Waiting for life to begin.

Since graduating from University I feel like I've been a habitual waiter.

Waiting for the career opportunity that I want. Waiting for interviews. Waiting for someone to take a chance on me. Waiting for my career to kick off. Waiting for real life to begin.

Don't you find it interesting that even though life is here and now, in this very moment, right in front of our eyes, we choose to ignore the very moment, which is where life is because we are too busy waiting for 'real life to begin? This is simply a phase called 'post grad.' I think  we think the next phase is called 'real life', but really it's just 'the phase after graduating' but they are both very real. We are constantly creating, shaping and crafting our lives, whether we are aware of this or not. 

Lately I've been trying to remind myself that I only have one life to live and it shouldn't be spent worrying about the future and waiting for the time to be right. When life gets uncomfortable we often orientate ourselves to a future that is better. It's often a defense mechanism especially when we are discontent about our current situation. We believe in the I'll-be-happy-when lie. I'll be happy when: I'm in a meaningful relationship/ making more money/ buying a new car/ new clothes / move to another city. And the thing is, when you get those things, you will have not changed, except that now you need something else to make you happy, to wish for.

I'm thankful to have a job that I do not hate but it's not the space I want to be in any longer. I'm trying to find my own balance between being grateful with my current life and wanting so much more in the future. I know that a lot of the time, I'm happiest when I'm not waiting for something to happen. I'm learning to honor the present moment. I'm learning to be present in my own life. I'm learning that a big part of adulting thing is simply learning to adapt to the inevitable discomfort  that comes with life. 




What are you guilty of waiting for? 

Blogging Goals For 2016

I love it when women come together and talk about their goals and dreams so when Funmi of FunmiWrites invited me to do a blog collaboration on my blog goals I didn't think twice before I accepted the invite.  Here are some of my short-term blog goals for 2016

Learn how to create better graphics and learn more about HTML

I created this blog so that it could also be an outlet for creativity I want to work on becoming more tech and graphic savvy myself. Currently I only use Picmonkey, but I would like to to throw myself into PhotoShop and InDesign. This will take long but I am committed to learning a new design skill every month. I also want most of the pictures that are on this blog to be pictures that were taken by me, this should be fun.

Branding

I finally like how my blog looks so the design isn't a problem, however, things aren’t as consistent as they could be. Firstly, I need to get a domain name. Secondly, I want to get all my social media pages matching and come up with more consistent images and graphics for my blog.

Be more selective with what I take on.

I want to work with other bloggers but I've decided that I'm going to be more selective with what I take on from now on. Collaborations should be right for me and my blog otherwise it's going to be a no from me. When I do a collaboration it must be something that I believe I won't be doing anything I don't believe in wholeheartedly for numbers. From here on it's quality over quantity.

Sometimes reading other people's goals can be a mirror, it's an opportunity to see what you need to work on, with that said, four other bloggers joined me in setting blog goals for 2016. Check out what these ladies had to say, you might just spot something that you need to work on.

Ijeoma: http://www.ijeomasdiary.com/blog-goals-for-2016/
Kerona: http://tweetykel.blogspot.co.za/2016/01/blog-goals-for-2016.html
Funmi: http://funmiwrites.com/2016/01/blog-goals-2016/
Oluwaseun: http://www.unashamedbeauty.com/blog-goals-for-2016/


Do you have blog goals? Do you think having goals is important?

2016 reading list.

I love the beginning of one year and end of another, primarily for the wrap-up posts and surveys everyone shares. Creeping on books is the best! I love it because of all the Reading Challenges. Personally, I'm not into reading challenges cause I really don't need any more rules in my life but I love how everyone is sharing their reading lists because that is where I have discovered some pretty good reads. I decided to share my reads as well, hopefully you'll spot a potential read for yourself. 2015 was a good reading year for me, I read new authors, new genres and I hope to continue with that this year. Here are some of the books I plan on reading this year:

A book that my boss gave me: A Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes.

A book I've been meaning to read: Americanah by Chimamanda

A book about a culture I'm unfamiliar with: Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi

A book about South Africa and Botswana: White Dog Fell From the Sky by Eleanor Morse.

A genre I don't usually read: F**k it, a self-help book by John Parkin.

A book by a favorite speaker: Some of My Bestfriends are White by Ndumiso Ngobo

An autobiography: Eye Bags and Dimples by Bonnie Henna

A book by a favorite preacher: Lioness Arising by Lisa Bevere

A book about history: Wives and Sweethearts, Love letters written in the first and second World.

A book that has been said is a tear-jerker: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

A book about African-American history: The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

A book that was originally written in a different language: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by S. Larsson.

A book by a popular author: Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche

A book by a favorite author: Ask For It by Sylvia Day.



Are you a reader ? What do you enjoy reading? 

Life goals.

Travel the world. Travel some more. Read books. Lots of books. Fall in love. Stay in love. Marry my best friend. Travel with him. Write a book. Never publish the book. Sing. Dance to no music. Learn a new language. Gain weight from eating through Europe. Attend Lagos Fashion Week. Have a baby. Have another baby. Have another baby. Maybe just three. Travel with my babies. Read bed-time stories to my babies. 

Steal kisses from my husband. Open a business. Write another book. Never publish the book. Visit art galleries with my love. Travel across Africa. Be honest.  Make pancakes on Saturdays. Sit in coffee shops all day for the sake of people watching.  Buy a house by the water. Open up our home. Grow a garden. Travel. Attend a Hillsong conference in Australia. Go wedding dress shopping with my daughters. Go to little league games.  Live out of my gut.  Sleep under the stars. Get good at pilates. 

Move to another city. Start over. Stay. Meet the girls my sons love. Photograph what I see. Win a photo contest. Watch my husband become a grandfather. Spend my anniversary in London. Sell my business for profit. Invest in a start-up.  Drink good red wine or bad red wine with people I love. Be more decisive. Take family adventures that may just be a walk to the park. Explore. Live with less. Swim with dolphins. Make lots of bread. Stop being afraid. Wear dresses more. Start a travelling library. Ditch the TV. Kiss a lot. Start traditions. Keep traditions. Make cinnamon rolls for Christmas brunch. Say I'm sorry, I love you, I need you, I like you, I miss you. Cause sometimes they all mean the same thing.

Happy New Year //Get back into blogging.

I’ve been telling myself that I wanted to start writing again, but I guess that it's really easy to not do something that you say you want to do. I would tell you the reason why I stopped blogging but I don't even remember why. What I know is that I've missed this space. There’s something about taking pictures and writing that I find incredibly relaxing and satisfying and that is pretty much why I am back. I missed the routine, creative outlet and inspiration that blogging brings to my life. For a split second I thought of creating a new blog all together because I left this space for so long but I that didn't feel right because this space still feels like home. With that sentiment in mind, I’m so excited to have this as my little place on the internet,  I can’t wait to share with you what  I'm learning and unlearning.  

Welcome again, to my little online memory box.
xo Cindy.