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The Lazy Writer

YOUNG NIGERIANS LIVING WITH SCOLIOSIS






Thursday has never been my favourite day, and on this particular day, it cemented itself as the least favourite day of my life. Every health issue I have was discovered on a Thursday, major and minor injuries/surgery happens on this day. Sporting exercise had just ended that day, and I was privileged not to participate that week because I was a senior. As I walked up the stairs to my class, my least favourite teacher asked to see me. 


She took me to the basketball court and quizzed me about my recurrent back pain. Before then, I had complained to my mum who thought this was as a result of carrying heavy backpacks. She gave me a note which occasioned me visiting the hospital, where I was diagnosed using the Adams forward bending test and series of x-rays. 

The doctor told me that day “you have scoliosis with a 30-degree curvature, you're so lucky”

Scoliosis is an abnormal curvature in the spine; it occurs during the growth spurt just before puberty. The typical shape of a person’s spine includes a curve at the lower back. A scoliosis spine is curved from side to side often giving it either a C shape or S shape. The normal curve of the spine allows the head to balance directly over the pelvis. If one or more of these curves is either too small or too high, the head is not correctly balanced, leading to back pain, stiffness and an altered walking pattern. It would do you some good to know that most athletes and celebrities are also scoliosis patients. The likes of Olympian, Janet Evans and Usain Bolt, tennis star James Blake, and the list continues.

For some people living with scoliosis, constant back pain isn't an issue but for 23% of patients with idiopathic scoliosis, they present back pain at initial diagnosis. As if having a bent spine isn't enough, dealing with pain where using pain killers isn't recommended could be unbearable. 

Living with scoliosis is a rollercoaster of good and bad days, it involves daily stretches, yoga, sleeping on your back or side and being careful as simple everyday tasks like tying shoelaces, lifting heavy shopping bags, Sitting/standing for long hours could result in discomfort.  For Daniel, waking up to a weak back and numb legs could hinder productivity at work but he never lets his condition limit him. He gets to work earlier than every other worker and has never taken a day off because of his condition.


Nigeria records about 1.5million cases of scoliosis yearly across states. A higher percentage of this spine deformity happens to females and lesser cases for male. About 80% of scoliosis cases are idiopathic—a term used to refer to cases that have no definite cause. Neuromuscular scoliosis is the second most common form of scoliosis and is associated with disorders of the nerve and muscular systems such as Cerebral palsy, spina bifida and spinal cord injury. Degenerative scoliosis occurs mostly in adults. It is caused mainly by changes in the spine caused by arthritis. The weakening of the healthy ligaments, soft tissues combined with some abnormal bone spurs which lead to an abnormal curvature of the spine.


HOW TO DETECT SCOLIOSIS IN A CHILD.

 For Ayo, she was having her bath when she was 10 years old. Bending over to scoop water on my body, there and then, her mum noticed the huge difference in her spine. Early detection is crucial to treating scoliosis, delay in detection can lead to an increase in curvature which can worsen into lung and heart conditions. To detect scoliosis early, the Adams Forward Bending Test should be used. Symptoms such as uneven shoulders, unleveled hips, the head that doesn't align with the pelvic and rib cage can be detected through this process.  Funmi shared her story saying “For someone who is very insecure about her body, I was asked to strip in front of a male doctor with only my bra on. The doctor wanted to examine my back. A part of my shoulder bulged out, I could see it from the mirror. It was at this point I knew something was wrong”. After this test, if done at home, visiting the doctor is the next thing.


Doctors often ask their patients to do an x-ray which they use in measuring the degree of curvature. This measurement helps determine the kind of treatment needed. Scoliosis deals with growth. The height, weight, age, severity of the curve and other health conditions of the patient is put into consideration before a treatment plan is designed.


 TREATMENT FOR SCOLIOSIS

Scoliosis types require different treatment options, one of the oldest methods of treating scoliosis is the Schroth method; this method has been in existence since the ’70s. It helps improve posture, eliminate pain and curve progression. However, countries like the US, UK and South Africa have advanced their treatment options for people with scoliosis. The three main types of treatment for scoliosis: Observation, Bracing and Surgery.




Bracing in scoliosis includes the use of a back brace for 22hours out of 24hours, this is often the estimated time frame for patients who are braced. Braces help stop the progression of scoliosis while also reducing pain and correcting the patient's posture. 

