PROSPER WE WANT TO BE part of their lives being cut short. We want to watch, we want to see the blood, we want to bathe in it, dance in it, revel in it.

Is this what my country has become? We are so outraged at people being killed that we think that another show will satisfy us. Such BLOOD THIRST.
I want to have a chance to hear and understand what was going on in the minds of these animals. I need to understand, why we as Nigerians think it is okay to take the laws into our hands and then complain that our leaders are doing now.

If we are doing it all on our own what more can they do but fold their hands?

I usually like to put a positive spin on things, but I am unable to find one now. Not with this story, not until witnesses start speaking up, not until these animals are charged and sentenced for their crime. They murdered people with no aggravation . They took laws into their own hands and the only punishment I want them to suffer is through the hands of the law. Anything else would put me in the jungle with them. Lets stop waiting for karma.

Me Me Me... It's all about me

I know this blog is supposed to be about my view of the world and how much I want to change it (which i still do , by the way) but i find that in my quest to save the world, I have found a lot of flaws and faults in myself that need mending.

I haven't only found flaws, I have also just begun to notice some traits in myself; things that I am not particularly proud of and have tried for so long to correct or ignore or just plain not understood.
I am going to ramble and digress a lot in my posts so please bear with me.

Back to my self-realisation.

I have, just recently, begun to question my actions and motives for doing somethings, my reactions. But before I start to correct these "flaws" I want to begin to accept that they are a part of my design. I have these flaws because they are there to help me make decisions on which path to take.

My favourite poem has always been "The road not Taken" by Robert Frost, and until this moment it did not dawn on me as to why.
I always tell people that I am a complicated person but just now I realised that I am not. I am rather a complex being, as we all are.

The flaws I have nagged myself over are :
1. My extremely nice personality (almost to the point of stupidity)
2. My interest in soooooo many things
3. The ease and fast pace it takes me to get bored of or forget something I am sooo passionate about
4. My affinity for picking someone else over myself
5. My inability to feel like I truly and completely belong anywhere.
6. Over thinking everything

These issues, I find come up everyday, and I am choosing to live with them, albeit wisely, cause trust me I have tried to change them. I didn't know where I was heading, when I started this post, I still don't know.
I just know that I am not the only person who finds things in themselves that they detest (or maybe I am). Either way I am fine with it. It didn't take age to make me realise this, it took years!!!! Longer than I expected it to, but it's okay because I finally know and have accepted it.

I am a work in progress and I love it! I am still being broken down, by myself and my experiences :good and bad. But that is okay too because, when a place is being torn down, it is to create space for a better structure.

Guess this is turning out to be a motivational post (oh well). Just accept that you are who you are and that your strengths and more importantly your weaknesses build you up. And only when you begin to accept those flaws will you be able to change them.

You can't take a tylenol if you keep insisting you don't have a headache.

I know this was a whole lot of "going on and on" but I hope you picked out one thing. aND HOPEFULLY, THE NEXT post will make more sense.

CRY FOR CONGO

In my first post, I must have mentioned my passion for the Congo. A lot of people ask why not Nigeria? I do not know? I first heard about Congo when i was about 9 years old, through a music group that came to our church in nigeria. I will not claim knowledge of the issues in Congo, but when I see suffering I do not first think of the story behind it, everyone has their own versions of a story, I think of how to end the suffering.

6 million dead people! Everyone is shouting over 20 dead people, so why is there silence over 6 million? We need to shout, we are all humans, injustice is injustice, suffering is suffering.

I hear Congo and I cry, Every parent's prayer is that their child will never be raped or buried before them. Although childless, I carry the people of Congo in my womb, my bosom, my heart. Let us cry for our brothers, our sisters, our children!!!!

If you can't help financially, it doesn't mean you are powerless to help. Raise AWARENESS. We all know the power of social media. PLEASE do something. Do not think it is contained, so it will never affect your area. even the most quarantined disease can spread with just the tiniest mistake.

I AM NOT attaching thEsE links http://congojustice.org ,  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLV9szEu9Ag&feature=player_embedded put blame on anyone. So please do not shift focus from the suffering to the involvement of another country. Cry for Congo do not throw stones at another.

cRY FOR CONGO

Sweet lemons or actual lemons

Lol!!! I start this post with Lol because I haven't been able to do much but lol since Sunday.
In my last post, I was so worried that I had been "messing up, but since then stuff has happened that makes me want to demand an award for stellar behaviour.

thought life had been throwing me lemons without any sugar. if i had looked closer, would have realized that I could still made lemonade. 


Maybe I will tell you all about this epic mess up, when its all over, for now speculate, don't worry though I am not pregnant. Just fat!!! lol.  




This post is kind of depressing. blah. Hmm I will inject a bit of happiness by urging you guys to come to Le Rouge, if you are in canada, Im going to be there. yay!!!! I will reveal myself that night so you can find me. (Speaking like a famous person already :D)


P.S Carloslaron I'm so sorry for the non-reply, I am avoiding one on one convo right now cause i need to  squeeze five buckets full of lemons and sweeten the juice with a teaspoon of sugar. Plus i want to have good news when I tell the bad news. :*

My messed up Couch

Anyone who knows me might be able to tell you I am an awkward person. As in, extremely awkward, try talking to me on BBM. I am talkative in public but one on one? My head battles with the appropriateness of a conversation topic. Trust me! not a good thing. I know this blog is supposed to be dedicated to world issues, but what is the purpose of solving neighbourhood issues when there's a storm raging in your own house?

