Check out my guest post and the other posts on Alicia101’s blog . Major food for thought
What I Am Listening To
This post was meant to be out a few days before, but my ass has literally been everywhere building my brand and trying to make changes to my blogging. Learning and getting to experience life as is, seeing that I have 8 units left until I graduate from college. So that basically means that’s a lot of assignments and term papers, declaring my minor and concentration by doing so on a piece of paper.
One exciting thing in my life is that my fashion blog found here is growing.
Enough about that and back to the music and the new artists that I have discovered and the new music that I am playing. As I have previously stated music is life to me and when I am not able to I feel like a piece of me is missing , this usually happens when I lose my earphones or when my phone dies and I am forced to listen to what they play on the radio. I have nothing against the radio, it’s just that Kenyan radio stations have a habit of making you know each and every lyric as well as the schedule of the playlist. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but I want to do that on my own collection of music.
Music really takes me to places, because when I get sad or when I feel emotional I have Lana Del Rey and Josh Record to take me down that road and I get to binge on that emotion. One of my all-time favourites is Gods and Monsters that I heard for the first time on American Horror Story, Freak Show performed by Jessica Lange, my SoundHound couldn’t be popping faster. (Thank the Heavens for the inventors of SoundHound.) Then there are moments when I feel “Turnt”, yes my extrovert nature feels turnt and this is the phase I am currently going through. So there is a lot of Fetty Wap and Pia Mia.
So in terms of my music love and current playlist , I go through phases as mentioned, sometimes I am into 90s music , hence I am going to put it out there that Be My Baby by Mariah Carey happens to play on my playlist don’t look at me all sideways and judgemental.
This is what I am currently loving, as usual I will post a link to my SoundCloud account, and you can follow me, have listen to the other collections here and tell me what you think.
1Hunnid by KCamp ft. Fetty Wap
Ride or Die by Fetty Wap & Jhonni Blaze
Drama by Roy Woods & Drake
Sin City by John Legend ft. Teyana Taylor & Travi$ Scott
What’s Up by Post Malone
On a Wave by Drake and Tinashe
Bet by Tinashe
Jealousy by Roy Woods
Just Like that by Roy Woods
Get you good by Roy Woods
Prisoner by the Weeknd and Lana Del Rey
Shameless by The Weeknd
Trust Issues by the Weeknd & Drake.
Don’t Wait by Mapei
Check out the playlist here there will be a few bonus tracks that I will throw in there, my love for music is as versatile as can be. Might even throw in a single from Victoria Kimani. Till next time. XF
OPEN HEART
This post is long overdue !!
To lighten up the mood i will post one of my favorite singles and you can have a listen before i rant and rave out here as was intended by the title Not Soo Silent.
I feel extremely passionate about this post because i intend on pouring my heart out, and letting go off of all the negativity and the b*llshit that has been handed to me by some of the people around me. I will try not to delve off the deep end but i will literally have a war within me.
As an ambivert (which is a trendy way to say a mix of an introvert and extrovert) , i have both characteristics and at times one seems to bypass the other, and this is in respect to the situation that life decides to hand to me. The other day some ‘critic’ decided to tell me that he can’t teach me how to blog but he can teach me how not to blog!!! I honestly took offence to his comment and in my head what kept on hitting me was that blogging is an individualistic approach to expression. Expression is necessarily individualistic and at times we need to be able to do so without having someone to tell us that this is right and this is wrong. I just feel that way.
Anyway so i have decided that i will be strong in being alone and i quote Mandy Hale, “Learn to be alone and to like it. There is nothing more freeing and empowering than learning to like your own company.” this is my new mantra in life and i will live by it. Despite nosey people asking me questions and stuff about, where my girl at? why am i still single? how comes i am single? blah blah blah… i will let things play out on their own and let the cards fall into place.
So that is it, I will try not to overthink things as i usually do and be able to be happy with the decisions i make without letting others put me down.
M.A
MY MASAI MARA PICTORIAL
MY MASAI MARA ADVENTURE DAY 1
#MYMASAIMARAADVENTURE
This is the first official full day that I have spent at Mpata Safari Club. The arrival day was amazing as is and I enjoyed every bit. If you haven’t read it, then do so Right Here. So my first day involved a game drive at the Trans Mara region, which was just breath-taking in its own way and I will not forget it in the next coming years unless I create new memories of its own.
So I woke up at 4am Wednesday 2015, and this has become a norm and this is because of brain conditioning that has been very persistent due to the constant waking up of my 2015 summer semester. So I woke up to a knock on my door and Momanyi, my driver for the day was there asking me to meet him at the library section of the hotel. There I met the Japanese elderly couple and family that were also staying at Mpata Safari Club. At the library I found a pot of tea and freshly made cookies and marble cake that was meant to be our wake up snack.
