Circumspecte

I had come home to find a stack of papers and brown envelopes in my laundry basket. Assuming it was my sister’s, I ignored them. That is, until I needed the laundry basket. They were mine: college applications, recommendation letters, letters from high school, the works. I ignored them still. Until I needed yet another excuse to delay my packing (procrastination becomes your best friend when you absolutely dislike packing). So, leafing through the stack of materials I’d long forgotten I had, I time-traveled to younger versions of myself and of my parents. Among the things I found were invoices, letters and notes from my first real job… straight out of high school. Now I must say that I didn’t get my job as an administrative assistant and sub-editor the traditional way. Applications? No siree. Connections – mum tells distant-not-really-a-relative aunt of so-so and so that her all-grown-up-distant-not-really-related-niece is all done with high school and looking to keep busy – nop...

Hi everyone, Ghana's 2nd Blogging & Social Media Awards is ongoing and I'm excited to let you know that Circumspecte and myself have been nominated for a total of THREE categories! Best Blog Best Female Blogger and  Best Twitter Profile You can vote by  clicking here  - all you need is your email address and a few minutes. Voting ends  March 28, 2014.  I also encourage you to take a look at some of the other nominees, a lot of great content and folks. I must say that after our nomination and subsequent win for  Best Citizen Journalism and News last year, having three nods is very encouraging and tells me that maybe I'm doing something right :) Thanks to everyone who nominated/votes for me and everyone who reads, follows, engages and supports me. Jabdulai vs. Circumspecte That said, I'll admit I am a bit surprised about a couple of things. First, that jabdulai.com (the "second generation" of Circumspecte) made the list in lieu o...

It's funny to think that after all this time I NOW get why Muslims are encouraged to learn Allah's 99 names .  We have a guest in our home, and according to Dagomba tradition, her name for the first week of her life here on earth is "Saanpaga", which means "Lady guest". The male equivalent, "Saandoo" also means, take a wild guess, "Man Guest". Total ingenuity, I know. Anyway, today Saanpaga will finally get her own name according to Islamic tradition. And during the last 10- and what is deemed the holiest- days of Ramadan too! MashAllah. In addition, as per family tradition, she will get a Dagbani middle name. Yes, her Islamic name will most likely have "tu" affixed to the end as most Islamic female names do.  No, it's not a fad, but rather a grammatical rule, as "tu" serves as a female indicator. Kind of like the French 'e'. My full name for instance, is Jemila(tu) Wunpini Abdulai. Jemila means beauty...

Hi Folks, Hope this week went well for you. Mine was totally out of wack aka nothing really went the way I expected. But anyway, it's all good, we're still staying positive through it all and looking forward to the possibilities which abound. That said, I'd like to extend a personal invitation to each of you to tune in to the Writers Project of Ghana (WPG) CitiFM (97.3) radio show this Sunday, June 12, 2011 at 8:30pm GMT . I'll be a guest on the show and will be sharing the highlights of my journey as a writer, some tips and lessons from my writing experiences, as well as reading some of my creative writing pieces from right here on Circumspect! The Writers Project of Ghana is an amazing creative writing and literary initiative that was started in 2009 and is based in both Ghana and the US. In addition to organizing creative writing projects and workshops around Ghana and in particular, with the youth, WPG also encourages literary culture through public readings,...

Hi Everyone! Hope you're all doing well. Can you believe February is just about over?! So far, 2010 is going great for me, hope it's the same with you guys. Anyways, this is a mini update. Circum-Vlog "How To Blog" Series: It's been a minute since I posted a new video. And it's not like I want to leave all you new bloggers hanging. Not at all. My computer is having problems and I don't want to risk doing any high-memory stuff (like editing and publishing videos) so for now that is on hiatus. I'm waiting on some accessories which I hope will be here within the next couple of days, and depending on how that affects my laptop's performance, I'll get right back to that. In the meantime keep sending your questions or if you need an immediate response, email me: j.abdulai@circumspecte.com . The Water Chronicles: So some of you might have seen Part I and Part II of "Calabash Tears". Part III is on it's way, I assure you LOL. I j...

Hi Everyone, I was recently contacted by Kathryn Buford, one of the creators of Live Unchained . She and her co-creator Miriam Moore have set up a virtual community and are developing a multi-media anthology for and by black women across the African Diaspora. I feel so honored and humbled to be profiled alongside some of the most phenomenal women on their site like Nigerian author and professor Nnedi Okorafor and would like to share my interview and Live Unchained's amazing project with you guys! You can access my interview with Live Unchained   here . And you can check out other interesting profiles and works on the Live Unchained Blog . I hope you guys find their project as amazing as I have, and please share with interested individuals! Much love, Jemila -- Photo Source: Live Unchained Website

1- Being humble, yet confident and aware of your strengths can be a juggling act. The key is realizing that nothing is guaranteed, and so you have nothing to lose. 2- Sometimes you have to realize its not about you...cos it really isn't. 3- People come your way for a reason, and each of them sticks around for a predetermined season. Appreciating the value of the people you meet - both good and bad - helps you grow as an individual. 4- If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. 5- Sometimes you need to take a step back from it all and concentrate on the lil' girl (or boy) within. 6- The fact that you treat people in a certain manner doesn't mean they will reciprocate. Sometimes you'll be pleasantly surprised or horribly disappointed. 7- There comes a point in time when you will feel like you cannot possibly handle everything going on. At this point take things a day at a time and call up the troops (God, family, friends). 8- You might want to do ...

As part of Lifestylz GH’s interview series, we bring you our premier interview with Sangu Delle. Profile: Sangu Delle Sangu Delle is a senior at Harvard University. He was born and raised in Ghana, and is the youngest of five children in a bi-religious family (his father is Catholic while his mum is Muslim). He attended Christ the King Catholic School (CTK) and went on to study at the Ghana International School (GIS) until his O-Levels when he transferred to the Peddie School (a college preparatory school in NJ) on scholarship. His areas of concentration in academics are Economics and African studies, with a particular focus on development. Aspirations To be involved in the development of Ghana and Africa at large in some capacity. In the past, he was more involved in non-profit and development work, but has increasingly become active in entrepreneurial and business ventures; a testament to his belief that there should be “less foundations and more entrepreneurs” in Africa. In his own ...

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. We all see life through the veil of our own realities. Happy. Sad. Certain. Doubt-ridden. Beautiful. And, oh so drab! Forgiveness. Vengeance. Inspiration. Depression. Reluctance. Determination. On the brink. Electric impulses. Protons. Neutrons. Electrons... Ions? On the brink? Neurons. Cerebrum. Medulla Oblongata. Limbic system. On the brink. Arteries. Cardiology. Leukocytes. La Coeur. 70 to 90 pumps per min. Reality. Illusion. Nightmare. Dream. Perception. Deception. Is it all real? Commonplace. Norm. Uncommon...abnormal? Sane. Plain. Call it...the matrix! Eccentric. Crazy. Sensitive. Mad...who's got their head on their shoulders, now? On the brink. Photo Source: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v408/n6809/fig_tab/408154a0_F1.html