is this my life? | a 2016 first quarter recap

I think it’s a rather customary thing for me to do now — to apologize that I haven’t been here in so long (the last time being at the beginning of the year, in January)…except this time, well…

I’ve been busy. & we’re not even halfway into the year yet.

 – just a heads up: before you keep reading, the blue colored phrases/sentences below are links, click them/save as bookmarks to check out later  –

This post is in the same vein as what I did in 2014 – a year in review for each quarter of the year. Since a whole quarter (that’s 4 months y’all – January, February, March, April) is already gone in the year 2016, I thought I’d update you all on what this dreamer’s been up to.

The picture above has really been my facial expression for most of this year. An expression of disbelief that this is the life that I get to live. If you haven’t guessed, it’s amazing!!!! It is not without its own challenges and difficulties, of course, but it is nothing short of amazing. Something major happened to me literally every month in this year.

In January, as I shared on here, I was featured on the cover of Local Houston Magazine alongside 8 other Houstonians, in celebration of diversity. In the same month, I announced my collaboration with one of my friends, Jose Estrada: a podcast, titled Riffs of Inspiration.

February rolls along, and I get the chance to be interviewed by Sade Champagne on her radio show – Sade Champagne Show. Additionally, I released a project of love poems, my song is love, that I am still very much proud of — even more so because if it were up to 2015 me, it would not have happened. I was also asked to be a digital ambassador for the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts‘ CounterCurrent Festival 2016.

In March, I was awarded a fellowship by the American Psychology Association, and it remains the highest honor I’ve received during my training in Psychology. An interview I did with The Lunar Cougar , the online blog that features profiles of University of Houston alumni, in January was posted.

I also got back on the mic after a long while (2 months is a long time away from something I love), and won a poetry slam – took home $10 -, then had the privilege of joining some remarkable individuals at Write About Now‘s stage for its Gentlemen’s Mic night.

Well, April brought with it the pleasure of being featured as a spotlight student via the Graduate Studies department of my school, Sam Houston State University. You can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdOky4P-QHE

Also, Sade Champagne (who interviewed me on her radio show in February) announced that she’ll be adding me as a new castmate on her radio show, by bringing me on to host a new segment titled “Sharing Your Story” for the next season. What I’m supposed to do? – give the listeners some tips and encouragement on writing and how to share their authentic story with courageous transparency: something I know how to do well.

Also, my work (a write up about identity – how I’m coming to terms with my experience as an immigrant to the United States from Nigeria) got published on The Black Expat.

Also, I had the opportunity to compete alongside some brilliant poets for a spot on Write About Now’s team, in preparation for a national poetry competition. It was only the semi-finals. I made it to the finals, but we’ll see if I make as a member on the team in May.

Remember that digital ambassador thingy for CounterCurrent16, well, I essentially wrote poems for/inspired by some of the events that I attended…and they were awesome enough to share them. You, if you care to, also can read them here: http://afalomopoetry.tumblr.com/tagged/countercurrent16

In the next few days, specifically May 6, I’ll be graduating from Sam Houston State University with a *Specialist Degree in School Psychology (*what’s that mean, you ask? Well, a way to explain it is that it’s a lot more hours than a regular Master’s degree, and a lot less hours than a Ph.D…and it’s, well, a degree in a specific specialization lol) and I’m still here wondering if this is really my life.

And you’ll ask if I am still scared of my light, of how much I still have left to accomplish…and I’ll give a resounding yes. I don’t think the answer will ever stop being yes.

I’m also kinda slowly but surely working my way through my 25 goals for my year 25. So, we’ll see about that…soon.

Till next time… keep dreaming. Dreams do come true. My life surely is a testament to that!