Momanyi told us that we were meant to be at the Masai Mara National Park by 6:30am, when the Olololoo Gate opens. So I wrapped myself in my Masai shuka and hoped into my day’s chariot and was joined by Noroku and her Japanese friend. Noroku is guest relations manager at Mpata Safari Club; she is Japanese but speaks and understands Swahili like it was her mother tongue. She has been in the country for 15 years and hence the familiarity to the language. I later learnt that she prefers Swahili to English.
As we waited for Momanyi to provide our details to the game park security, the early morning sun was rising and making its debut in the Masai Mara. Again I felt so lucky I got to see it set and now I see it rise. So we drove into the vast plains and a few kilometres into the drive the first groups of animals we saw were herds of elephants grazing. Then there was the conspicuous waterbuck that were so close and seemed to stare at us questioning our existence. That feeling you get when what you watch on National Geographic is right in front of you.
Then the hot air balloons that floated around the dawn skies, one literally flew above us and the group of tourists waved at us and we at them, it was like a sign of acknowledgement. Then the walky talky that is a very important mode of communication came on the voice of another tour guide asked Momanyi whether he had spotted ‘kichwa’ . Then Noroku muttered something in Japanese and then we drove for a bit, then Momanyi muttered something and then we were speeding off. (The tour guides have a coded language that only they know.)
Then there were the animals that were unique and aroused a lot of special attention like the Bat eared fox and some red head bird, that I didn’t quite catch the name. It was more than an amazing site and the amount of activity that was going on in the wild was just amazing.
One thing I discovered was when someone spots something all the tour guides concentrate and race to find the best spot for the group of tourists. This left a lot of clouds of dusts and the running wild of the animals that were not as popular among the tourists
I was lucky enough to watch the yearly migration of the Waterbucks from Tanzania into Kenya. I also got the chance to have tea in the bush, well some people took the adventure too far by peeing in the bush but i wont judge (YOLO or You Only Do it Once) It was an amazing and breath-taking spectacle. I will let the images speak for the event.
Enjoy.
XF.
Remember my snapchat story @freddiefreedom
Thank you for reading and remember to share! Share! Share!
The nest post will be a slideshow of all the images i took. Some of them might not be the best but either way i would want to share with you all what i have and the world through my eyes.
MY MASAI MARA ADVENTURE (DAY 000)
I would like to start with “Kenya Is Beautiful and Bountiful”
This is something that I have always known and respected and shared to the outside world in all possible avenues I could be able to.
Once in a while though due to the challenges that face any country we tend to lose sight and vision of this. The past few years has left not only Kenya with scars of heartache and torture which has directly and indirectly affected us as not only as Kenyans, Africans but as humans as well.
Anyway this is not a sad touchy-touchy post. This post is one of excitement and gratitude not only as a means of congratulations to the Kenyans representing and winning at the Beijing Olympics of 2015. Hongera Kwao. Hongera Kwa Kenya.
So my summer holiday seems to have taken a turn for the better. Those that follow me on Snapchat (If you don’t why don’t you right now @freddiefreedom) So my holiday mostly comprised of meetings and new business ventures that involved more meetings, apart from this there was the daily dosage of movies rather series’ which I do not regret or want to be change. However, Tuesday 25th August was a change in the dynamics.
#MYMASAIMARAADVENTURE is what I have dubbed it. On Tuesday, my dad decided to give me the chance to visit the esteemed Kenyan Masai Mara. This is not the first time, but I hardly remember the first time because I was pretty young and it is just a mere fact that I was told I have been to the Mara. Not necessarily sharing part of the memories.
So the journey began at 6am, with Nairobi traffic leading to the paranoia of missing my car to Masai Mara. I got the pick-up point on time actually, however due to certain unavoidable (African Timing) circumstances we left 6 hours past the departure time. Yes we left at 1pm. I literally blew a casket but I decided that I will be a god sport since I was paying for anything why complain when I am not meant to be. Anyway it was definitely worth it, despite the fact that the road trip literally lasted 7 hrs.
The scenery from Nairobi the capital of Kenya to Mpata Safari Club in the heart of Masai Mara was like they taught it in 4th grade Geography class. This is from the posh Westlands buildings to the Acacia plains and dry grass of the Rift Valley escarpments. In every sense I felt the very existence of the city born and bred individual in me wave off and release serotonin into my nerve and system. The Mpata Safari club is literally found on a hill in the Mara and is in what the locals call the Trans Mara triangle.
