Her Evolution.

She thought it was just a regular stomach ache. Those had been consistent for a while now. However for some reason she could not explain, she knew this one was different. "What is this feeling" she asked herself. She felt like she had severely overeaten and her hurting stomach was her punishment. She no longer felt comfortable in the silvery body hugging long-sleeved night dress she had on, and to make it worse, she could barely move to find a more comfortable position. 

She tried to remember if she had felt like this before. Her memories were always vivid, and she knew that if she had ever felt like this, she would remember. Her memories kept her company a lot these days, but it was not always like this. She remembered so many things about a more eventful past and remembered them so very well. She remembered when she would crawl on the floor of the playgroup, picking scraps of anything she thought was food, and stuff them into her ever busy mouth. She was slightly fatter than the other kids in the playgroup, but she didn't care because she was smarter and more athletic than the rest- athleticism being measured by her ability to reach corners of the playground that the others hadn’t discovered, and of course, her ability to stuff what she termed forgotten bits of happiness into her mouth. She remembered the taste of those little bits of happiness, some dewy, some fresh and some quickly spat out to avert a taste bud catastrophe.

He liked my Instagram picture from 34 weeks ago... does this mean he likes me?

This time, I am asking for your advice on a very serious issue. What is acceptable social media etiquette these days? We face social media dilemmas everyday, or at least I do.  Is there a rule-book on what is acceptable or not?

Social media is getting increasingly complex. With Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat and so on actively vying for our attention, it is increasingly difficult to know what is socially acceptable or not. Let us take Instagram as an example. Apparently, it's okay for someone you just added to immediately like all your pictures, including that picture of a random stone you took 34 weeks ago, during your failed attempt at nature photography. However if that same person doesn't immediately get high on the steroid of your Instagram approval and like your old pictures within the acceptable time-frame of about an hour or two (or is it a day?), and then makes the unforgivable mistake of coming back to your page two weeks later to like your pictures, the person qualifies to be labelled a stalker or a potential love interest, depending on how attractive they are. This thing is so complex, even my tenses are getting all skewed. 

Your Opinion is Valid.

Be warned, inspiration can come from anywhere.

No matter what your natural inclination is after the 3rd paragraph, please keep reading, I promise there is a point, as always.

When an idea drops into my mind, I immediately write it down. I once heard a saying that the faintest pen is sharper than the brightest brain, or something around those lines. The saying encapsulates the idea that writing down even the skeleton of your thoughts, once they come to mind, is a good way to retain the authenticity and freshness of that thought.

This post is borne out of one such thoughts. Birthed after I put myself through the sweet torture of re-watching the movie "Marley and Me" at 3.00 AM on a random day. In order for this post to make more sense, I need to give a little bit of background. You see, I love dogs. I really do. I think they are not only man's best friends, but are intelligent creatures whose loyalty and love truly overwhelm me. I always had dogs growing up, but I had a very special dog called Snoop (I am sure I will do a whole post on Snoop someday). Anyway, this movie, featuring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson was the worst movie I could have re-watched on my own, because the dog in the movie, (Marley -in case you haven't already guessed) was a whitish-yellowish Labrador, while my Snoop was a whitish-yellowish Alsatian, so both had similar physical features. Beyond the physical, both dogs also exhibited terrible puppy destructive syndrome, and reveled in the joys of chewing shoes, messing up the compound, tastefully chewing through new clothes in the laundry basket with the hope of creating a vintage rag look, running into the mud immediately after receiving a bath, amongst other unprintable but highly memorable evils. Marley becomes an integral part of the family in the movie, just like how Snoop became an integral part of mine, for almost 12 years. At the end of the movie, Marley dies, just like my Snoop died in the year 2012.

This is Marley's definition of GLORY! Snoop was not this bad, I promise.

The 20's guide to Endings and Beginngs.

Today we have a very special 20's diaries session with two amazing women I met on my academic sojourn in Cambridge. Tomi is a multiple award winning lawyer who runs a fantastic lifestyle blog, and Hannah is an incredibly talented art curator, who also runs a blog to exhibit her art.

I am inspired by these two lovely ladies, particularly as I am confident that they are on their way to huge achievements. As the "famzer" that I am ( ha ha, I actually mean "networker"-see the 20's guide to famzing here), after our final examinations, I invited them over for  dinner and we decided to shoot a video, telling you what we feel about endings and beginnings. 

This is a screen shot from a silly video Tomi and I shot on our way to dinner. The content is too ridiculous for viewing!

Customary post-dinner photo, with the Clare College crest in the background. #charliesangels

I just want to tell you about my restaurant in...SPACE.

One of the hazards of the twenties is sharing your next bright idea with someone. I refer to it as a hazard because even though sharing new ideas is an unavoidable rite of passage, it sometimes comes with weird reactions, particularly from people you consider to be in your inner circle. So you have a fabulous new idea of opening a restaurant in space, or creating a device that allows you to read people’s minds through their smile, or creating a whole new genre of music just like Fela did; but when you shared this idea with a significant person in your life, they just went “Err, this can’t work.” It seems completely ridiculous to you that someone you trust and hold in high esteem cannot see the appeal of a “spaceturant” and in as much as you might feel upset about that, I think the most likely feeling you would have is discouragement.

