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Picture this: I am waiting for my flight to Baltimore. It is a really late flight because I am cheap, but I also hate long journeys- I don’t know how I got through those 13+ hours trips to Liberia! I checked in my bag with all my things so I only have one carry-on item- my favorite bag from Mali (similar to the one pictured above). It is a wonderful work of art woven to perfection by hand. I love it because it is fashionable, but also easy to carry. I’m not a big handbag pe

People always remind me that I have an accent. The thing about accents is, oddly enough, we all have them. Somehow, only a few of us are constantly reminded that we have them. Whether I am on the busy streets on Monrovia or the small township of Christiansburg, everyday conversations somehow start off with “You have an accent. Where are you from?” Welcome to my life. I am an immigrant living in America with strong connections to my birth country. When I am in America, I tal

It took me a very long time to realize I have two best friends in my mother and sister. I had to go through several no good friendships that woke me up from my slumber of everyone is my best friend. Through the years, my mother and sister went from raising me to holding my hands and now laughing with me as I figure out life on my own. I love you, mama and Dr. K. Thank you for every step of the way

November 13th, in the Catholic Hospital in Monrovia a trouble maker came screaming into this world around 8pm. My mother was still married to my Sierra Leonian Dad and the Liberian war was a year away. The years ahead will consist of fleeing to neighboring countries for refuge, growing up in tropical weather, trading my rice for cookies and eventually settling into the United States. Somewhere between bullets and fleeing, I came to learn the philosophy of my life: No Conditio

According to Aid Data, there are over 7,000 aid-related projects and NGOs operating in Liberia. The population of Liberia is a little over 4 million people. During Ellen Johnson’s Sirleaf leadership, she estimated that there were about 1 NGO per every 4000 Liberian citizens and in 2013, the country reported about $13.7 billion dollars in international funding. With such a huge amount in aid, Liberia still sits idly at number 4 on business insider’s poorest countries in the wo

A chubby cheeked brown boy smiling with food on the side of his mouth, wearing no shoes with a torn t-shirt barely covering his full belly. What a sight! For most westerners, the urge to pick this little boy up and show him to the world seems irresistible. As someone who was paraded around in Europe as a “poor African war child”, I can say this with confidence, please stop picking poor children up for photos. In 1998, renowned opera singer Pavarotti along with some of his we

There was a program from graduate students to ask Police Officers questions about their new environment (VTech) I sat in the room of mostly international students. I listened as we heard about crimes and ways to stay safe. Then came the questions of how do you call the police in your country. The question went around the room and people called out the numbers they used to contact the police in their home country. When it was my turn, I said 911. I got a weird look from the

(Post from 2013) Today we drove past the old U.S Embassy in Liberia. As we took a turn, I couldn't help but notice a building with the sign GreyStone on it. If you went to Google Greystone in Liberia, the first photo that came up was this. Let me tell you something -This photo just like my memory brings back some parts of my childhood that were almost erase by bullets... Greystones was one of those places people ran for shelter during the Liberian Civil war. I was almost 8 y

I want to go home I want to go back there Where is home you ask? It is the place of my birth It is where my mother also call home I want to walk the streets that are familiar to my grand parents Bring back the usual “bus stop- bus stop” and “hole it, hole it in” from bus sations I don’t want that processed coconut water from a box on  shelf I want to relax under the cool shade as "grona boys" climb the trees and pick me coconut Ahhhhh the sweet taste of the coconut w

Walls. It is hard to tell whether we put walls up to shield ourselves from the outside or to keep the outside from getting to us. Sometimes we put walls up that are so high for anyone to climb so we become trapped. For some, the walls also have caution tapes on them. They build high walls then create fear for those who attempt to climb them. Sometimes, the outside world no longer seem like a safe place And from behind those walls, there is still fear of who would dare to clim

Often times, we don't give people their roses while they can still smell it. We wait to say the most heartfelt things at funerals and these days on social media. For some of us with African parents, our people do not get the love and affection they are due. Facebook and emojis are not enough for what they do and most times, they do not reach them. This month I want to celebrate a woman who deserves all the praises and my gratitude. Unfortunately, she cannot read this because

Some women have a list of what they would want their "perfect" guy to be. I quote perfect because we all know saying perfect and a guy in the same sentence is hysterical. Well, back to this post. Some people will make a list (mental or physical) of what they want in a partner. Obviously, the list varies and because women are allegedly complicated (COUGH COUGH ), we have longer list. If we are complicated, sometimes....well, we most certainly are not complicated most times, bu

A new thing, a new fling A new day, what can I say He walks by, I said hi And in his eyes, there were no lies See, when he turned and saw what I see every morning in the mirror, He knew there was no room for error I made the first move He handed me my groove I may not be Stella But I kinda lost that You know, that "bold go after what the hell u want" vibe Yea, that vibe -I lost it You see the guys around here, They want to be here and there For him, it was clear right from th

During my stay in Harper, I took on the role of "Auntay" for so many beautiful little girls. For some, this simply meant buying candy every now and then, while others wanted a little tickle or play fight. What more can little kids want? A little girl named Fanta -commonly called Dabbah told me she wanted something else; She wanted to dress up just like me and "be me". We take for granted our impact on children. These little ones soaked up everything they see at home and in th

The happiest people don't have everything they just make the best of what they have. I must have seen this somewhere on a social media site and the more I read this the more this picture starts to make sense to me. I took this picture during a trip to the rural part of Liberia while undertaking an After-school activities center. I do not remember the name of the child in the picture, but I remembered how happy he was that day.  The entire last day I spent in the village, thi

The other day, my Aunt told me "you na even 30 yet? You geh, life na start until 30. Live small yah". What she meant was I have barely experience the greatest part of my life and I need to enjoy the ride through life. I might not be 30, but I have to say it has been an eventful ride so far. I am here to share a few things I've learn so far. Hope these speak to you or help you see life in another way.  If nothing else, just another list of things you see on the internet that s

This post came about from a dinner the other night with some of my friends from middle and junior high school. The evening was going very well until they decided to start questioning me and my relationship status. First, let me give you a little background on some things before I talk about the conversation that evening. I am currently residing in Liberia so the West African tradition (mostly just Liberia & what I see in movies from Ghana and Nigeria) depicts that I should be

I came across this little quote about inner peace and thought I share it along with this photo from my recent travels to Hawaii-  "Inner peace begins the moment you decide not to allow another person or event to control your emotions." We are so programmed to react to people and events that this really made me think about what exactly that would mean to achieve inner peace. It is important to take care of ourselves, but how?  Here are a few things that work for me:  Remove

She wants him

To the place I first open my eyes To the place of my future and past  To reason my love for Africa never dies To  the place my mother calls home Sweet Liberia, I salute thee To the reason I'm proud to be called African To the German plum, the monkey apple and those sweet sweet sugar cane To the cassava leaf, the palm butter and the juicy torborgee To the pem-pem boys ont he corner of Meclin and Carey Streets Sweet Liberia, the very thought of thee excites me To the hard times