This part of the country is absolutely different from the other part of the country. For those that have been in Nairobi, the ever busy streets and ever concentrated roads and atmosphere , the Mara is just robust and oozing of culture and uncorrupted life. The site of the traditionally clad Masai people is evidence of this, as well as maintained Manyattas and grazing cattle. Then there are the little towns found every 60 kilometres from each other. This was so surreal and the thought of individuals living their livelihoods in a complete different world yet in the same space becomes a reality. But this is a positive aspect not like that which happened when Snapchat first decided to showcase what Nairobi had to offer.
So back to my adventure in the Mara we got to the venue at 8pm , but first the journey to the site from the main road was an experience and a taste of what I would experience for the few days that I will #EXPERIENCEMASAIMARA. There was the whispers of the driver that elephants use this path when they are crossing and feeding their calves, or the tales of the Wilderbeests that roamed freely once they had left the Tanzania Serengeti, which was only once a year. But first was the amazing sunset that could not be taken away from my memories and sight ever. I literally saw the sun go behind the hills and this was in a span of 5mins or so, the colours were too vibrant and warm that I had to ask the driver to stop and let it sink in that I was seeing this.
Seeing that I don’t have a camera I hastily took out my phone with its 10% battery low warning and shared it to the world how I know best. Then the first sighting of the waterbucks grazing amongst the local herds of goats. Yes goats. I am sure it was a waterbuck because I spotted herds of them later in the journey. I honestly think the goats were just being friendly neighbours how they know best. Then came the wildebeests grazing among the zebras (which I come to learn is a very unique and not distinct relationship) and then came the siting of the hyenas that were surprisingly large in size. There was one that actually is the size of a German shepherd!! My phone was long dead and the lighting was not really conducive for smartphone photography. Plus I had the thought that I would spot one later either way
Because I am one that doesn’t like those long blog posts I won’t bore you to death with this one. This is enough for my first day in Masai Mara!!!
Thank you for reading!!!
Enjoy the post and share!! Share !! share !!
A little teaser into the next post…My first official Game Drive in Masai Mara. It will involve the sightings of a 10 year old lion, the once in a year wildebeest migration into Kenya , and a few wildlife families here and there. Totally excited.
For more into #MYMASAIMARAADVENTURE remember to follow my snapchat @freddiefreedom and check out for the new post.
XF.
A little teaser for the next post…i went on a Game Drive and here are some of the images of the drive.
FEELING
I honestly feel that either I am in a heartbreak or on the verge of a heartbreak.
And I don’t like how it makes me feel powerless.
I know being a guy and having to conform to what the rules are of being a guy in a relationship but we too feel.
Not saying that I am emotional and cry and stuff I don’t but I literally feel that my heart is in serious pain.
And trying to find something to cover the pain or heal it is difficult.
This is because I am not the type to drink myself stupid and curse out everyone. Or drunk call and tell the person that I love…I want to be with you every minute that the day has even though that would be absurd.
I can’t !!
At times I feel like I am in a pit and there is no way to get and no one to save me
WHAT IS THE NORM?
Its been a struggle and living like i have two worlds within me is not so easy and not the best thing ever. This is because at times one wants to overpower the other and just come out shouting and screaming and being all up in your face. Well i was once told that i am an ambivert , that basically means that i am an introvert and extrovert , which is definitely true because at times i am defined as “i am the life of the party” and this is honestly and incredibly true , while at times i am the one that will seat at a corner and interact with no one but myself and i am comfortable with both personas within me. It’s disturbing how the society will try to define me by this and try to enhance my wavelength and make me try to conform to what they would consider the norm. This brings me to thinking what is the norm?
Being in the new age and the 21st Century everyone wants to define norm or normal. What people are doing in today’s society is breaking the bonds of what those in the past considered norms. Everything from physical appearance to sexual orientation to the boom of surrogacy and open relationships.
People have long tried to change what others have always considered as the norms, a look today would be the most talked about gender transition of Bruce Jenner to Caitlyn Jenner.
Apart from being part of the Kardashian Clan who are probably the Reality Show Royalty. With Kim Kardashian ever pushing the envelope on what is defined as sexy or being a woman and how she has been able to push the boundaries. Back to Caitlyn Jenner, she was a 60 year old man that felt out of the norm by saying that he felt that he was living a life that isn’t his or hers. ( i am still confused on the gender article to use). Kindly get that i don’t , and i repeat i DON’T want to be a woman or undergo transgender , this is just an illustration on how normal is defined differently by different people.
In my case i think my biggest struggle would be that i am 21 years old and find that some of the things that may be considered to be the norm to 21 year old’s may not necessarily apply to me. Like going out clubbing every weekend Thursday to Sunday. I lack that. I lack the urge to be and fight for popularity on social media, yes i want to be noticed but i don’t make it the bane of my very existence. It might work and be the norm for others but not for me.
On that note, i was watching a show The New Normal, that featured Nene Leakes who i love hunnay. (In heavy Atlanta accent). its a good watch but i think it was cancelled.