I think this sucks.

Criticism Poster Kid- Simon Cowell

I can't imagine the first thing you thought when you read the title of this post. Don't worry, this isn't a ranting post. This post is about criticism- giving and receiving it. However, before we go down that road, I must apologize for not giving you juicy 20something gist these past few days. I believe I'm back and better. I won't give excuses, I'll just say that its better for blog posts to be short than for them to be non-existent right?

Anyways, back to the meat of the matter. Have you ever honestly asked if you deal well with criticism? What is the best way to deal with it? Are you meant to look or feel remorseful, are you meant to explain yourself, or are you meant to keep quiet? It is very difficult to decide which one of these reactions ( and the infinite other possibilities for example, singing in your head, mentally dressing the criticizer in a mickey mouse costume and many creative variants- okay, I'm kidding, I don't do any of these!) you should have when someone criticizes you, particularly when you consider it unjust or uncalled for.

The 20's Guide to New Years and Birthdays.

I can't keep calm because its my birthday!!! I'm so thankful to God for keeping me thus far, like God has been so amazing. From all the drama of uni, law school, NYSC and then carrying myself to school in another country, I'm like "woahhhhhhh slow down life! You are happening a bit too fast" lol. Anyway, what is the point of this post, before I go off on a tangent. I realised that I don't feel the same way I used to feel about birthdays. When I was younger, lets say before my 20s, birthdays were like the most amazing days ever, when everything is about you, you get a cake, new clothes, might be excused from doing the dishes (he he) and you are one year closer to becoming legal, mature and having your opinion valued.

Lafup has got IT! This is an exclusive story and it's amazing too!

WARNING-Forgive the essay below as this interview comes with a lot of history from my perspective, but there are loads of hilarious pictures to make up for it! Lafup, please forgive me for some of these pictures! he he. Let the essay begin.

If you are following @that20sblog on Instagram, you would have seen my campaign to be Lafup's "deputy governor"(you can "shek it out" here). Lafup is having his annual comedy show on the 26th of December at Jogor Centre, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, and in true fashion of a socially aware entertainer, the publicity campaign for this year's show centers around him contesting for an election on the 26th and YOU get to vote for him by buying a ticket and attending the show!

I expect you to know Lafup, but in case you don't, just accept that he is one of the most talented entertainers in Nigeria today. He is a comedian, MC, businessman, actor and so much more. This story is so important to me because of our upcoming #vlogpost (anticipate it) and also because I watched Lafup happen right before my eyes at the Arts theatre University of Ibadan (U.I), and at the U.I choir concerts he used to compere, and suddenly (actually not so suddenly) Lafup is hosting TV shows and has built a solid brand.

There are a few things I admire about Lafup but there are two things I want us to pick from his story today, but before we do that, let me just say that the reason why I do this blog is to encourage you and encourage me too,lol, because sometimes the road to discovery could be tortuous, and its even worse when you feel you are walking alone. You are never alone dear friend, I can assure you... Anyway, before I go all preachy on you, where was I? Yes, the two things we need to learn from Lafup. We need to learn how to be daring and tenacious and both are very difficult things to do.

I knew Lafup way back in 2008 from his "Efrebor" shows in U.I, and from a distance, I could observe that this was someone who knew what he was good at, and his attitude was like "this art, this comedy, this entertainment, I will do it! This hustle must work! There is no alternative and there will be no alternative! This is what I want to do and I will do it!"

I was at this show, I even remember what I wore, because it was an opportunity for a fresher to turn up! lol. 2008!

And he succeeded in bringing Ali Baba!

Tell me what Google is making you see. Is this an issue?

I was doing a Google search on a Nigerian I intend to feature in the "Our Heroes in Their 20s" segment of this blog, but as is characteristic of Google, I was attracted to something else. I noticed a trend in Google's suggestions for my search and I thought to share with you. Read the comments underneath the pictures and tell me if you see what I see or if I'm being slightly paranoid!

20s Diaries Post- The 20s Guide to STOP Famzing

Let me paint a picture real quick... So you get invited to a party, and you decide to get a friend of yours to tag along. The two of you get to the party and for some reason, your friend is able to make friends with all your other friends and even people you don't know. Your friend is having an amazing time and you are just there, enduring the party! This is definitely how you will look, lol.

When it's at a party, the effect of your friend being able to network properly and you not being able to do the same is not really a big deal, but when you have the opportunity to meet people who could probably change your life (yes, I'm being dramatic) but you are unable to say a few sentences, then it might become an issue.

For many people, the problem is that networking appears to be sucking up or what is commonly known as famzing and it doesn't seem very genuine...well, we are here to dispel that notion. If you do it right, networking has the potential to be that extra spice you need to get you going.

Enjoy our video and please share your views on famzing... sorry I meant networking!