Circumspecte

Dear Ladies, So yesterday at the bus station, I asked a young lady whether I could borrow her phone. She lent me her phone and after my call, she asked: "Can I ask you for some advice?" and then proceeded to tell me how many people in her life - and especially at work - whisper behind her back saying she looks like a man, she is too dark, is she sure she isn't a guy, she's not good looking, blah, blah, blah. Mind you, I had just met her. Obviously, the issue was really bugging her! My first impression of the girl was "nice lady in braids, beautiful big eyes!" Anyway, we had a good conversation and it hit me that these are the real things we don't talk about even though we all experience it in some form or another: feeling insignificant or not [insert word] enough. Ladies - you cannot let people get into your head to the point of eroding your confidence and/or belief in yourself. "Beauty" is only skin deep. Sure, life might be relatively ...

For the past two or so days I have been trying to recollect 2012. To remember what happened. I know there were highs and lows, but for some reason those peaks and valleys weren't as defined as those of latter years. How could I live through 2012 but not remember it in great detail? Did it really fly by that fast? Well. You know how you try to untangle a knot and it takes that one string to have everything tumbling forth? That happened this evening. Exactly a year ago today I sat in an apartment in Bologna, Italy with my Italian and Russian friends as we waited for 2012 to roll in. Over a dish of shrimp rice and plantain and beans we shared our thoughts on how 2011 had gone as well as our hopes for 2012. But that's not all. We took it a step further, each writing on separate sheets what we would "leave behind" in 2011 and what we would "birth" into 2012. Tonight we're not together. My Russian friend is recovering from cancer in Chicago, my Italian f...

In an authentic Hadith, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said:  "Man is influenced by the faith of his friends. Therefore, be careful of whom you associate with." One of the distinct features of Ramadan that I have come to love is the feeling of camaraderie, of being one anther's keeper and of going out of ones way to show love and support. In my opinion, (wo)man's capacity for kindness is never more evident than during this Holy month. Its a time when complete strangers sit together in prayer shoulder to shoulder for hours and contemplate the wonders of God's creative abilities. When families who live in the same house yet have very separate lives pause for a moment and rediscover one another. When people go out of their way to lend a helping hand to the needy and orphaned in society. And perhaps, what's most beautiful, when the indescribable bond between humanity - Muslims and non-Muslims - is renewed. Over the years and during my time away from home I have experi...

Sometimes all it takes for you to affirm who you are, is to see a glimpse of yourself in someone else. Two weekends ago I had exactly that opportunity when my friend Arame and I spent the afternoon interacting with some writers, poets and painters at the beautiful Goree Island- including Goree Institute cofounder, distinguished writer, painter and South African poet Breyten Breytenbach , renowned Tunisian painter Emna Zghal , acclaimed NYU professor, author of "Joe the Engineer", and poet Chuck Wachtel, Coordinating Editor of the Piroque Institute and Imagine Africa Cultural Fellow Adam Weidwitsch , as well as up and coming Senegalese poet and author of " Les Raisins du Baobab " Ibrahima Amadou Niang. During our time there we discussed a lot of things - the act of writing, the different styles and forms, how to draw inspiration, what it means to be a writer, the question of who forms/tells history, the act of documentation and preservation of art and history, etc. I...

To say that the new year rushed in is an understatement. I woke up one morning on Dec. 18 and the next thing I knew, it was 2011. Sure, being engrossed in the Young Women's Knowledge and Leadership Institute (YOWLI) probably had something to do with my lack of awareness of time and space, but I gotta say, we went through 2010 really fast! Anyways, ni ti yum pali, bonne annee, dewenati, afehyia pa, HAPPY NEW YEAR! We're in another decade! We're three days in - almost 4 (11:50pm) - and I already feel extremely optimistic about 2011 :) For one thing, I've declared this year my year of positivity. For another thing, I can't explain it, but I just feel that this year is gonna be a good...no, great...one! And yes, I realize that putting this on the record means I can't come back later and complain when things are...ahem... a little off, but this is what I truly believe and feel from the core of my being. 2010: Careful What You Wish For Alors, a quick recap on 2010...