Bracing for many users like Motola is described as painful and unbearable. She recollects losing her self esteem over the use of brace as it was embarrassing especially the way it protrudes out of the patients clothing, the constant stares, bruises and scars that come with it. 

The surgical procedure to correct severe scoliosis could be one of the most traumatic experiences for a scoliosis patient. The patient, in this case, falls under the category of the spine at 45degrees and above. The operation for scoliosis is called a spinal fusion. The basic idea is to realign and fuse together the curved vertebrae so that they heal into a single solid bone. Omotoke says ‘I went into surgery around 12noon and came out around 9pm, it was a major surgery that had rods inserted into my spine and ribcage. Was hospitalised for two weeks, deferred my admission for a year and had to use a soft brace to aid walking for a while’ This procedure takes about 4-6hours, about 3-4months to heal with limited flexibility. It also involves learning new ways to sit, stand and walk safely. Although this carries high and rare complications, it is one of the best ways to treat severe scoliosis after exhausting available options.

 

PREGNANCY AND SCOLIOSIS. 

Considering this affects the female population more, Patients often get scared that they won't be able to carry their children. Scoliosis doesn't diminish fertility or increase the risk of miscarriage.


 Debunking this myth, Omotoke who is a mother of three says pregnancy was a breeze, I birthed my children naturally although this varies according to patients. Many worry about excessive back pain but Temi claims that “the back pain most mothers with a normal spine experience is the same as one with scoliosis” Although pregnant patients with scoliosis involving the pelvic, shoulders and hips may experience discomfort, breathing problems and weight-bearing issues—especially later in the pregnancy. Getting a physiotherapist that helps with safe and best practices is advised. Omotoke laid emphasis on the use of epidurals to aid pregnancy-- an epidural is used to block pain in a particular region of the body. Most women with scoliosis get to have epidurals although it becomes hard locating where to administer the drug especially for those who underwent surgery to correct their spine.  

Stigmatization is one of the many things people with scoliosis face daily. Understanding that people have little or no knowledge about this even worsens the case because most patients feel alone and develop unhealthy habits towards life. Scoliosis is not a curse, not contagious and patients with scoliosis are not potential candidates for money rituals. 

 In Africa today, we have lots of scoliosis cases, especially the unidentified cases—people completely unaware of what they are living with. The need for research papers, advanced treatment and awareness on scoliosis in African countries cannot be overemphasized. 

In Nigeria, many people are unaware of their conditions, people aware feel alone and neglected. Communities like Beyond a Curved Spine hope to change the narrative by constantly reaching out to educate people on scoliosis and also raising a community of scoli warriors.  By sharing stories, campaigns and the adoption of testing in schools, we can educate the average Nigerian on Scoliosis.  




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Hi guys,

First off let me say a happy new month to you. Secondly, I apologize for being off this space. Life has been a whole lot these past few months. Let me gist you. This post will be a bit informal, a little bit of getting to know me.

So last month was one of the most important months of my life. June is scoliosis month and scoliosis is a health condition I have. Scoliosis has little awareness done in Nigeria, so I dedicated the month to reading, learning and reaching out to more people with my condition. I had a major breakdown this same month because I lost someone close to me. This made me appreciate the people around me more and care for them more than I used to. I defined my friendships and tried to understand life a little more. I lagged behind on some of the things I used to do, stopped listening to podcasts, music and even stopped taking care of myself. 

Death was my favourite topic, I read on it, I asked questions. I just wanted to understand what was going on. I had sleepless nights thinking about it, nightmares and was sometimes afraid to get up at night to pee (now that I think of it, it’s actually funny). If there is one thing I learnt, it’s that, I can’t understand death, I don’t want to. I never want to feel that way again but I have also come to the realization that it is inevitable.

 Do you guys ever feel like trying to understand some of the mysteries of life? Why do good people die? Well, if you do, join the club although I have come to the conclusion that God takes the best of them when it comes to death. Every other thing, I try not to bother myself with them.

Many people experienced so many deaths in their families these last six months, I have a friend that lost 3 aunts and 2 siblings. He happens to be the strongest person I know because he bounced back to work almost immediately. Heaven knows if that was me, id be in my shell wondering when I am going to die too. Wondering who is next—this question kept popping up throughout last month.

