A STRUGGLE FOR IDENTITY

Photo: Getty Images

Walking in the wide and open community of endless academic and social activities, I find myself, a stranger looking for whom to talk to. A novice wondering where I would fit in , a tale bearer looking for a suitable title to my upcoming story and then there is this strange feeling like that of an exile, a lone fellow thrown to face the harsh realities of an unknown land.

The cold breeze unwelcoming as it slaps me hard, leaving a dry, harsh effect lingering; the trees cave in to unveil cold faces booing me. My face bears a quizzical expression being an external witness to this internal puzzle. Puzzle? Yes, I am puzzled and desperate for answers to questions that cannot wait any longer.

I have heard tales of this place that boasts to be the University of First choice and the nation’s pride. I have heard proud students boosting their egos with loud chants of “Greatest Akokites”, exhibiting a sense of loyalty I have never felt towards any community. Contrary opinions of those who claim to have wealth of experience replacing my initial eagerness with a ‘shaky’ enthusiasm, a sense of doubt and leaving me absolutely clueless. Who am I?  What exactly awaits me in this large ocean of knowledge called UNILAG.

They warned me, O!, feeding me with countless tales of the widely publicized escapades of the well known UNILAG ‘big’ boys and girls or “chicks” as they are fondly called. They informed me of the ARISTO  girls, the fashion and  black berry craze, the endless parties, the list in fact is also endless. The quest to be the ultimate has overwhelmed the hunger for academic success. The well known University of Lagos is a place where you would find it all. The high, classy, sassy and what have you. You not only find the young and restless, you find the aging and agile.

Senate House, UNILAG

Some others were happy that I was coming to ‘LAG’ because according to them, I would now have an official UNILAG student status to enhance my profile amongst the high and classy. This only weakened my initial excitement and enthusiasm about being an undergraduate in UNILAG. Too many voices, too many unanswered questions. I asked myself, Could I not just still be me? I mean; Remain the same way I was before UNILAG came into my life? Not going out of my way to impress and still maintaining a well balanced social life? Not being desperate for money, clothes and what have you and still being a force to reckon with? It did not just make sense, the picture did not just ‘click’, I could not visualize it, the whole bizarre puzzle was proving too difficult to solve, and this is one hell of a dilemma. I am caught between two worlds- To move with the modern tide and also become the in-thing or be the same girl Mummy and Daddy knows? To do the required and be a confirmed big girl, or for goodness sake still be ME? The former seems so easy, I mean they say “if you can’t beat them, you join them.” I sure can’t beat them, not in my small frame.

But then a tiny little voice I have come to recognize as my voice of reasoning, whispers at the corner of my mind, “But you can leave them”- and that was it, the long awaited answer has arrived, the laborious puzzle has been solved. If I can’t beat them, I’d rather leave them and live my life. The field is large enough for me to squeeze my way through. Though I may go unnoticed, I would have left my footprints on the sands of time.

Of all the many voices that advised me during my state of self discovery, one keeps standing out, her words of wisdom constantly echoing and re-echoing in my mind, she said: “UNILAG is a school of destiny, if you want the quick and easy way (ARISTO, yahoo, cultism etc), sure you’d find loads of it , but if you prefer the hard and tiring route, you’ll also find your way. Though it may look long and difficult to scale through.

I look now and the answer to my question could never be more obvious. I see the whole picture coming together to form that “big picture” I have always desired. I see different faces: old and new, strange and familiar, cold and welcoming, desperate and fulfilled, all these faces define various personalities, these personalities carry values, these values represent various goals, these goals identify with your vision and your vision determines your passion, your passion is what ignites the purpose in you to come to light and your purpose is what represents the MAN in you, it is what separates the ordinary from the extra ordinary. That is what makes you unique.

     

UNILAG is an ocean full of different things, potentials, personalities, dreams and aspirations, from all these you’d find diverse results. But unlike my initial position as a puzzled, confused and unenlightened girl, I now see clearly and follow the light to the desired land. My world is now unveiled, my destiny unravelled and it awaits me to come and grab it. So, I won’t waste any time pondering because the decision has been made.

