Things I used to think were white


   Growing-up in Africa in the 90s was a singular experience. Don't let my title fool you. I'm not racist or anything. I'd probably still be nice to you even if your skin was green and you were from Mars, because I have bigger things to worry about. Like how much paper and consequently trees are wasted in the making of campaign posters or something. But there really is no better way of putting it. Back then Africa was like its own Universe and some things you only saw on TV. Some things we’re just thought not to happen in Africa. But let’s just take a minute to appreciate the global village we live in.

  1. Anorexia.
Girls who didn't eat because they felt. It made them look fat. Yeah, you always ate what my mother made because her house=her rules...fear of getting a major thrashing was also a major thrashing. So you can imagine how foreign this was.


  1. Paper cuts

Yeah...this did not make any sense until I saw one with my own eyes when I was 16. The thought that paper could actually make you bleed was incredulous. Well now, nothing is safe!

  1. Prom
This is what we had in mind

I cannot count how many times in primary school my girlfriends and I desperately wished our school had a prom. And only so we could be out at night and wear pretty dresses! Lol!

  1. The Internet and mobile phones.

If you had told me 15 years ago that almost everyone I know would eventually own a cell phone and they'd be able to use it to surf the Internet, I would have laughed in your face. I come from a generation where I first used the Internet at the age of 12. My little brother first used it at the age of 3! This video, sums it up!


  1. Dance and music school.
Also, I love the step-up movies! :)

Our society is continually evolving to recognize that dance and music are viable and serious career paths. Back then, every parent wanted their kid to be one of the big 5: Doctor, lawyer, engineer, banker (and finance-related careers) or pilot. If you decided to be a bit unorthodox, you could have become a journalist. We're not there yet but we're taking steps in the right direction.

  1. Depression.  

Yep another one only seen on TV. My definition of mental illness (aka crazy) was the guy with the dirty dreadlocks who walked around in tattered clothes and conversed with people we couldn't see. I know better now. Apparently 1 in 4 Kenyans has some kind of mental illness. Think about that for a second. And we're partly to blame because a lot of people still have that flawed view of mental illness...but if you wish to learn more, follow the link. Brainstorm did an amazing. Piece on it!

  1.  PDA (Public Displays of Affection)

Remember when you were little and a kissing scene would come on TV and you’d cover your eyes and everyone else would look away uncomfortably? Enough said.

Ciao…

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