Evolution of Love

When you loved me,
I reveled in your love.
When you loved me,
I abandoned my friends.
When you loved me,
I gave myself to you.
When you loved me,
I loved you right back.

When you hurt me,
I would look on in silence.
When you hurt me,
I would love you.
When you hurt me,
I would open my heart.
When you hurt me,
I would say sorry.

Now you hurt me,
I talk back.
Now you hurt me,
I do not care.
Now you hurt me,
I close my heart.
Now you hurt me,
I hurt you back.

Now you say you love me,
I toss my head in disbelief.
Now you say love me,
I snort loudly.
Now you say you love me,
I ask you "really?"
Now you say you love me,
But I don't know if I love you.

Miracles

I met Jesus today. Honestly! I was in tears and sick at heart today, walking on a sprained foot to work, listening to Dream Big. I had all these thoughts running through my mind and so I decided to stop at the church on the way.

About a half mile away from the church, at the traffic light, I met a man on a bicycle. He stopped and said hi. I replied and started walking on. He asked me if I wanted his bike and I replied asking him what he would do if I took him up on his offer. He laughed and said, he would walk the rest of the way. And he was serious! he really wanted me to have the bike! I declined and made to walk on. He stopped me and asked me if everything was okay with me. That was when the tears started! I was horrified! here I was sobbing in front of a total stranger at a traffic light! He hugged me, calmed me down and asked me what was wrong. I told him the whole sordid tale, which I cannot reveal here. After the story ended, he prayed for me and I begun to feel better almost immediately. He gave me a tiny book filled with uplifting bible verses that spoke directly to my heart. And he preached! for twenty minutes, we stood at the traffic light and talked like old friends. When our conversation ended, he went west, I went north. I turned but I saw no trace of the man. I got to the church but it was closed. That was when I started realizing that I had met Jesus.

Answer this one question for me. what are the odds of meeting a random stranger in another country thousands of miles from home who knows exactly what to say at exactly the right time to lift your spirits? For me, this was no coincidence, but a miracle. He answered questions that have been plaguing my mind for months! Sometimes we ask for a sign, any sign. Jesus couldn't have given me any sign greater than Himself. I am blessed.

The Ghanaian and Fashion Trends

There are some days when I have nothing better to do but sit on Facebook and look at pictures of people. The things I see and read about are enough to make a stranger think Ghanaians are funny people. Ghanaians are the most fashion conscious people on this planet! Don't believe me? Go take a look at Facebook. This is not a recent phenomenon. Ghanaians have been going gaga over fashion or more appropriately fad trends as far back as i can remember.

Who remembers knapsacks?! When those tiny bags with the two long straps appeared on the scene, everybody (with emphasis on everybody), owned one! You just had to go for a GIS bazaar, or the Astek Refresh Talent Camp to see different colours of knapsacks! Looking back now, i wouldn't touch those bags with a ten foot pole!

Then came combat boots!!!!! Now those boots were an eyesore!!!!!!! Yet it seems everybody wanted them. I even wanted a pair but my mother quickly disabused my mind of that notion. Thank you mummy! You would see boys and girls wearing these great clomping, feet-distorting shoes with the laces undone and it was considered cool?!

Girls, do you remember the fad made you go crazy? That had you badgering mummy everyday until she got you a pair? Jelly Shoes! Now girls loved their jelly shoes! If you didn't have a pair, you weren't hip! I had grey ones with silver speckles and i wore them everywhere!

When those hideous neon-coloured shoes appeared on the scene, the makola women (no offense) wore the heck out of those! You would see a lady on the street wearing a nice kaba and slit only to ruin it with a pair of hot orange sandals! It got worse! Imagine a lime green outfit with the same coloured shoes! Talk about drawing attention to yourself! The men weren't making good decisions either. Lime green linen shirt with trousers and those ridiculous Aladdin shoes!! Aahba! Ghana fo) beku y3n!

More recently, we have seen the belts and boots. Now the belts I have no problem with, but the boots! Can someone explain to me why Ghanaian Girls insist on wearing boots in the hot Ghanaian weather?! Aren't their feet roasting in there?! I am sure that by the time those boots come off, their feet will be giving off a lovely nose-blocking scent!

Whenever there is a new fashion trend, you can be sure that Ghanaians will jump on the bandwagon and strut their stuff like nobody's business. But what we need to realize is trends come and go, some, good, some really bad and it is up to us to decipher the difference. we shouldn't wear just about anything simply because it's in vogue. Think about what looks good on you, not what every one is wearing. Looking good is far better than looking like an over-dressed nincompoop!

