African Chocolate

Writing more articles on Medium these days.😄

Black Pride: How My Mother Challenged My Beliefs About Skin Tone. How to Be Grateful, Not Proud: A Story of Skin Tone and Self-Worth

Instead of asking “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Ask your child “What problems do you want to solve?”.

Our work does not define us and we do not become worthy people because of our work.

When we ask what problems children want to solve, we encourage curiosity, creativity, and contribution.

African Chocolate Education

Always try to break out of your own mind and find out what other people think and feel.

She was beautiful
But not like those girls in the magazines
She was beautiful
For the way she thought
She was beautiful
For that sparkle in her eyes when she talked about something she loves
She was beautiful for her ability to make other people smile
Even when she was sad

People didn't like her imperfections
Under all her mindless smiles
Under all her scars
She was magical. 🖤👑

Beauty indeed lies in the eyes of the beholder but can the beholder’s notions of beauty be influenced?

A look at notions of a beautiful woman among many African nations would portray fleshy and plump but curvy women as the standard of beauty. These notions of beauty would also include cultural hair styles. But when it comes to beauty in general, it does not include African notions of beauty, so the plumpy and curvy African woman is considered fat, not beautiful.

One only has to take a look at the women who have been declared the most beautiful women in their various countries through beauty pageants for some years now to see how notions of beauty have been influenced by those from the west. Take a look also at the women who have been declared the most beautiful women in the world by the organizers of the miss world pageant or the women who have been declared the sexiest women in the world by various magazines. Would these women qualify in any way to be declared sexy or beautiful in the true sense of African beauty? Who determines what is beautiful or who is beautiful? Does the notion of beauty only include notions from the west?

When you’re committed to taking care of yourself and playing the hand you were dealt, you generate true self-love because you’re building on a solid foundation.

Africa is mystic;
it is wild;
it is a sweltering inferno;
it is a photographer’s paradise,
a hunter’s Valhalla,
an escapist’s Utopia.
It is what you will,
and it withstands all interpretations.
It is the last vestige of a dead world
or the cradle of a shiny new one.
To a lot of people,
as to myself, it is just home.☺️

A mother's love is justified by God, and by his hands he created the mold.
This mold that was shaped and fashioned by God has endured the test of time.
This mold that was taped and recorded by women rang out like a heavenly chime.
A mother's love is unconditional, and from her heart this can be told.
A mother's love is nutritional; it is the fruit that feeds our soul.
A mother's love 'IS' true love, and from her heart she cannot lie.
A mother's love is eternal, the kind that won't ever die.
A mother's love is the tie that binds, and her bond can never be broken.
A mother's love is branded in our hearts, even when her words aren't spoken.

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/a-mothers-love-is-true-love

I am one of the lucky ones, at least I don’t have to squat over a hole in the ground and wait for it to pass because sanitary products are too expensive and i would be beaten for having blood on my clothes, like it is the case in many countries.

Once you figure out what respect tastes like, it tastes better than attention.

Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.

I drink tea,
I pray,
I meditate,
But I still want to smack some people.
🤦🏿