To everyone who lost someone these past few months, accept my heartfelt condolences.  Before now, I didn’t have a slight understanding of how it felt, now, I can relate to some certain extent. I hope you find peace, love and light. I hope you allow yourself to feel everything you are feeling. I hope you heal and I hope you find a way to live again.

 Enough about me, how are you guys going?

I hope you’ve been smashing your goals. If you haven’t, there is still time. Just take it one step at a time. Remember to BREATHE AND LIVE.

To everyone who sent me dms on IG, those who asked of me and those who reached out to my friends asking when I’m going to write something here. Thank you so much, I don’t take your love, support and constant feedback for granted. God bless you

@taihandesigns on IG did that awesome new month logo.

Till next time






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“The quality of your commitments will determine the course of your life.” – Ralph Marston












If you were able to design your perfect day, what would it look like?

Mine would totally go in this order
  • Wake Up
  • Pray
  • Read books
  • Listen and dance to music
  • Go out and laugh with friends
  • Come home, enjoy a bottle of wine alone with my laptop watching my favorite movies.
One thing you’ll notice when you answer this question is you’re writing down things that you are interested in, things that matter to you, things that make happy and appreciate life better. These things are not influenced by the decisions of others rather this is what you’ll do if you were given this opportunity, so why not give yourself this opportunity everyday for the rest of your life. Today I’ll be writing about a topic that I’ve been reading a lot about lately considering that I’m trying to get my life on track as a young adult. 








                                  INTENTIONAL LIVING
If you’ve never heard of this, intentional living means living according to your values and beliefs, it could be religiously, politically, ethical value as well as for self improvement— this is the part I’ll be talking more about. Intentional living involves creating meaningful, fulfilling , thoughtful choices in the course of this journey called life. It means being actively interacting and engaging with your life, constantly evaluating yourself and making amends when needed. Intentional living helps you set a course for your life , it helps you make time for the things that are truly important to you. Its kind of  a roadmap that helps you navigate life in general. Intentional living comes with a plan but this doesn’t mean that the plan should be rigid and inflexible, of course we all know life happens, and sometimes we find ourselves in situations we totally wouldn’t bet would happen. So for the times that life isn’t constantly throwing jabs at us, that little time before the change of course, intentional living helps with making choices and having control of our lives.

Intentional living cuts across different aspect of life such as

  • Health
  • Relationships 
  • Finance
  • Personal/Spirituality
  • Career
Of course there are more aspects of life that need our attention but these are my top five. These aspects of our lives are the most important and having a plan on how to navigate each and every one of them would really do us some good. There are certain ways I’ve learnt from friends and from books that would totally help with this.




BECOMING SELF AWARE:  Self awareness is the conscious knowledge of one’s character and feelings, this falls in the category of personal/spirituality. Self awareness is the ability to focus on YOU, your thoughts, actions, way of life , attitude, values and emotions —how these align with your internal standards. Being self aware helps you to be able to evaluate yourself, manage your actions and it helps with understanding how others perceive you. I know you’re probably wondering why should  anyone’s perception of me be important to me, truth is to some certain extent it is important. In order to have excellent result, ask people who you know will tell you the truth, people who really want to see you grow, not people who will be speaking from a place of contempt towards you, be careful of who you choose as this can make or mar your decisions. Being highly self aware helps in all aspects of life, from your personal life to your work life and even how to interact with the environment you find yourself in. Looking at your self objectively and truthfully stating you strengths and your weakness can help with being self aware. Also, perform daily reflection on how you handled situations over the course of your day and how you can do better in some cases, keeping a journal for all of these also helps.

GRATITUDE: You’re probably wondering why this is on the list but gratitude is a must, being thankful for the smallest things in life is one of the habits we’ve should cultivate as human beings. My mum always says that the little things that you think you survived, those things you don’t count, some people will give their whole wealth for that little thing. I remember it took me consecutive visits to the orthopedic hospital to really start thanking God for life. My time there showed me how much a second means to someone’s  life. How that sick person on the bed would give everything they own to breath that fresh air you wake up  to every day. You don’t have to be overly religious to be able to give thanks for life and the little things that matter so inculcate this into your daily habit.