Public Rape

Last week, i woke up to news of a public rape in Kumasi. Joy FM published on its website online a story about a certain "macho man" who raped a young woman in the full glare of some patrons of a bar! My first thought was "you must be kidding me!" Following closely on the heels of that thought was an impotent rage.The "macho man" allegedly grabbed the young lady who was in the process of boarding a bus to Accra, dragged her to the bar and raped her! This "macho man" claims the young lady is a prostitute and owed him sex for which he had already paid. He has been arraigned before court and is pleading not guilty to the crime. Now, my position is: rape is rape! it does not matter whether the person is a prostitute or not, as long as the sex was not consensual, it is rape. Yes, she is a sex worker but she has the right to refuse him sex. What bothers me is how possible it is that in this day and age, people can stand by and allow someone to rape another human being! Or are they so sadistic as to be aroused by the sight of rape?!
The "macho man", people claim, is a notorious bully who threatened to clobber anyone who tried to intervene. I personally think the bystanders basically couldn't care less about the young woman, simply because she's supposedly a sex worker and that is why they looked on whilst she was undergoing this ordeal. This is underscored by the fact that the owner of the bar has complained about the low patronage of his bar following the incident. We also do not hear Women's Right's groups speaking up. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

This incident has raised a lot of questions in my mind about human nature in general and the apathetic attitude of Ghanaians in particular. We as a people have become so apathetic about the very things that affect us. It all ties in to how we percieve ourselves, each other and the situations in which we find ourselves. If we do not care about the next person, how will we care about health care reforms and educational reforms or any kind of government policy for that matter. Think about it...

Halcyon Days

I remember my first day on campus like it was yesterday! I was assigned to Africa Hall and had a room but I didn't have roommates. So I went scouting for roommates. I found three beautiful, fun-loving girls who didn't have a room. So we hooked up! That very day, we went to the then hottest restaurant in town, courtesy of some guy. The two years that followed was a roller coaster of fun, anger, sadness, and friendship.We were four stunning, smart girls who took Knust by storm! No party was a party without us, suffice it to say, we ruled the school. Every night, we had at the very least 30 guys passing through for visits. I wonder how many had just friendship on their minds! Weekends started from wednesdays for us. Karaoke, clubbing, drink-ups! You name it, we were there! All that exposure had some guys and gals hating, saying we were "sikadicious" girls, the "chrifes" were calling us "evil" cos we'd come back from the club, change, and go straight to church! But i think that was striking a perfect balance!

In our second semester, we moved to Brunei. Now Brunei was the place to be. Lots of hot guys and gals, so obviously, we wanted in. We were so superficial back then! Brunei, was the drama capital of the world! Drama, drama, drama!!!!!!!! Who was stealing whose boyfriend, who's wearing what, whose weave looks good/ugly, who's sleeping with whom? It was fun when the drama wasn't about you, but it was hell when you were involved! Girls thrive on drama and if there was an altercation between a girl from the Jblock and the Kblock, u were sure to hear all about it! From the cheating boyfriends to the sex videos to the pregnancies, to the suicide attempts! Yeah, drama! But one thing about J and K block girls was the fact if an outsider picked a fight with any one belonging to J and K, let's just say that person wouldn't leave unscarred! It was ok to fight among ourselves but not ok for an outsider to attack the group. Twisted sense of logic but girls will be girls.

Eventually, the groups disbanded due to exess drama, including me and my girls but there was still that loyalty amongst the Brunei girls! Just ask some two older girls who got on our bad side at a certain infamous Hall Week! I enjoyed that day cos I made some good money!! No complaints there! Looking back at those times, I've realized I wouldn't change any second of it for all the packs of Tetley Tea in the world! (that's my favourite btw) because I made friends for life. friends i can call sisters. And I'm glad to say we all learned from our experiences, both good and bad and came out of university better for it. We went in as girls and came out as women, older, wiser and beautiful as ever! To the Women of 2009 Year Group. We rule!!!!!!!

Roll Call (Hottest Girls list) (random listing)

Vee
Mames
Buki
Ariel
Fuwee
Dobie
Crystle
Jennifer
Michelle
Thia
Alice
Swee
Cheryl
Cassie
Nana Yaa
Elsie
Your's Truly
Mavis
Nana Binfoh
Peggy
Aurelia
Hope i haven't forgotten any one!

Reflection Of My Heart

my heart is a mirror...
yet it absorbs happiness, pain...
it's been cradled in loving hands,
it's been stomped upon by cruel feet.
it feels too much, and yet so little...
it laughs out loud but bleeds profusely.
sometimes silent as a still night...
then pounding furiously, painfully, against my chest...

my heart is a mirror...
clear like summer skies when i am happy...
roiling like dark stormy clouds when i am sad...
i see you, i hear you, i feel you, i taste you...
my heart drives all traces of sense away, leaving only love...
it floats on a bed of clouds, tranquil, fleeting...
then, you dash it to the ground, and walk away,
leaving it gasping, shredded, anguished, bleeding...
my heart is a mirror...

Insomnia

I lie awake at night,

Needing you, wanting you, loving you.

Suppressed memories well up,

Opening festering wounds,

Mourning love lost.

Never knowing...

I love you.

Always...