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If History Repeats Itself, the 2020s Will Be a Great Decade

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~ written by Cody Collins The 1920s, 50s and 90s; what do these three decades have in common? They were all periods of prosperity in the U.S. that came after a major global downfall. Can we throw 2020 in there too? With the events that have unfolded from COVID-19, and the world coming to a halt, it seems like life will never be normal. But in time, life will go back to “normal,” even if it is a new normal. In “recent” history there have been several examples of crises affecting most of the world. And COVID-19 is no different. But in those instances of crisis, prosperity followed, especially for the U.S. Take a deep breath, if history repeats itself , everything will be alright. The 1920s: Pandemic, Great Depression And War Everyone knows of the Roaring Twenties. The 1920s were filled with glitter and extravagance. The turmoil before this prosperity was two-fold though. Many hoped WWI would be the war to end all wars. That is how devastating and involved it was compared to wars past.
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Roots| Not knowing your native language in Nigeria

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I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was stressed out and just sat out in the veranda with the comfort of my dog just trying to relax. Then I heard this bang at the gate. With a frown, I got up to go check who was disturbing my blissful moment.  Here comes this guy around his 60's. He said he had worked here some time ago and while he was still telling me why he came, out of the blue, he started conversing in my Igbo dialect.   I don't speak Igbo, so it was really nerve-rattling for me... It wasn't the first time but that never stopped the feelings of illegitimacy in some sense. To cut the long story short, while he was trying not to embarrass me more by deflecting back to our dialect... He just blurted out this question. Are you not Okonkwo's son, why can't you speak... And before I could utter a word... He emphatically, with a tone of finality said- You've lost your Roots! How did it happen? Back in the days, we used to speak in our native dialects w
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Being the man

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As far as you're under my roof, you'd do this and that... You're under my rule and so you can't do as you like.-- Dad You're a man, you should be able to raise up that, pay for my meal, handle it, etc. I just saw a snake at the backyard, go and kill it... You're a man ( like we  are sacrificial lambs😅) I think the cutouts/wire is sparking ...I'm scared to go and check it out, be a man. Why did you allow those robbers harass me, are they not men like you? 🙄 (Sista, please I like my life) So so and so just bought a car, look at how his girlfriend looks...is he not a man like you? Everywhere, every day we guys face so much pressure growing up. Society expects you to be strong and capable of fending for yourself and leading situations even from an early age. The expectations can get very overwhelming and make you seek short cuts and ways to be the man when the situation calls for it. And It doesn't get easier with social media. 🤦🏽‍♂️ For me, expectation
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Going Home

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For months, I blamed the border restrictions for keeping me away from my home. It seemed like I was going to be having a dry spell in Portharcourt but it turned out amazingly great. I accomplished a lot; I bought a guitar, held amazing classes, started a blog, read great books, and had lots of company in the house, maybe even too much.  On the 12th of July, I finally was coming back home. I boarded this sienna car by the side of the road as my preferred bus park was closed. The journey wasn't as smooth as I pictured because of this young pregnant lady and her husband who were both fat...making it hard to move around. To top it off, the driver didn't drop me at the preferred location like we discussed making me make an unnecessary stop with the tons of loads I had to carry along. But in the end, I got home safely and hopefully without the COVID-19 virus.  I couldn't help but notice the humble attempts by Nigerians - hawkers and passersby - made to stay safe. But it was way o
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Running & Jogging | What's the deal?

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Hey guys, been a while. So I want to talk about my experience Jogging. I'm sure you've seen or had people around you who do mild or regular jogging, maybe on weekends; or better still you do it yourself. Well, I was like most of you who kept admiring these brave guys who made the decision to wake up every morning and put in time in doing what looks like a punishment rather than an enjoyable exercise routine. Here's how I started and made my own decision. It started with a look at one of my shoes which looked so cool and sporty but unfortunately had some part of it peeling out.  Then I remembered I was beginning to add a little extra fat on my tummy; not to mention that I hardly went out of the house due to the pandemic which warranted a little bit of activity.  And so, the decision was made. I was going to begin a Jogging routine. I repaired my shoe and then chose my best sporty clothes that fit well with me and went out the next day. Experience :  I decided to go round my
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I had a NIGHTMARE... was it a divination? 🤷🏽‍♂️

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So a few days back, I had this nightmare a few hours into my sleep. It was hard to separate reality from dreaming. There was this dark feeling like someone was watching and something was coming. I was half awake and tried to get up but I couldn't; I couldn't speak, couldn't move either. After a while, I managed to force myself to move and that was it... I was up.    That was my experience, one among several that I have experienced as an adult; not frequent but eventful. It's hard to picture lots of adults experiencing this... It's normally the kids who fuss about it. And if an adult says something about it, usually it is used to depict a bad experience or situation they've found themselves in. But the truth is, between 2-8% of the adult population is actually plagued with nightmares.     What nightmares are?   Now, contrary to popular opinion, not all nightmares are actually nightmares. According to WebMD , nightmares are vividly realistic, disturbing dreams tha
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Popular posts from this blog

Roots| Not knowing your native language in Nigeria

-
Image
I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was stressed out and just sat out in the veranda with the comfort of my dog just trying to relax. Then I heard this bang at the gate. With a frown, I got up to go check who was disturbing my blissful moment.  Here comes this guy around his 60's. He said he had worked here some time ago and while he was still telling me why he came, out of the blue, he started conversing in my Igbo dialect.   I don't speak Igbo, so it was really nerve-rattling for me... It wasn't the first time but that never stopped the feelings of illegitimacy in some sense. To cut the long story short, while he was trying not to embarrass me more by deflecting back to our dialect... He just blurted out this question. Are you not Okonkwo's son, why can't you speak... And before I could utter a word... He emphatically, with a tone of finality said- You've lost your Roots! How did it happen? Back in the days, we used to speak in our native dialects w
Read more

What I do think of the BLM protests as someone outside of the US

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  I would like to give an opinion from one mildly affected by this issue mostly and from the perspective of what the experience seems to be from the blacks looking from outside the hot zone. I am a Nigerian, a black man of 23 and in my country, there's of course no racism since we are all of the same color. First of all, I will start with my country and the African bias in Africa  by Africans The opposite seems to be the case in some sense. For people who are in corporate industries, you'd see that those who study in the white man's country have advantages in employment in the workplace. It's common for the government to overlook their own people to give huge contracts to foreign companies and people even if we have the same level of expertise in the country. So I would say we are faced with a different type of racism or prejudice. Sometimes I wonder if the colonial era in the country twisted our minds so much that we can't seem to just appreciate our own. I'm s
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If History Repeats Itself, the 2020s Will Be a Great Decade

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Image
~ written by Cody Collins The 1920s, 50s and 90s; what do these three decades have in common? They were all periods of prosperity in the U.S. that came after a major global downfall. Can we throw 2020 in there too? With the events that have unfolded from COVID-19, and the world coming to a halt, it seems like life will never be normal. But in time, life will go back to “normal,” even if it is a new normal. In “recent” history there have been several examples of crises affecting most of the world. And COVID-19 is no different. But in those instances of crisis, prosperity followed, especially for the U.S. Take a deep breath, if history repeats itself , everything will be alright. The 1920s: Pandemic, Great Depression And War Everyone knows of the Roaring Twenties. The 1920s were filled with glitter and extravagance. The turmoil before this prosperity was two-fold though. Many hoped WWI would be the war to end all wars. That is how devastating and involved it was compared to wars past.
Read more