Anniversary

It’s been 4 years since I joined WordPress. I was in grade 11 and I had no idea what I wanted to do with this site, but here I am enjoying every moment of this.

At that time I had a great English teacher in high school, Mrs. Rebecca Gillman, who saw my potential in writing and was very very encouraging. Without her, or somebody like her, I would have taken longer to get where I am today in terms of writing. I thought I should mention that just to say that there are some great people out there and you never know who will change your life for the better. Not just her, but some of the friends I’ve had have always been very supportive of my writing and I’m blessed to have friends from all around the world. It makes me feel good to know that I can appeal to different kinds of people.

I used to think writing only meant novels and poetry, but over the past months I’ve grown to understand that all forms of writing are equally important and this is the kind of writing I’ve decided to settle with for now. I just want to write articles about stuff that’s very very relevant to the world we live in-social media, beauty and travel experiences. Some of these seem like really simple and meaningless things that are just part of our lives, but really there’s so much behind them and everyone should take time to really think about them and how they affect our everyday decisions.

I’m looking forward to writing more and more about whatever that’s out there because everything is important. “Everything affects everything” as Jay Asher writes in 13 Reasons Why.

Stories of Spring

Stories of Spring
Told as flowers bloom
Red and yellow and orange and green.

Boys with bright smiles,
And pictures to paint,
Love poems to write,
And sad songs to listen.

The fog has lifted
And I can see now
The grass is truly greener
On the side I never knew of.

The despair is no more
I shall open my windows and unlock my door
For my heart to wander and love and ache
Again and again as the story goes.

Finding Ideas

The first time I watched the film The Dark Knight Rises I was like “I’m gonna watch this again” but then it was 6am and I needed to go to bed after watching 3 movies in one night. And yes, I used to watch movies till dawn. I love the peace that comes with the night; watching a film in the dark at 2am when everyone else is asleep. Bliss.

I’ve watched The Dark Knight Rises enough times to memorize Commissioner Jim Gordon’s words at Bruce Wayne’s “funeral”,

“I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people; rising from this abyss

I see the lives for which I lay down my life; peaceful, prosperous and happy

I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts and in the hearts of their descendants, generations hence

It is a far far better thing that I do than I have ever done

It is a far far better rest that I go to than I have ever known”

 I didn’t know where this came from until I googled it and found out it’s from a Charles Dickens novel, A Tale Of Two Cities. From a movie I found something to read! To me this was very unexpected because up to that point all I ever thought was that books are better than TV and the like so they probably won’t add anything to my life. Well, it’s true to a great extent that books are better as in they make you use your mind more than TV does. But, there’s more to a film than just to tell a story. If storytelling was ever the only agenda in film then we wouldn’t have a lot of dialogue or props, and that’s the stuff that gives film-watchers like me new ideas.

In my opinion, people who are looking to discover things should watch films or read books or even listen to music (or watch music videos). Not just to get the next item on their reading lists but also to discover new things. Sometimes we need a push of some kind or just something to light that bulb above our heads and give us an idea of the next thing to do. For instance, I watched the romantic film Bright Star and apart from all the unbearable emotions it gave me I took away the idea that poetry can be a thing that is taken seriously by people. Where I come from poetry is something you read in literature classes and write an exam on. Basically that’s it. There are a lot of poets out here, but they’re not heard of or maybe it’s just that nobody cares since it’s never been a serious thing around here. But now I do realize that it can be and maybe the situation could change if we put in more effort in our work as how John Keats did in the film. This isn’t just for poetry but for all things we might see as too simple.

Just to add, not every piece of literature is worth watching. In fact, we can’t watch and read everything that’s ever been made. It’s why they make trailers and the like. Watch and read them carefully before deciding whether or not you want to spend 2 hours or a few days on whatever. It doesn’t matter what film genre you’re into, all kinds have something to add to your mind.

Generally, all forms of literature are beautiful-each in their own way.

Mpenzi (Swahili poem)

Mpenzi,
Hapo zamani, ulinipenda
Mapishi yangu yalikutoa udenda,
Kila macho yako yakitizama bakuli
Mimi nilikuwepo jikoni kuandaa maakuli,
Loh! Chakula kitamuje?
Kila mlo ulinisifia
Jinsi njaa yako nilivyokufukuzia,
Kwa viungo vifaavyo, na manjonjo
Hasa pale nipikapo urojo,
Amini usiamini, wapishi wengi huharibu mchuzi
Ukaamua kunifanyia uchokozi,
Jiko lingine ukaingia
Chakula chake ukakiulizia,
Jioni ukaja kwangu
Eti na samaki wa Changu,
Mimi nkaweka mchuzi wangu pembeni
Mdogomdogo nkaenda zangu ukumbini,
Ukashindwa kula
Samaki wale na mchuzi wangu si lila na fila,
Ukanirudia mpishi wako
Nikupikie mahanjumati yenye upako,
Mchuzi, samaki na vinginevyo
Vile vyote upendavyo,
Kitoweo chenye chumvi ya kutosha
Kitoweo chenye kukosha,
Nyama imejaa tele!
Nyororo bila upele,
Ifaayo kushikashika
Yenye ladha ya uhakika,
Nyama safi, nyama nzuri kwa ajili yako
Ni wewe to matakwa yako…