Heart2ink by Amie

"Keep out," a big signboard was implanted right beside the oldest tree in Lufasi Park where I went on tour with Tamuno my best friend. "Why that?" I asked as I tilted my head forward on tippy toes to see what was in there while pointing to the signboard, "I wanna explore everywhere in here Tamuno, before I could finish my statement Tamuno was already in disbelief that I would dare ignore a danger sign, " Curiosity kills the cat you know," she reminded me as she paused for a moment. I walked a few metres away when I saw something curly and creepy, "Jez!! I think some wildlife is right in there, something like a wild snake.." With eyes wide opened I said pointing toward the direction of the signboard, "Tina, you better get a hold of yourself and let's not overstep boundaries, the aim here is to have some fun and not to endanger our lives," Tamuno said while she walked closer to where I was trying to pull me backwards. Tamuno has

Is self-care selfish? If you ask me, I would say self-care is equivalent to self-love, and self-love is the foundation of giving back to people what has filled our cup, for I know one can never pour from an empty cup. As much as we are humans, we need to maintain our body, mental health, and emotional well-being. Just as a car engine requires oil and daily checks to keep running, so too does our body require daily checks and repairs to keep working healthily. Sadly, so many people have taken their good health for liberty until it broke down beyond repair. I hear many young people say I can never have blood pressure at this young age, so why do I need to check my blood pressure? Can I burst your bubble? Due to the high rate of economic instability, many young people have been victims of heart attacks, strokes, and even high blood pressure. At times, we hardly take a rest from our daily hustling, late nights, and very early wakings just to make ends meet. Lack of sleep is doing more harm

"Don't kill it; else you perform some rite on it, and it must be buried like a human," my grandmother warned me sternly, and I was left in awe, wondering how I could pay so much homage to a common snake. It's been a very long time since this happened when I went to visit my grandparents. Our bathroom was not as modernized as we have now; it was made of bamboo and palm fronds and it was outside the house in our village. I remember my mom telling me about this particular snake called "Eke" in our dialect and popularly known as "Eke-Njaba." This snake is the python we all know today. My mom told me how harmless the snake was and how it came to visit or welcome anyone who just arrived in the village, especially an indigene. It finds its way to the room and then curls itself peacefully until you pick it up with your hands or use a long stick to take it out, but you must not kill it. I laughed scornfully when my mom told me about one of our traditions, a

Being a junior in high school, I was so naive and always loved to stay out of trouble because, for some reason, I hated to be lashed or embarrassed. Throughout my school days, I've kept noticing a particular senior who looked so mean and arrogant and was always abusive with his words. I would call him a tyrant and bully because he loved to oppress the junior students and even his classmates because of his physique. His name is Akin, but because of his trait, everyone knew him as Akinbully, and that became his new name in school. One fateful afternoon during lunch break, I heard someone calling out to me, with a footstep approaching where I was, "Hey!! Hey!! Come here." I knew I was the one the person was referring to, but I paid no attention and kept walking to the cafeteria until this giant physique was right in front of me, right on the staircase, a few meters away from my class. "Come here, go and get me five puffs immediately." Akinbully, the most popular bu

One essential item everyone should have in their possession is the international passport. This is because the international passport serves as a wing to fly around the world and truly explore. Having an international passport opens many doors of opportunities either to school abroad, go on vacation, receive international medical treatment, work abroad, explore diverse cultures or even migrate to another country as a permanent resident. In my country, having an international passport comes with little hassles as one needs to go through an authentic agent and finding such an agent is usually very difficult. Although the Immigration Service in my country has an official portal where one can make the registration online and process it from start to finish, this is even the most difficult ordeal ever as most times you might have to face network issues and other registration mishaps. If I were to advice anyone who has a plan to acquire an international passport I would advice such a person

Some songs just hit differently even though you've heard it a thousand times. I remember when I was way younger, my mom would keep advising us (her kids) about some things I considered not to be of concern because I mean I was way too little to understand these things. The funny thing about it is how she wakes us up very early in the morning to advise us about family, Life, love, marriage, and the like and most times I keep whispering, "I don't need these things, but as I get older I come to realize that learning never stops and if you keep acquiring knowledge even when you don't need it at the moment, it is still profitable for a later time. Fast forward to one day while I was still in high school, my classmate was looking all gloomy and then I asked her what the problem was. " I hate how dysfunctional my family is," she just let it all at once. "Sometimes I wish I could change my family," I was gobsmacked for a moment cause I just didn't know

Last year was quite a remarkable one, as I was very opportune to save a dog I'd never met before in my life. That Friday evening, what seemed to be a little rain intensified as quite a stormy one, it was so breezy that I quickly shut my windows and went to bed because I love to fall asleep when it rains. The next morning, which was a Saturday, was my laundry day, but due to the rain, I couldn't buy my laundry soap the previous evening. As soon as I opened the gate, I realized the whole street had been flooded. I decided to wade in the water because I needed to wash my clothes in search of laundry soap. As I kept going, I began to hear a faint whimper in an uncompleted building. At first, I wanted to ignore the sound and just walk straight to where I was headed, but the whimper kept on for minutes, which made me stop for a moment to find out what that was. As I walked into the building, I saw this particular dog shaking, and I was so touched. She must have been cold as a result

Ever noticed how people bloom when they are complimented? The simple truth is. People thrive where they are watered.. Take a look at the beautiful garden around you.. Ever notice how they bloom when they are well nurtured? Words have great powers. To make or mare a person. Funny enough just a little compliment. Makes the other person the happiest. Which in turn improves productivity. Are you gracious with your speech? Yes, talk is cheap but then choose your words carefully. Wanna see people thrive? Speak kindly to them. Wanna see people productive? Motivate them with your words. And see how positive they will become. Stay positive too and help the world to be a better place. The image is mine. Thank you for stopping by, till we meet again, this is Amie Geoffrey.