#naturallynaija

It’s been really windy and raining a lot in Detroit lately. Not the type of rain that ruins your plans during the day but, the type that wakes you up in the middle of the night because there’s a slight possibility that a tornado is coming your way. Give it a few hours and it’s almost as if it was just a figment of your imagination.

When my sister and I went out on Sunday afternoon, we got caught in huge gusts of wind. It was quite annoying because the images I had in mind to be captured for this post weren’t working out, meaning the message I had was going to be altered. As I sat down to edit these images, I paid close attention to my facial expressions and the way my hair and skirt swayed as the wind took over.
There was my message.The wind blows whenever it pleases. You hear its sound, but cannot tell where it comes from or where it’s going. So it is with everyone born in Spirit. - John 3:8.Wind is moving air, and is also air that is fresh which is needed in life. Wind doesn’t have a shape, nor does it have a physical presence. We can’t precisely tell where it is coming from, nor do we know its final destination, we just know when it is in our presence, the effects may alter our reactions. Have you ever noticed that whenever God gets ready to put a change in us, he places us in uncomfortable environments? It’s like he pushes you into these seemingly unstable environments that force you completely outside of your comfort zone, all the while changing your mood. Sometimes it seems like he purposely picks out the worst time to do the most mighty things. Moving to Detroit this Spring was a test, one that I nearly failed. I was hesitant  on making this move for multiple reasons, with the main one being that I’d have to forfeit my amazing LA apartment. But the reality is that forfeiting that so called amazing apartment pushed me so far outside of my comfort zone that some of the greatest things began to happen. I became intentional with my words and the food that I consumed. I prayed for specific things and just when I thought about taking a different course, God pushed me into a spinning cycle. While John 3:8 touches on the rebirth and being born again, my initial interpretation went something like this: Wind is invisible, yet it can displace you in a matter of seconds. Like the wind, God does the same exact thing. You may not physically see Him working but, you know when there’s a change within you. I made every intention to get close to Christ and understand the word, and like the wind, it was an unseen process but the end result is evident. This realm has no physical coordinates, but like the wind we call our breath, Christ says “It is within you.
Top: Zarkpa’s (located in Detroit, MI)Skirt: My mother wore this to her high school graduation Sandals: Forever 21 

In many cultures, before any person is born there is much deliberation on what they will be called. How many letters will be in each name, which way will it be spelled? Are they a junior? Does their name symbolize a certain period? Growing up, I never understood why my parents decided on giving me a five letter name. I mean, five letters? Is that all they could do? As my peers would attempt to shorten their names, I’d continuously ask my parents why I couldn’t switch my ten-letter middle name with my first. As I got older and would start to understand the power of names, I became content with the placement in which my name was given to me.

NNEJI 

nne - the mother | ji - to hold

the mother holds

from the Igbo language, southeastern Nigeria



The Igbo language is one of three main languages in Nigeria and it’s disheartening to say that it is on the verge of becoming a dying one. I for one, was not brought up learning to speak Igbo but, that will not stop me from making a solid effort to speak it now. 



Having the ability to speak my native tongue is just as important to me as my ability to accurately pronounce my names and understand the meanings behind them. Our names are who we are, and if you really think about it, your personality or the things that have taken place in your life can often times be traced back to the meaning of your name. 

There’s great power in a name, what’s yours? 

My week with this car was amazing. Not only because the car turned many heads as I drove down the street but, also because it was a week where I finally had mobility. As one can imagine, moving from coast to coast and sometimes around the world is not easy, and bringing a car along with you can get expensive. 

It took me a while to get back in the right mindset to blog again. There’s something special about having a support system that forces you to remember the projects you’ve started and where you’ve left them. I had a conversation with my friend over the weekend where he reminded me that if I didn’t continue to create, time would soon run out and my passions that I am currently saying “wouldn’t it be cool when…” would turn into “man, I wish I would have…”

While in Indonesia, I travelled to Bali where I was able to speak to many locals about their Balinese culture, favorite foods and my hair; I think speaking about my hair brought them the most joy. The manager of the cottage I stayed in spoke to me about why he chose to stay in Bali and his favorite part about his job. While he believed he found his calling in speaking to travelers, he found that many solo travelers like myself are still in search of where they’re meant to be. Then he asked me:

Happy December :)

I can remember every single detail of this very day last year. Of course, people generally remember their birthday’s, for obvious reasons but, mine was different. I turned 25 years old, one of the largest milestones for any young adult. It’s the age where you’re legally allowed to rent a car without crazy insurance policies, your finances are supposed to be in order, and for some, the age when your elders expect for you to have been married with baby number one on the way.  I wasn’t interested in any of that, my main interest was how I was going to survive another day.

