#37: things i loved this week…

ft. boiled sprite, rural gambia, and many more.

Terry Runyan.

• For the first time in my adult life I am exploring my country without supervision. My summer internship is really keen on “field work”  so we are always outside. This is the second trip I am taking under them. The first was a week-long workshop at a country resort. The second? A ten-day exercise around rural Gambia conducting a survey. Ladies and gentlemen of the press, there was no fancy hotel involved. We had to fend for ourselves — no accommodation or food was provided. Thankfully the group I was assigned to had really great people who took me under their wing. The experience was equal parts uncomfortable and exhilarating. I loved the clean air, bright blue skies, rolling green farmlands and seeing The River Gambia. I hated the bugs and having to eat bread every evening. All in all, I survived to tell the story, and I was paid really well, so all’s well that ends well.

  

  

  some really nice pictures that i took…

   

• We were called for an emergency family meeting …because Ayo wasn't looking and poured a whole bottle of Sprite into the kettle. The boy boiled Sprite instead of water. I know my Aunt and Uncle were mad but I haven’t stopped laughing since that conference call.

• My budding thoughts on forgiveness. I am fascinated by forgiveness. I think it is a spiritual concept in a weird way, one that is bigger than us and so essential to human living. It is no wonder forgiveness is often ascribed to spirituality. We tend to do that to concepts that boggle the mind.  I would love to write an essay on forgiveness, love, anger, resentment and pain, all wrapped together in one. What else, after all, perfectly encapsulates the human condition? I hope I get my wits together and get to writing soon.

• Snoop Dogg at the Olympics has made my year. I leave it at that.

• Simone Biles at the Paris Olympics. Wow. Someone on Twitter said Simone is your favorite athlete’s athlete. There’s something so inspiring about excellent people. They are so singular and driven. My favorite thing about Simone is that she’s not modest about her genius. As a society we love false humility, especially from people of color. Simone knows she is great. She’s worked very hard to be great, and will not be denied her flowers. Yes. That’s the way to go about it. With a singular mind and victorious vanity. Up Simone!

• Did you guys see the Turkish shooter at the Olympics?! And Pommel Horse man? Ilona Maher’s Tiktoks? The content coming from the Olympic village? I am entertained.

• Dimma Umeh is the most elegant, most tasteful, and most beautiful woman in Nigeria. Her traditional wedding was a feast for the eyes. I’m geeked in every possible way.

•  Rejoice with me,  dearest gentle reader, for I have found a new indie writer to obsess over! I have read six of her books already and I am having a time and a half. For now I want to gate-keep her. I want to read every book she has ever written and digest them fully before I share them. I think we should bring back gatekeeping! 

• Liverpool’s preseason tour. Arne Slot’s system is looking really good. I’m excited for the next season. Our kits look fabulous too.

• Accepting  and basking in the reality that I love to document my life. I’ve been very self-conscious of my frequent posting on Instagram, especially because I am not an influencer or a celebrity. But I find that documenting my life makes my otherwise mundane life look so outsized and magical, even to me.  Salem King’s words are my justification. In his last instagram post of the year 2023, he captioned a black and white picture with this gem: “You never know how interesting your life is until you decide to make a story out of everything. You think your life is boring but every time you reminisce on the past, you almost always have stories for days. the good, the bad, the hilarious and the ugly. Maybe... just maybe if you started to think about your present like that, you'd start appreciating the fact you're always in the middle of a story. I encourage you to document your life intentionally, even if you don't post it. It can change your life. a photo here, a video there. allow technology to help you appreciate your life”.  I couldn’t have said it better.

• Finally and most importantly, the fact that I posted on Substack today. I’ve been overthinking the newsletter so much but I remind myself that I love it here and I have to be consistent.

I hope you had an adventurous week too. Share your favorite moments in the comments if you will.

P.S: Guys, I need you to do me a favor . My friend Seyi has a new Medium page. Please subscribe to him. He needs 50 new subscribers to reach his goal. Here is the link

your high-strung friend, 

blessing x