"SISTERS": TIA AND TAMERA TAKE NEW YORK

Yeah remember them? Tia and Tamera from the "Sisters" TV series way-back since... "I-can't-even-remember", it's been long sha. Well, they are back; and this time not as cute little sisters, but fully grown independent (and married) adults, and they are set to take New York. These girls women ladies whatever, you get the drift sha, they are damn gorgeous and I think they are in to give Kim and Kourtney a run for their money, because they are set to start filming the second season of their reality show "Tia and Tamera" which had 775,000 viewers for the season finale of its debut appearance, making it the highest so far on The Style Network. 

Kardashian sisters: Kim and Kourney
Photo: mystyle.com

Sister, Sister : Tia and Tamera
Photo: mystyle.com

What can I say? They are so cute gorgeous, I can't but wish them well in both career and marriage, because we  know they celebrities are still human beings, but with a bit of exaggerated attention (especially from the media) well, maybe more than a little bit, they live lives that are not theirs alone. We watch them on TV, we dissect each piece of clothing they wear, we follow them to the shopping mall. The equation of their lives largely goes in favour of 'public', and what's left is the little privacy they can keep to themselves. 

I just hope they do not try to live fake lives and rather embrace who they are, they are celebrities; they are wives, they are role models, and above all they should not forget that they are SISTERS. Check out their fashion evolution, way-back then and now, as well as other "stylishly gorgeous" pictures:

Photo: Styleblazer.com

Photo: SAGA/Landov

Photo: Getty Images

Photo: Micheal Germana UPI/Landov

Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NAACP Image awards

Tia still looking radiant even with the "baby bump"
Photo: Gregg DeGuire/Picture Group

Identical in looks, but definitely "stylishly independent".

"Hey! guys, I run things around here". It's Tia, doing her doing her own thing
Photo:Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images.

Tamera, Miss Independent.
Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images.

Aww!!!, the water works are on the way. They are BEAUTIFUL.
Photo: Inquisitr.com

These Divas are simply "Identically Independent". I love you, seeing them, you no it's no lie when they say "Black is beautiful."

SUPER WOMAN: TYRA BANKS MOVES ON FROM SUPER MODEL TO "SUPER"...STUDENT

Supermodel, Talkshow hostess, actress, reality show producer, we never seem to get enough of Tyra Banks, one of America's finest Supermodels. This time around, Tyra goes back to school. Shocked? That was my reaction, what else does she want. But it seems this decision came as a big shock to her as well. The drift of the matter is not just in her decision to go back to school, but it's the kind of school she opted for- The Harvard Business School. This babe definitely sees no limits and is doing all she can to expand her horizons, both as a person and as a Business woman.

 But as she put it: "I think they make it hard on purpose," Banks told the massive crowd at her "Modelland" book signing in New York of her strict education. "Once you get done reading one assignment, you get another." This 37 year old multi-talented Diva, has explored her many talents and never seems to get tired of trying new grounds and facing new challenges. 

Tyra Banks posing with her teen novel "Modelland"
Photo: Getty

It seems there is no end to the number of things she wants to do. The "America's Next Top Model" producer,  has tried her hands on a number of things including Acting and even... Writing; Yes, she's got brains. With the launching of her first book "Modelland", a novel for teenagers which reflects the modelling adventures of a 15 year old girl. Tookie, the main character shares some attributes with Tyra; in all, the book promises to be interesting and inspirational "[I want readers] to look in the mirror and know that you might not look like some celebrity on a red carpet, but that there's a unique you, and there are so many things that are special about you," Tyra said.

 Go girl, because you are a TOP model in the real sense of the word, and the only place you deserve to be is the top. Your new runway is Harvard, and I am sure you would walk your way yet to the top as always.