I went to sleep the night before in tears. I was sad for a multitude of reasons, but the main ones being that I was turning a year older and had nothing to show for it show off. At 25, I thought I was going to be driving the latest Mercedes Benz G-wagon, be engaged and have a career that paid me 9-figures…a girl can dream. Instead, at this point I had gone without a car for 9 months, love was far from an interest of mine and that 9-figure job?LOL. I would have been more viable to find $20 on the ground than to even fathom what it felt like to have a job to report to. I was broke, broken and after consulting WebMD for about 35 minutes, I came to the conclusion that I was mildly depressed.

Let’s backtrack a little bit….

January 18th, 2014, I picked up and moved across the country; against my father’s wishes,with $1500 in savings, two suitcases and a prayer. Two months prior to my move, a ton of negative things were happening in my life so, I changed my intentions and began attending a church that I liked. I heard God was dashing out blessings to those who were active visitors in His house. I’ve been a sorta-kinda Christian all my life. Went to church because it was what I was supposed to, prayed the trinity and listened to a few Marvin Sapp tunes here and there. I thought that was all I needed.

It was in the second week of my move that I realized that being a lukewarm Christian wasn’t going to take me anywhere. The place I thought I was moving turned out to be nothing I had imagined. I was sleeping on my friends couch, deathly afraid of the cat that lived underneath it. Our friendship started to get shaky when she asked me for my half of the rent and went completely left when a slight disagreement in the grocery store turned into an awkward situation. How could I fully express myself while living under someone else’s roof? I couldn’t go home, I wasn’t even a full month in. I  ended up moving to my Aunty’s place a little closer to SF but, still, not what I thought. In one month, my name had become “Aunty Nneji”. As cute as that may be, I was in no place to be anybody’s Aunty, I didn’t even feel like an adult. I went to spend the next seven months at my aunt’s place. Every day, I woke up and sent out what seemed to be 1000 job applications into the black hole of the Internet. I would get a few callbacks, but never any offers. Even with the H&M-Germany fellowship I was offered, my gratefulness was still lacking.  

It honestly wasn’t until this very day last year that I knew my life was to be lived like Christ, for Christ and through Christ. I made it clear that I would no longer walk in the shadows of anybody else who may have seemed like they had more than me.  

Fast forward to today, it’s September 3, 2015 …there are no feelings of sorrow around me. In fact, there shouldn’t be, I’m in Dubai celebrating life! From the bedroom floor tears and all last year to one of the most amazing places to be in the world this year. You cannot tell me that God is not good. Nobody can tell me that the God I serve is never on time. I am forever grateful for the hard times last year. The tears, the many times I’d been told no, my joblessness and the 6-10 grey hairs I grew.

As I’m typing this “Osondi Owendi” by one of the greatest Nigerian musicians of all time, the Late Mc Loph, just began playing. For my non-Igbo speakers, Osondi Owendi translates to ‘What is cherished by some people is despised by others’, 'some people are happy, others are sad, do what you want because people don’t matter.’ or… if you like, vex. Na you sabi…the last translation is my favorite, because it’s straight and to the point.

Some things to remember:

1. There will be oppositions but with the Lord on your side, you can most definitely do anything.
2. . God will triumph over all of the enemies. The only thing is, it won’t happen when you want it to.
3. I believe that God purposely puts us through what we think at the time are the worst conditions, he tests us like no other.
4. As soon as you become comfortable, just know that things are about to get shaken up.
5. Keep reading the word, strive for greatness….even when you feel like you’ve done all you can do, God can and will bring you to higher heights, showing you that the things you feel are unattainable can be granted to you as long as your trust is in Him.
6. If you’re going through something right now, just know that you were called to go through it. You’re not gonna get stuck there, you’re not going to die. You will survive.
7. You can do whatever you put your mind to, the only thing is that you have to believe you can do it.

ARE YOU A BELIEVER? 

Happy Birthday to me and all you beautiful September babies.