Random Thoughts of a Girl in Nairobi

   We are actors, the world is our stage and society is the script-writer. Apart from just being actors, collectively we are the director; and whenever an actor breaks character we are the first to shout at them and tell them all about how they’re doing it wrong! So a couple of weeks ago on Sunday morning I was walking in Westlands headed to a meeting right before church. Music in my ears, sunglasses on, nonchalant concentration on my goal; and then my sandal strap snapped ( That wasn’t meant to be a tongue twister but stuff happens ). What should have been a quick 3-minute walk to Nakumatt Ukay suddenly took me 10 long embarrassing minutes. So I practically hobble into this shopping mall that wasn’t conveniently deserted and ask where I can but slippers. Minutes later I walk out wearing blue patapatas ( not even the fancy looking slippers that Bata sells . Patapatas!!! ) And carrying my non-functional sandals in a paper bag.  I then walked up the hill between Ukay and...

   More like accepting things as they are per say. I know that we’ve grown up as the generation that’s been told ‘ be all you can be’ ‘never give up’ and my personal favourite ‘Quitters never win and Winners never quit’ . But let’s just be honest about this for a second. Even the best laid plans backfire  on a regular basis. So we can’t afford to walk around starry-eyed with our heads in the clouds believing that every single one of your dreams will irrevocably come true.    Now don’t get me wrong, I know that I probably have a bit of a reputation for being that girl who cheers you on no matter what, but there are just some things that lie in our circle of no-control and hence there nothing we can do about them.  So what am I suggesting? I’m suggesting that you move on to the next best thing. Like maybe you love music, but you can’t carry a tune in a wheelbarrow( here I go quoting the Time traveller’s wife ), you obviously can’t become a singer so pl...

   You know the one topic that tends to pique our interest the most? When you’re standing in a group of people and everyone tells a story of what’s happened in the latest news. You won’t ask questions about how increased tea exportation will help the economy; you won’t give a hoot about the new street lights in Nairobi. What you’ll care about is the story of that politician or Pastor who has family/marital problems. That celeb that got wasted and was arrested for being drunk and disorderly or something. And it’s such a natural response! Suppressing the urge to know and spread the latest dirt about others is a learned skill.    And maybe it’s because secretly we are jealous. Secretly we covet the success of those among us who’ve distinguished themselves in some way and now stand on a pedestal above us. Secretly we are dissatisfied with our lives and we just can’t stand to see others do better than we have. Secretly we know that there’s something wrong with being u...

Disclaimer: I mostly like the current time we’re living in and I appreciate all the modern conveniences around me, but allow me to take you back to the 90s just because I’m feeling nostalgic… 1. pen-pals - Yeah, I bet that even some of you reading this now don't know what those are. Well allow me to educate you. A pen-pal is exactly what the name implies: a friend that you write to. Only that in this case you start off as complete strangers. Still don't get it? This is how it used to work: You go through a newspaper ( Usually the Sunday Nation ) and when you get to the kids section you'd find these personal ads from kids. They’d have their names, address, hobbies and parts of the world from where they'd like to make friends. So if you were interested, you’d write them a letter then the two of you would start corresponding and if things went well enough, your parents would help you two meet up in person. So while I was in class 2 or something I almost had a pen pa...

   I am a control freak. There I said it. But only because it’s true. You remember those old movies where the bad guy’s evil henchmen repeatedly failed to beat the good guy. Then the bad guy would get upset and probably say something like ‘You can’t send a boy to do a man’s job’; he would then proceed to do the job himself ( not that he succeeded ). I’m that kind of person. Sometimes I’d rather do something myself because I trust myself, I have confidence in my competence and quite frankly, others have already failed at it. This is why last year I found myself facing the hardest thing I’ve ever done.    I had to re-sit my end-year exams. Passing meant that I’d move on to 3 rd year. Failing meant that I’d repeat 2 nd year. Imagine telling your parents that they’d have to pay an extra year’s worth of university fees ( Not pretty ). And even if I chose to change courses and kick medicine to the curb, I had no idea where to start or what I could change to. Obviou...

For some people, this phrase is gender insensitive, politically incorrect and probably a million other kinds of wrong. But in this case it encompasses everything I want to say and it’s not my fault that the English language can sometimes have its short-comings. At every point in our lives we have stuff we’re meant to do. Things that are expected of us and that nobody will stand over your shoulder to make you do. More so if you’re my age . It could be really simple, like cleaning up after yourself, exercising, or being the first to apologise to a friend after a misunderstanding that was your fault to begin with. Ring a bell anyone? And you know what; we talk ourselves out of it. We make excuses and come up with principles against the said actions. We even take it a step further by creating proof to back up our defences and made-up hypotheses. I always say that the worst lies are the ones you believeyourself , so yep congratulations, if the last couple of lines describe you then you a...

   The world can be a cold harsh unforgiving place. Whether it’s exams, unemployment issues or a rising cost of living; sometimes life just sucks. It depresses us and makes us want to crawl under a rock and hide. Let me take you back. Back through your memory to a moment in your recent or not-so-recent past when you woke up and felt terrible. You did not want to go to school or work but you had to. It was raining outside or maybe it was one of those days when the hot savannah sun beat down your back and turned you skin 2 shades darker. You were in a foul mood because the night before you’d had an argument with your boyfriend/girlfriend/mother/annoying younger sibling. Do you remember now? Your face probably looked like this:    And then out of the blue you got a facebook inbox or text message wishing you a good day. Or someone in your class or workplace randomly gave you a bar or chocolate or something. And then you were filled with the warm fuzzies and y...