I have argued the wisdom of personalizing (really being open and honest) this blog for weeks, maybe years (ok years). However, I realize maybe instead of wanting to reach 10 million people at once, I could reach a few who'd extend their hands to others. Instead of doing it all myself and then feeling good about myself, why not help others. Ten happy people will do more than 1 happy me. 

Oh well, in other words, I am going to air my mistakes and some of my struggles (they aren't that many, to be honest). Don't expect earth shattering, or steady flows of confessions cause :

                   1.  I'm not one who opens up easily, so be patient
                   2. I get bored and carried away easily, so I tend to jump from project to project. :(
Confession for the day: I love attention!!! (hahahaha I have never actually said that out loud before and never really thought about it). But honestly, I do a lot of nice and kind things out of the abundance of my heart but I get kind of hurt when it doesn't get noticed and then I beat myself up for the "selfishness". So anyone else who is out there and feels the same way, I guess it is a normal thing, it doesn't make you less kind to want to be noticed, everyone wants someone to know they are there. After all, how do you know you are making an impact if no one acknowledges it.

If no one is there to hear a tree fall, did it actually fall?
Anyways that's my two cents for today. Yes I know it wasn't really a confession but baby steps. Maybe next time i will divulge about my age and what it's doing to my mental state. lol!!! but seriously I have been thinking seriously about that.

See you next time on The World From My Couch. (Sounds like a talk show)

DANA AIR CRASH

I was sitting in church when I got the news about the crash. I was suddenly overcome by fear, then sadness and anger. The anger has stayed the longest. I am not disappointed at anyone, because I don't usually expect much from people. This post isn't about spewing out facts you all already know, or to blame DANA (WHO IS DANA?) or lament about how well/unwell Goodluck handled the situation. This is to scold Nigerians, myself included for not know your rights and for waiting for "them" to do something about Nigeria.

First of all, the workers said they told the head officials that the plane was not fit to be flown but the officials said they should. And because this people were afraid of being fired, they flew the plane anyway.  First of all, you can refuse to follow your boss' order, without fearing that you will be terminated, if the order includes violating the Health and Safety Code. However, our people are not educated about their rights and the "Unions", if there are any, are as uneducated as the people they are supposed to be educating.

Second problem; Nigerians just don't know what battles are worth fighting for half of the time. The few that know about claiming damages (suing) say "what is money going to do, will it bring back the dead?" Maybe not but that money will cause profit focused companies sit up. Imagine what would happen if everyone that experienced a loss, in an air crash or bus accident that was clearly the fault of the company, filed a lawsuit against the companies. I will tell you what, these companies will start being more careful because even if money wasn't awarded, it costs lots of money to defend yourself in court. If it's the costs of lawyers that scare people into sitting with their arms folded, shouting "Na wa for Nigeria oh, when are they going to do something about that country", then why not boycott these companies. Imagine if they didn't get 100 passengers in a week, that's 1 million if the ticket price is just 10,000 naira. Do you think they won't try to appease the public by taking steps to be safer?

Nigerians, stop waiting for someone to do something, make small steps. We do not need to Occupy Nigeria or mourn for 3 days to effect change. There is so much Goodluck can do, he is one man who has to get agreement from so many other men before he can pass one bill. Remember even the most selfless person has some self interest in doing things.

Yes we look toward a leader for guidance, but do we really need Goodluck to come to our houses to feed us?

Late valentine message

Learning to LOVE ONESELF.

Is Learning to appreciate Your Talent

and DOING something(s) with it

be PRODUCTIVE!

LOVE THYSELF.

Life's puzzles

There's usually one piece of a puzzle that seems like it fits almost everywhere but not quite.

Sometimes when it finally finds it's place, it creates such an impact.

Sometimes you don't even notice the difference.

For some, you find out they are in the wrong box.

I wonder what kind of piece I'll end up being.

About

Dear Reader

My close friends and I laugh about how I'm a cacophony of personalities. Sometimes I evoke a different personality and sometimes I am unconscious of its rising.

On the couch, watching t.v, just resting, listening to music, talking to someone you have a crush on, playing with family, talking to a therapist or even crying you experience so many emotions. Some that inspire you to stand up and take charge, some that open your eyes to see that somethings are to be left alone for God and fate to deal with, and some that remind you of how powerless you are in some situations even though you so badly want to be of service. On this same couch you start to device ways to bring aid, even when you are physically unable to.

This blog was born of my frustration of the situation in Congo, so it will entail quite a few opinions about that (so if you know anything and have opinions about what is going on there and how it can be helped, feel free to email or comment).

The world from my couch is my documentary of all these emotions evoked in me. It is going to be a celebration of everyone who embrace their couch, not as a sign of weakness but as a support system and an inspiration. It will celebrate people I find inspiring, funny, talented. Discuss problems that I think should be brought to light. It will be an open panel, which everyone has the right to say what they feel with the respect that they wish accorded to them.

The couch can also be a place of work. This blog is a site for inspiration, let it inspire you to do something, no matter how little. :D Hope you enjoy.

Audrey Gold.