TIME: Time na money o, time na money, use your time well, stop waka waka,stop gossip gossip...every Nigerian can relate to this popular song about the importance of time. To be honest, I haven’t fully mastered the art of using time effectively. Considering that everyone in life has equal 24 hours, one question you should ask yourself what you do with your time? In my journal, the first page clearly states:  What is the connection between what I do today and what I want most in life?. This clearly explains how we often spend our day doing things that don’t really matter to us. We are all guilty of bad time management but I’ve come to the understanding that we cant essentially manage time, we can’t control it, why not focus more on something we can control? Our attitude towards time, self management. There are several ways to go about this and these are also ways to live intentionally.

Set a goal
A dear friend of mine taught me the art of goal setting and ever  since then, working towards each and every one of them even when the odds are not in my favour has been my top most priority. Life may not happen the way we want it, i mean by my action plan for my goals of the year, I should be in broadcasting school by now but what do we have? A pandemic that is threatening humanity. Who would have thought? Setting goals should also mean setting realistic ones, something you can work towards. Imagine if your savings goal for the year is to save 5 million and you don’t even earn up to a 100,000, how do you plan to achieve that? Setting realistic goals is key in goal setting.



Create a foundation of small daily actions.
Write out each task for that day, what you hope to achieve. You can do that in your journal or use apps like 24 or your reminder app on your mobile phone but i totally advise to use a journal as reducing time on social media is also a part of this. Try out this, give yourself a to do list for a day that doesn’t include using your mobile phone, turn off all notifications on social media apps and religiously follow through, you’d find out that there isn’t much time to do some things you love doing outside of social media, so why waste your time on this? I personally turn off my notifications in such a way that if I don’t open a social media app for that day, I definitely won’t know if there’s an important message I need to reply that then takes me to Instagram, I watch funny cat videos, before you know it, I’m on twitter reading long threads, from there, there’s a YouTube video waiting for me, and so on. Till you spend hours on these platforms, it will feel like you spent a minute.  Truthfully, at first sticking to these daily goals will be tasking, trust me, I still battle with that but one thing for sure is gradually, it gets better. For me, no matter how hectic my day is, I always have to write how I feel about how my day went (if you’ve offended me, be sure to find your name in these writings but not to worry, all is forgiven), I also have to read anything for 2 hours in a day and listen to a podcast show. Start from somewhere and gradually you find yourself smashing your daily goals. Giving these goals a realistic timeline/tasking one is also key, it helps you manage time and also helps you stay focused.

DEFINE YOUR PURPOSE: This has to be the hardest of the whole journey to intentional living, from the first day I set foot in the university, till I graduated. Everything I heard from friends, Lecturers, Seminars on personal development is define your purpose in life. I don’t even know my purpose in life and so this doesn’t seem like oh, she’s typing all of these, does she know her purpose in life. We are all on a journey and if I tell you yes I do, I am lying but knowing this is an essential aspect of intentional living, it is important to take it one step at a time. So chill, before you run along to google how to find your purpose in life. Listen to this, finding purpose in life doesn’t happen in one day or in a year. Some people find it early in their life, some in the later part of their life and I want to strongly believe some people don’t till they die. So, in order to live intentionally, find your self. If you’re a king or queen of diverse interest like me, explore them. If injustice bothers you, examine how you react to news like that. Surround yourself with positive and truthful people who can see you and give honest feedback. One step at a time, it would become clearer.

MINDSET: With all the negativity in the world and our personal insecurities threatening  to mess up our perception of life and how we tend to live.  It’s enough to have a negative mindset but this doesn’t do any good to you, it only takes away from you. Imagine using a plunger to fix your bathroom, how it sucks all of that dirt in other to give way for water to pass through. That’s how negative mindset sucks the life out of you and gives room for setbacks and slow growth. It is not so easy to be optimistic about life especially when it has dealt you different blows but you owe it to yourself to change your mindset. The way the mind works cannot be overemphasized and if you’re knowledgeable about this, you won’t give room for negativity, albeit, sometimes this can’t be ignored, we just have to cultivate that optimistic mindset. So everyday, make use of daily affirmations. Affirmative statements like:
I am beautiful
I am smart
I can take on any task give to me and any other one that is applicable to your life.