Mixed Reactions for Johnson-Sirleaf’s Nobel Peace Prize

Photo Credit: Robert Corey-Boulet/1PS

The Norwegian Nobel Committee, announced Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, joint winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, alongside fellow Liberian Peace activist Leyman Gbowee of the Women in PeaceBuilding Network (WIPNET) and Tawukkul Karman of Yemen (who heads human rights group Women Journalists Without Chains) for their work on women's right. But it seems that the correspondence of the award with the national campaigns period in Liberia has triggered mixed reactions from Liberians.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee, in announcing the award on Friday, October 7, however,faced questions from journalists being that the timing of the award to Ms. Johnson-Sirleaf was so close to the election date. The committee members defended their decision, insisting that they always completely ignore all domestic political considerations when they decide the winners, and explaining that they could not postpone the announcement even by a few days.

Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize 2011 today, waves to supporters on October 7, 2011 at her house in Monrovia. Liberia, which holds its second election on October 11 since the end of successive civil wars between 1989 and 2003, has been ruled since 2006 by Sirleaf, Africa's first elected woman president. (ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images)

But in Monrovia, the focus Friday was squarely on Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female head of state who is running for a second term in a vote scheduled for Oct. 11. The prize was awarded on the same day that supporters of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), the leading opposition party, marched in support of political change. Contrary to the statements of the Nobel committee that Johnson-Sirleaf "contributed to securing peace in Liberia, to promoting economic and social development, and to strengthening the position of women."; the CDC claims that the 72 year old Liberian leader, has been responsible for bringing war to the country citing her early financial support of former President Charles Taylor, now on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity at The Hague. To read more, click here.

Algerian teen sets himself on fire over failed school exam

ALGIERS (AFP) – An Algerian teenager set himself on fire in front of horrified high school classmates after failing final exams and not being allowed to repeat his senior year, a report said Tuesday.

The 19-year-old was in critical condition at a hospital in the western town of Oran after the incident that unfolded at the Souiyah El Houari high school on Monday, the French-language Quotidien d’Oran reported.

The teen doused himself with gasoline and set himself on fire with a lighter outside the teachers lounge.

As some students and teachers witnessing the incident fainted, the school principal rushed to the boy and tried to put out the flames, burning his hands in the process, the newspaper said.

According to classmates, the teenager was distraught because the school refused a request to repeat his senior year after he failed his final exams, essential to receiving a high school diploma.

Facebook rumors: Fact vs. fiction

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers a keynote address during the Facebook f8 conference last week in San Francisco.

(CNN.com) -- The recent deluge of Facebook changes -- both those that have already happened and those that are on the way -- have people talking.

OK ... that's an understatement. They have people shouting (with either glee or fury). And fuming. And, sometimes, freaking out.

When a site has roughly 800 million users, and each of those users has a quick and easy way to share their thoughts with others, interest is high and info starts flying fast in the face of what looks like a pretty radical overhaul.

Inevitably, that leads to things getting a bit confused sometimes. So, here's a look at some of the rumors that we've seen flying around about Facebook's big changes, along with our best effort to sort them out.

1. Facebook is going to start charging you

Do we actually have to address this one? Apparently, yes.

Every once in a while, this rumor starts cropping up in status updates -- often in all caps. Some people can't seem to get their brains around the fact that a useful service like Facebook is going to remain free. So people begin copying and pasting messages announcing the date the site is going to a pay model.A quick glimpse and you'll find multiple "We Won't Pay For Facebook" groups. On Facebook.So, of course, when all the new changes rolled out, the planets were aligned perfectly for the rumor to spring back up. This time, it apparently got so prevalent that Facebook addressed it."A rumor on the Internet caught our attention. We have no plans to charge for Facebook. It's free and always will be," the site posted on its own Facebook page.

Here's the deal: Facebook will never really have a reason to start charging you for using it. To oversimplify the situation, you aren't Facebook's customer. You're its product. The site's business model is based on advertising and it wants as many users as possible to dangle in front of the click-hungry advertisers.

Charging for Facebook would inevitably decrease the number of users. And that would decrease advertising revenue. It's not going to happen.

Verdict: False. Very false.

2. Friends will see the websites I visit, even when I'm not on Facebook

This one is partially true, with one big "if."

With what Zuckerberg called "frictionless sharing,"Facebook users can have the stories they're reading on certain other websites pushed straight to their News Feed for friends to share. But this will only happen on sites with the Facebook "like" button -- and only when the user has given the site permission to share the info.

