From Sparks to Stories

 Fear of Failure! Fear of failure can leave you not taking risks. It can leave you sitting there paralyzed and not taking action-and that is obviously not a good thing.  But I don't want you to overcome fear of failure. I want you to be afraid of failure. Fear of failure is good. Fear of failure will keep you up at night planning, rehearsing, going over contingencies.  Fear of failure will keep you training hard. Fear of failure will stop you from cutting corners. Fear of failure will keep you working, striving and relentlessly trying to be more prepared for the bad times...you have to make every second count...

When they said, "life can be a rollercoaster," I never really understood what they meant. But I kind of feel like I can relate to almost every bit of it. I'm only twenty-two. It's funny right? Well truth is, despite being in my final year taking a degree, I can't help but think that a degree is just like another piece of paper, as Biko puts it, a metaphor of how little a formal education can do for you. You can have your degree and still have a life worse than those who dropped out of school. And yet still, out here we have men with degrees and men with degrees from the streets, pick your side.  The harsh thing out here is that it's a who-do-you-know kind of world. And who does he know, No One. At this point Kimotho learns that No is something he can't afford to say. Always say 'I can do it' and learn the craft as you go. So, he has to put in the work, to defy all odds, to at least craft something for himself. He chooses to be anything and everythi...

  Well, they say teaching is a calling but why lie, I really didn’t hear that calling till when I got into this field. At first there were a lot of questions that revolved around me being a teacher. But right now, when they say teaching is a calling, I can sure attest to that. One thing I have got to learn is that being a teacher calls for a lot of things, but one thing that will always stand out is patience. This is one thing you must posses or at least, learn to possess. This is actually my first time to teach and it comes with a title that I proudly hold onto: mwalimu. I am posted to a Girl’s school as a young lad, only 22 years old, to teach girls whom I am slightly older than. Getting to teach in a national school is one thing, getting to teach in a girl’s school is another. It is my first day and one thing that seems to scare me is the fact that I am supposed to maintain the highest level of professionalism in such an environment. But anyway, what doesn’t kill you?... ...

  Hey addiction, It’s high time we have a talk, I don’t know how fast our relationship happened, Or why it happened, Jumping from higher heights to deeper depths, But I can feel myself fall, And just before I lose it all, Let’s talk. I know I chose you over those pills and rope, Because I felt you promised me hope, We both understand you were never my first choice, But still, I chose you, You hid me from all those emotional wounds, Kept me blinded to reality, I loved the way you kept my pain at bay, You kept me distracted, Enough of putting the delusion around, Profound because I was a wreckage, Taught me to keep my eyes off the bleeding, So I did. I grew so free to lock myself, In your so familiar chains, You were always a faithful friend, There for me when I needed you, But always there even when I didn’t, Never understood who I really I was, Because I was so convinced I was somebody else altogether, So thank you because you did take my pain away, B...

  Let’s face it, you put up with a lot more bad behavior from relatives than you should. Maybe because ‘blood is thicker than water.’ Whenever they hurt you, you are so quick to forgive them. The gypsy cousin who keeps showing up at your door without asking, the black sheep uncle who keeps disrupting your family’s peace each time your dad makes a stride, the mother-in-law who can’t let your mother run her family as she desires. The truth is we all have that one hellish relative who keeps messing up our family’s peace. Take Kimotho for example….. Kimotho complains about the relatives from the father’s side, according to him, it’s more chaotic from the father’s side than it is from the mother’s. Eternal conflicts “They are always arguing, it’s like putting radioactive humans together…they will always have a conflict and if there is none, then they will create one.” We have all seen or heard stories of brothers fighting for status amongst each other. This negatively ...

Has it ever occurred to you that to a great extent how your life turns out depends on you? You might agree to this thought, maybe to a given point or you might strongly disagree. Well, it is allowed you know. We all have different perceptions to different aspects of life and I am not claiming to be right…or wrong. But am glad to share my thoughts Am undecided about fate but am certain that our belief systems largely contribute to how our lives turn out. Well, look at this, our beliefs are powerful mechanisms that inform our choices. The choices we make in the long run drive our actions. Our belief systems then, act as a road map, a compass that if is errant can lead you to a life of detours. Well, I know I might have sounded so wise there but its Demarco who said these words in his book: The Fastlane Millionaire. Now, before we delve any deeper, some definitions. What are beliefs? Assumptions that we hold on to as life truths. They are born from our life experience...

  One thing about me, I think. I think a lot. Mostly nonsensical things. Sometimes I don’t think at all. Whenever I walk past a stranger on the streets, I can't help but think what they are thinking about.  If only I had powers to read minds, to know what thoughts are stuffed up in their heads. But the look on their faces says it all. It’s tough, this life. As I walk through the fields, I find myself questioning the grass. Why is the grass green? What if the grass was red, not green? Feels weird, right? Then I remember my science teacher had mentioned something about chlorophyll, the green colouring pigment in plants. But still, who said chlorophyll should be green and not red? And who is this that gets to have a say about grass being green and not red, and who gives him the power to decide this? For a fact, it’s not my fault that I am like this. I am part of a generation that questions everything. Nothing ever seems to get a free pass. We will quest ion everything; ...