The decision to live intentionally is a great step to a beautiful life, realizing that life is made up of choices and you have to be intentional about the choice you make should also be at the back of your mind. Learning from people who are way ahead of you is another great way to start this journey. I’m very sure if you follow everything I said above, you’ll find yourself doing more for you and not for others. One last thing I’ve learnt is the ability to say NO more than you say yes and considering that we have different personality traits, (you can take personality trait test to know yourself ) also looking inwards will also help especially if you’re a people pleaser . If something doesn’t work for you or is totally going to get you in the wrong place or wrong state of mind. It’s better to say no, than saying yes then regretting later on.
Also, there’s no journey without reflection. After putting into use the steps above, it is important to always reward yourself if you smash your goals, reflect on some of your past decisions and how they’ve shaped your life and if the steps you’ve taken are actually working for you, revise your plan always as life will happen and circumstances will change — for better or for worse.                      Rinse and Repeat.
Books recommended by a friend to learn more about intentional living.

BOOKS TO READ.

Soulful simplicity-Courtney Carver
Daring Greatly -Brene Brown
The habits of highly effective people- Stephen Covey
I haven’t read them but I totally trust this persons judgement so dig in and if you have read books you’d like me to check out too. Please drop a comment.

If you found this very useful,  share with your friends and families.
Follow my blog for more,  SUBSCRIBE, LIKE,COMMENT, do whatever makes you happy.😊
Thank you for reading 💚





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In my last blog post, I mentioned that listening to podcasts has been one of the ways I've been coping with the lock down. Before the pandemic and the lock  down, listening to podcast takes 2hours of my time every day. I search for new podcasts that interest me and also catch up on the old ones. Podcasting is an amazing way to tell stories, it is very close to radio and sometimes its called radio's first cousin, its accessible anytime and it always makes me feel like I'm in a conversation with the speaker. An amazing voice is one of the perks of being a good podcaster and the anonymity of podcasting is what makes it intriguing to me.

So  here are my favorite podcasts at the moment:


  • THE TWENTY FIVE PODCAST BY ONY ANUKEM-  This is topping my list of podcast because it is similar to what i will do if  i ever decide to start a podcast show. Ony takes us on a journey with top professionals in their fields, female leaders who have inspired her or their community in a positive way. They have discussions on life, family and the things they wish they knew when they were 25. I love this podcast because you can tell that even the most successful people you wish you were made mistakes, they had sad days, setbacks in their careers, some have changed careers in the space of 10 years unsure of what they really want to do, it just makes you want to do more and believe that in the worst of situations, you can still come out victorious if you’re willing to try and do the hard work.


  • WHATS YOUR SAFE WORD:DECLARATION OF RESISTANCE - I found this podcast while searching for something new to listen to, the women at the center come together to talk about dealing with pain, grief, marriage, sexual abuse, relationships. Its an amazing podcast that dwells on our individual reality and our stories, navigating through life in general.  This podcast taught me to be intentional about living, how our actions can determine the direction our lives will go  and its been amazing so far. 









  • THE OTHER SIDE OF TWENTY FIVE-  This is a podcast held by five ladies discussing topics ranging from pop culture to black culture, relationships, current affairs  and what its like to be on the other side of 25. i love this podcast because it gives me the vibes of me and my girls talking and arguing about stuff on the internet, government policies, relationships and life generally .


  • SELF IMPROVEMENT DAILY-  This podcast is held by Bryan Ford and it is the podcast i listen to everyday on my way to work and it kind of sets me in the right mood, i listen to it in Lagos traffic, it kind of distracts me from the whole drama Lagos wakes up to every morning. Bryan's voice is amazing, his voice puts you in the right mood and charges you to just do better daily. He talks about intentional living, living a purposeful and fulfilling life. 


  • TED TALKS DAILY- A dear  friend of mine introduced me to Tedx talks, albeit, i wasn’t a fan of You tube, so i checked for it on google podcast and noticed i could listen instead of watching. I  listen to intelligent people talk about ideas they believe are worth spreading, people coming out to speak their truth and also, topics being lectured by some of the worlds most intelligent people.


  • IN THESE MOMENTS- This  is a podcast that explores real life stories, extremely personal experiences, unique and stories that are so relatable. This  podcast gives me the chills every time i listen to it, you listen to people talk about moments in their lives that have changed them and have made them better people. if you're an emotional person like me, grab your tissue when listening to this podcast.