That addresses one big privacy complaint Facebook has been hit with in the past, when new features started automatically, requiring users to opt out instead of opting in.

But there's always the possibility for confusion. Some people might not realize that they're authorizing the feature or may simply forget they've enabled it. In that case, best not to make a habit of reading a bunch of articles about how to find a new job if you're FB friends with your boss.

Verdict: Partially True (If you enable it)

3. The Timeline is going to show all my photos and info (whether I want it to or not)

One of the biggest changes Facebook is making is switching users' profile pages into what's being called a Timeline. It will, in effect, make your profile look more like a blog, with a chronological stream of photos and posts from the entire time you've been on Facebook and even before.

People viewing your profile will be able to scroll through, year by year, and see what you were up to far more easily than they can now.Reports of that have led some users to freak out, or even say they planned to delete all their photos before the feature rolls out.

Here's the deal: The Timeline will definitely make it easier for your friends to see your photos and posts, particularly older ones. A single click could take them from your recent and respectable photos from office parties and play dates to those infamous college keggers from days of yore (you know ... if you're young enough to have been on Facebook in college).But you'll be able to curate your own timeline. You can remove photos or posts you don't want on it and resize images to emphasize (or de-emphasize) chapters of your life. At the end of the day, there will be nothing there that's not already available to prying eyes -- but the eyes just won't have to pry as hard.

Verdict: Mostly False

Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and C.E.O of Facebook.

4. Facebook monitors my activity when I'm not logged in

This one isn't directly linked to the changes, but has cropped up as they're about to roll out. And, in truth, as more off-site sharing is introduced, it could become more prevalent.

Earlier this week, an Australian blogger posted data that he said shows information being sent to Facebook by users even when they're not logged into the site.

Facebook acknowledges that it uses "cookies" when you visit the site that then transmit data from other sites that are connected to it.

Facebook engineering director Arturo Bejar told the Wall Street Journal that the system is used to prevent phishing attacks and spam and to make it easier for users to log in on the sites they've connected to the social network. Facebook deletes the data immediately, he said, and it's never used to target advertising or the like.

"The onus is on us is to take all the data and scrub it," Bejar told the Journal. "What really matters is what we say as a company and back it up."

Verdict: True (But in a limited way)

5. I can't use Spotify unless it's linked to Facebook

This one depends: Are you already on Spotify? If so, you're in the clear. If not, or if you already signed up through your Facebook account, the two services are pretty much married, 'til digital death do they part.

To Spotify, the emerging music-streaming service, and Facebook, it's a seamless and convenient way to listen to music and share songs with your friends. To people who might want to listen privately, or those elusive few who don't have Facebook accounts, it's a hassle.Users will still be able to use their Spotify settings to control what information gets sent to Facebook, though. So don't worry -- if you're secretly listening to lots of Bieber and Gaga on Spotify, you can still do it on the down-low.

Verdict: True (If you didn't already sign up).

Article culled from: CNN.com.

Castro calls Obama stupid, slams Cuba policy

Fidel Castro...Obama is "stupid"
Photo: CNN.com

Latest reports from CNN reveal that Former Cuban Leader, Fidel Castro, has lashed out U.S President Barack Obama for demanding changes in the island in order to improve bi lateral relations, referring to him as "stupid." This statement was made by the Hispanic leader in a written essay published  the Cuban state media on Thursday, and was in response to Obama's statement on Wednesday in a meeting with Hispanic journalists. Here Obama insists that America would relieve her tough line approach to Cuba only "when we start seeing a serious intention on the part of the Cuban government to provide liberty for its people"

Reacting to this statement, Castro responds in with a sarcastic tone saying: "How nice! How intelligent! So much generosity has failed to let him understand that after 50 years of blockade and crimes against our country, they haven't been able to bow our people." He strongly opines that if anything is to change in Cuba, it would be as a result of Cuba's own efforts "despite" the United States. "Perhaps that empire will collapse first," he added.

He also slammed a recent ruling by a U.S. judge against a Cuban agent, but he said it was to be expected.

And still on a sarcastic note he concluded saying: "Otherwise, the empire would cease to be the empire and Obama would cease to be stupid."