Monochrome X Green

So it’s been a while (probably because I haven’t been with my sister in a while) but I finally have another fashion post!

Today is about wearing monochrome with a pop of color – I love it because it brings attention to the colored item naturally, without overdoing it.

Outfit details at the bottom – enjoy!

Top – New Look

Skirt – ASOS

Shoes - Linzi

xo

The Big Guy Upstairs.

I don’t think “I don’t know how to pray,” is ever a valid excuse for prayerlessness. Did anyone ever teach you how to let your mom know that you were hungry as an infant? No. Yet she always seemed to understand you, be it by your incessant crying or just the innate bond between a mother and child.

That’s what it’s like with God. He knows when you need something, He doesn’t require a well drafted business proposal each time you want to present a request to Him. He just wants you to talk.

So I’m going to give you a quick rundown on how to talk to God. Note: I’m not teaching you how to pray; Jesus already did that (Matthew 6:9-13 aka The Lord’s Prayer) I’m just gonna give you a little kick start : )

So first of all, you need to get somewhere you can clear your mind. If that’s in your room, great, personally I go for a walk; beautiful natural scenery really helps me connect. Next, talk out loud. Greet Him like He’s your best friend, like your personal person. “Yo, it’s me again” for example. Formality has a way of slowing conversations - so cut it.

Pour your heart out. Everything. No holding back whatsoever. Cry if need be. Make sure you don’t leave with any worries.

 “Cast your burdens unto Jesus for He cares for you.”

Psychology.

Never underestimate the importance of healthy psyche. 

Never. 

For a long time I never thought much of mental psychology; so long as one had their sanity I thought - that was that. But when you meet people that have had life-altering effects due to a psychological imbalance, or even experience one for yourself, you realise it's importance. 

If you feel there's something you're going through, or if there's something that bothers you deeply - don't assume you're the only one who goes through it. Find someone you can trust and share your problems. The saying goes "a problem shared is a problem half solved", just talking about your issues has a therapeutic effect in itself. 

 And if you feel for whatever reason that you don't have anyone to trust, or you simply would like my advice, you can drop me an anonymous message; I'd be glad to offer the best advice I can give. 

Psychology - don't underestimate it.

Stereotypes!

The number of times that someone has said to me "You don't look like you can cook" should actually offend me, but then I think, what does a girl that CAN cook look like? As a viral tweet once said, does she have vegetables wrapped in her hair?

I'm actually tired of stereotypes. I remember sweeping in front of distant relatives as a child, and because I'm left-handed they all said, "That place she swept can never be clean." Like - come on!

Or because I don't wear make up or hair extensions that means I would judge the next girl and condemn her to Hell fire - just like that.

Can you imagine a world where nobody had pre-conceived ideas about anything or anyone and took everything as it came? No judgements, just take people as they are.

Beautiful place right?

You can start that change - give everyone a fair chance before making any rash decisions - then you can tell your children you helped make the world a better place :D

Hate.

So it’s been a while that I’ve actually written a post myself right? Here’s to breaking that rut.

Hate is such a harsh word, I personally choose to use the word dislike where others use hate i.e. “I dislike amala” because if I say hate it, that means I’ll never be open to eating it even if the world’s best Amala chef prepared it for me. Hate has this absoluteness to it, which is why I choose to use it sparingly; unfortunately not everyone shares my philosophy.

Thus, you should understand why I feel taken aback when someone says, “I hate her.” To me, that means if given the possibility to remove that person from your vicinity, whatever the cost, you would do it. That means, if you saw that person dying of thirst and you had a bottle of water in hand, you’d rather pour it on the ground and watch that person die. Yes, it may sound exaggerated, but if someone truly hates another person, grave measures can be taken against them.

Hate is the opposite of love; so as strong as love can be, hate too can encompass such strength. All those headlines of lovers killing their partner for cheating are examples of the power of hate.

Funny thing about hate is that it requires effort; just as you spend time and mental energy thinking of the person you love, you also do the same for those you hate.

“Love your neighbor as yourself”

A word is enough for the wise.

Fashion post – for the guys!

Hey everyone :D

Today a rather funny incident occurred in class which led to one of my readers advising me to do a fashion post for the males – so here we are – shout out to him! J

His request was along the lines of appropriate cooperate dressing for guys so I got a few guys in my class to take part in a quick photo shoot session between lectures - so let’s get right down to it!

1)   Classic

Here we have an example of the absolutely easiest to achieve cooperate style: a plain white shirt, coupled with a mildly patterned tie. Play safe by combining it with a black belt, black trousers and black shoes. It’s practically a no-brainer; minimal effort but you’ll look the part.

2)   Pinstripes

Slight upgrade from classic, as it requires a hint more of thought processing to put together. In the example above, you see that though the pinstripes are rather faint, they are within the color scheme of the shirt, which makes accessorizing it simpler. The black satin tie is fastened by a silver tie clip, which harmoniously rhymes with his black belt and silver buckle. If you want, you can go the extra mile and match your wristwatch to your ongoing theme, everyone likes extra points :D

3)   Pop color

Here we have something similar to Classic, but instead of the plain canvas white shirt, you can insert a bright colored shirt. In the example, the model has paired his pink shirt with a uniquely patterned tie, albeit dull colored. The dull coloring of the tie is important as the shirt’s color in itself is an attractant, so combining a bright shirt and a bright tie would create a fight for attention between the two – nobody wants to be that guy.

4)   Statement Tie

Last but not the least, is an example of when the tie is the leading factor of the outfit. This styling generally requires much more effort, but with practice becomes second nature. As seen on the model, a crisp, plain white shirt has been paired with a beautifully decorated tie. The core color of the tie, black, has been matched with the belt on his waist and the strap of his wristwatch; while the chino-brown patterns on the tie were delicately played upon by matching them with both his trousers and the face of his wristwatch.

I hope this blogpost has been helpful, thank you once more to my lovely classmates turned models who let me put up their cooperate style :D

Feel free to comment your own ideas :D

Inspiration.

Hello hello!

Some of you lovely readers may know that I’m studying to be a medical doctor. Now, if there’s anything you need to have even an iota of motivation to go through with this course, or anything in life - it’s inspiration.

Inspiration is what makes up the bedrock of why you do something; why you aspire to be someone and what you remind yourself of when the going gets tough.

Inspiration births motivation.

So as not to always write abstractly and to ensure my point is put across adequately, let me give an example of how I got my inspiration to go through with this challenging course. My father has been a doctor long before I was born and during my early childhood he specialized in pediatrics, which is the care of children. I was an asthmatic patient at the time and sometimes I had episodes that pushed me over to the brink of life; but each time he combatted it and drew me back into safety. I grew to admire him for the numerous life and death scenarios he battled both at home and at work, being faced with such circumstances on a regular basis is enough to break a person down, but he always pushed through.

What led me to remember this was my first up-close labor room experience; I was the very first person that my patient’s child saw in it’s life, and although the process to deliver the child was no simple task, that brief moment, when I locked eyes with the child, was magical. I was re-inspired.

So this post is all about inspiring you to get inspiration; it keeps the passion burning for whatever it is you’ve set your mind to do.

Best of Luck xo