I highly recommend it due to its story line. On that note i need to do a post about Reality Shows child.
PHONE MANENO
First of all I would like to share the struggle I have had with phones and the interesting facts that might not be a shocker or come as a shocker to some people. The most strange is that I have never lost a phone in my entire life and I intend to keep it that way, forever. So those interested in tormenting my life should stop right now.
I got to own my first phone officially when I was in the sixth grade. I usually used to use my mum’s second phone as mine , and occasionally make those pretend calls and have pretend conversations when am outside. Then have people think I was way cool, since this was back in the early 2000s. I honestly can’t recall the specific year because it will involve some math and turning on my phones calculator and I don’t intend on doing it, especially because of the fact that my phone is charging plus it’s off so it’s a hustle.
Anyway, so my first phone was a Siemens, it was so cool and tiny and had an orange backlight. Thank God it didn’t have a pull out aerial as that Sony Ericsson back in that time. If you are reading this and were born after 2000 you probably don’t understand what am talking about, because a vintage phone to you would be the first generation iPhone which was metallic grey and black if you are lucky you saw a sidekick or the infamous Nokia, whose vibrate was a ringtone on its own.
What I can say is that the world and the telephone industry have made bounds and leaps literally in the whole world and in the technology space zone. Phones are practically the backbones in certain industries and would lead to the collapse and thriving of certain livelihoods.
I believe that one can determine a lot about a person and their personality from their phone. In the day and age of smartphones there is so much to individualism and the characters that one might possess as a human being ; everything from the colour of the phone to the features to the brand. I will start with myself as a case study. (Trying to be as efficient and truthful as possible)
I can honestly begin to say the phone I am currently using was not the first choice or the second but I can say is what a good choice and a good alternative to what I wanted. The reality of the world that we live in is that not everyone can afford to have what we want, heck I will just put it out there that I wanted an iPhone 5S in gold when I was meant to buy a phone, but where would I get close to KES100,000 to get it. But I believe dreams are valid so yes the hope will go on.
I have got to experience all major phone operating systems, the Blackberry OS, the Apple iOS, Android OS and even the Windows OS.
This would be the first sign behind what kind of person one is, BlackBerry OS has for a long time been associated with the traditional business man mind-set, but has tried to break the barriers and ‘myths’ behind it. I honestly loved my BlackBerry and indeed it was one phone that I loved more than anything, especially for the two months I got to use it and have it ripped from my arms. I loved the user interface, the look it had and the camera was just the best thing ever at the time. Plus it was the Torch, the touch and type, hence my enthusiasm and utter love for the device. Plus it was very rare bringing out a quality I loved, the unique factor. I am not a fan of getting an item and the 3rd person you meet has the same exact item, like clothing or shoes. Especially shoes. That was a NO!
Hence the choice of my current phone, which is Android OS. I LOVE THE VERSATILITY . This OS basically gives one the freedom to do anything and everything to modify your phone. If you don’t like the standard keyboard you can get something fancy or tacky, all the way from a picture filled keyboard to a nonchalant gold themed keyboard. Plus the availability of apps to change the user interface from Android to Windows to Apple replicas is just an amazing thing. Apple is just Apple. I love the iTunes bit and love the camera and the simplicity it offered me as a user. With Apple it has grown and hence has the flexibility and surprises that the company has learnt to offer the public. Windows was and still is exciting, the blinking tiles and the simple framework is just that. Amazing.
I love my music so the music player interface is key. I am the type of person that has ZERO games but willing to sacrifice to have 4GB worth of music. This reflects also on my battery life because I usually listen to music as I blog, so you best save the page and become a loyal reader. YASSSSS.
I am also into fashion so you will find a lot of screenshots, (whoever invented this was a life saver) from blogs, GQ Magazine. Plus a lot of my wallpapers are testament to this. I also love reading magazines online and saving them on my phone so there will be a lot of that as well.
I feel that a phone should be able to be as versatile as its owner as versatile as me!!
Don’t you?
the semicolon project
I love this piece and feel that it resonated deep in me and it connected with me.
Today I went to a tattoo artist, and for $60 I let a man with a giant Jesus-tattoo on his head ink a semi-colon onto my wrist where it will stay until the day I die. By now, enough people have started asking questions that it made sense for me to start talking, and talking about things that aren’t particularly easy. We’ll start here: a semi-colon is a place in a sentence where the author has the decision to stop with a period, but chooses not to. A semi-colon is a reminder to pause and then keep going. In April I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. By the beginning of May I was popping anti-depressents every morning with a breakfast I could barely stomach. In June, I had to leave a job I’d wanted since I first set foot on this campus as an incoming freshmen because of my mental…
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NOT SOO SILENT 