  • NO NAME GIANTS- If you’re conversant with the Nigerian  entertainment space, you would know Pulsetv, Loose Talk was a product of Pulsetv , a team of 6 who came together to talk about the Nigerian entertainment space ranging from music to culture to trending gossip to shows, name it. The team here all left Pulsetv and decided to host their own podcast show called, the NO NAME GIANTS and they do the same thing they used to do on Pulsetv, only with less supervision and freedom( at least that's what i think). 


  • STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW- Funny story here, my brother sent me an episode from this show that talks about anorexia and bulimia, apparently, he thinks I’m anorexic because i don't eat.  Well, this podcast educates you on different topics you probable wont find in the news or you never would have thought to go on google to search for. Looking  for where to learn new stuff, this is the podcast.


  • WORDS AND NUMBERS- This  podcast is hosted by Anthony Davies  and James Harrigan, its a production from FEE- Foundation for Economic  Education. They talk about economics, political science, current affairs and policy in the most interesting way ever. I mean, if you subscribe to FEE's newsletter, you should expect this.
 Phew!! That was fun. So i have friends that are podcasters and  I would love you to check out their podcast show.

  • TIKTALK WITH PRINCELYX
  • MEMORIES WITH ZO
  • THE CREATIVE PODCAST


So guys, that is all on podcasts, someday i'll share my favorite books.
I hope you enjoy each and everyone of these podcasts as much as i do.

 Stay safe and practice all preventive measures.





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                                   Dearest Friends,



       The COVID-19 pandemic hit my home country on the 27th of February, ever since then, it's been rising. Who would have thought that we would all be in our homes for over a month, who would have thought our survival would depend on us staying away from social gatherings, for some, friends and families, for some, their partner, it is overwhelming. For most people like me, staying at home isn't a problem, its the constant news on tv, the rising death tolls, the constant talks from African parents that the world is coming to an end, is the trumpet going to blow anytime soon? it gets tiring as the day goes by and I know you can relate to that too if you live with your parents.

          Sometimes I go to sleep at night wondering what it feels like to be infected by the virus.
On this beautiful day, I woke up listening to the pigeons my dad feeds every morning, the sound of their beak against the hard roof of the shops downstairs where I live. I scrolled through my twitter feed only to find out one of my social media mentors is a COVID-19 survivor, read her full story here. It was shocking at first, I thought to myself, can anything good happen to this lady for once?. Reading her story gave me insight to what it felt like to be infected by the virus, it answered some of my answers but I was curious as to how other people were surviving, the poor, the less privileged, the ones whose survival depends on the daily hustle.  My mind wandered to the handicapped man that sweeps the bridge at Oshodi, I remembered the beggar at Yaba, the fruit seller I patronise on my way to work. How will they live?





          Many celebrities started out by giving money on social media, some NGOs distributed relief packages, the government said they distributed relief packages. I encountered the frustrations of Nigerians when I decided to volunteer to conduct the house to house search in Lagos state, my best friends were furious, questions like; is this the kind of volunteer job you want to do? do you want to die? arent you scared of contracting the virus? I knew all of these and I honestly was scared  but I just wanted to do it. Moving from house to house in the area where I lived, I never believed people lived in really bad environments, environments that could aid the spread of any disease or virus. I almost got lynched by some people who thought I was a government official, I listened to old people tell me how they've been living, I saw young children looking at me being able to walk the streets of Lagos oblivious to what my mission was and jealous I could move around. At some point I cried at the condition I met people, I cried at the level of poverty in my country, the gap between the rich and the poor, I prayed for better days, prayed for better and conscious leaders but all these cannot alleviate their sufferings.

Another thing I recognized is how fast fake news spread in the communities, people asked me questions like, is this really true? Are our leaders just trying to use this to steal public funds? Have you seen any dead person? Have you met anyone that contracted the virus?  All these questions and I had no answers to give. I think of ways we could contain the spread of the virus and also allow people to go by their daily activities, an article from stears business sheds more light on that here. the article explores two solutions and how each of them can help with the containment of the virus.  Share your thoughts with me on what you think

The death toll increases globally, we are in constant fear and I can't help but be afraid for those with a mental health history, are they alone right now? how are they coping with all the information on the news and on social media? how do they feel about everything going on? do we have to fight to keep their own sanity?. My two cents—avoid social media, listen to music—this helps me a lot, read books, visit only trusted news websites even if you want to be updated about the happenings around the world, learn a new skill, pick up a new indoor hobby, call your friends and families, mend that broken relationship, donate to a cause, help feed the needy. At the end of the day, just do whatever makes you feel better. For me, I listen to podcast shows, they help me a lot, I am halfway through my reading goals for the year and I hang out with my siblings and talk to my friends. This period has given me more time to think about life in general and the only thing I can say is LIVE.

Is there anything you've been doing that has helped you? Share with me, I just might be adding that to my list of things.
Remember; we can only stand together by not standing together. practice all preventive measures, stay safe. This too will pass.





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Hi,
I'm sorry for running away, the thing is I'm such a lazy writer, hence the name.

 Last month was my birth month and to be honest as excited as I was, I couldn't help but think of how far I've come, where I am and where I am going to be in the next 3years. Often times as human beings we are ungrateful for some of the privileges life gives to us, the gift of life, the gift of food, water and shelter. I find myself doing this, seeing people younger than I am, people my age, doing amazing things around the world but the issue is that I can't even get myself to do most of the things I love doing, it's like I've got so many beautiful ideas but laziness and procrastination won't let me do them.

while I was reminiscing and lost in thought I came up with three things I am proud of doing in the last six months of my re-awakening (i like to call it that).



GOING BACK TO READING.
Growing up as a child, I used to read anything that came my way, from newspapers to magazines to blog posts etc. I loved books so much I would pick up a pamphlet just to read the content in it. Then all of a sudden, I lost interest. you'd wonder if I picked up another hobby, no I didn't, did I do what every regular teenager did, NO. It is really hard to tell but I'm grateful, my final months in the university I picked up interest again, started buying books and reading them.






MEETING NEW PEOPLE
All my friends will disagree with this, but truly, I am a very shy person. Over the years, I never liked going out (i still don't), all the people I know from the university are friends of friends. I don't think I made one friend on my own and grew that friendship to where it is today. For every person I met through a friend, I try as much as possible to maintain that friendship especially if we get along and it's been amazing so far.  I made lots of friends in my final months in the university and most of them remain my top ten friends I could cry to anytime, they've helped shaped my decisions these past few months and they've pointed me in the right direction. I am grateful for each and every one of them.





GROWTH
Growth as a human being on a personal journey is one of the things I am grateful for. In retrospect,I must say I've been to hell and back, mentally and emotionally. I went through times I didn't think I was going to come out of, fell out of relationships, cried over the silliest things, thought life was unfair to me, questioned God over some of the things happening to me. At the end of the day, I learnt that life is like a swinging pendulum, a rollercoaster of bad and good days,  all we have to do is hold on tight and brace up for the journey because tomorrow is not promised and tomorrow could also be a better day.






Here's to 22 amazing years.
I hope to create more memories and most importantly LIVE.




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I like to think of myself as an ambivert, I could be a social butterfly today and the next day, I'm the weird introvert you're wondering if she has a life other than staying indoors and reading books. I like to believe that I can adjust my energy to that of the environment I'm in.
I love reading books, articles, and I have a thing for knowing something about everything. there was a time in year two in the university, I met these two amazing girls who used to call me MS KNOW IT ALL, I always had an opinion about everything even though their teasing added fuel to my insecurities. I never liked to think of myself as smart, hell I'm an average student, there are a million and one things I do not even know a thing about it but be sure to mention something I don't know and watch me ask questions about everything.

I have a terrible fashion sense, I'll wear jeans, shorts and tees all my life if I'm allowed but this doesn't mean I don't know the dos and don ts in fashion, I just don't like exploring them.  I don't have a favourite artist but I love ASA and JON BELLION, I would totally pay to watch them play live. when asked what kind of music I listen to, I always say, I listen to good music.  My judgement of music may be different from others because I listen differently. i love food and my fav is AMALA[ yam flour].

I am in between finding what I love doing because of my wide range of interests, I will be documenting everything about this journey and I hope you enjoy every piece.



till then,
see you <3


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About me

Ọ̀mọ́tọ́lání


A writer,data analyst(in view), media enthusiast and full time baby girl.


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