A Rat Race in a rabbit Hole

Hi, I’m Oreoluwa and… its been a while. For reasons outside and within my control, I have not been able to provide you with content that is the graphical representation of my stumble through life.

However, I’m here now, reporting from a new headquarters and as you might have noticed, certain things have changed (*coughs* now playing *coughs*) for the better. Hopefully its onwards and forwards from here on out. Hopefully. And I would like to thank everyone who has kept me honest by reminding me about my commitment to this thing; especially my roommates, Kolade, Mo and Ifedolapo. I love you guys and I really appreciate it.

Anyways, to the topic of conversation. I struggled a bit with this because for a little while, it seemed like so much was happening at the same time and I wasn’t sure how to chronicle them and in what order. One of the bigger reasons I haven’t written anything for a while.

And honestly, even now as I write I’m still conflicted because I started this mail with a topic in mind and now I think I’m going to do something a bit different (Entropy wins again, I guess 😂). Here’s a rundown of the world through my eyes in the past few weeks.

31st March

I submitted some of my poems to Unserious Collective, applying for the fellowship. I usually don’t like to submit my poems for competitions and applications, but for some reason I just did. Fingers crossed on this one

1st April

Chenemi drops the most wonderful piece, titled, “Don’t Grow Up on Me” that discusses the world’s tendency to corrupt the child in with its wicked ways. Truly amazing stuff as always.

Also April 1

I finally got around to creating my first notion template for Productivity. For the uninitiated, Notion is a note taking app that is soo much more than a note taking app. It can be used to create, databases, to-do lists, websites and other types of templates depending on the preference of the user. For more on how to use Notion, you can shoot me a private and I’ll be glad to point you in the direction of dome resources. Alternatively, you can check YouTube. I can almost guarantee that Notion will change your life.

To get access to my template, download and register on Notion and then click this link to copy the template

April 3

just noticed I changed the date format I started with (smh)

My friend Oore and I were having a conversation about the crazy lives we as young people live these days. Everyone seems to be moving non-stop, whether or not we want to. We’re always scurrying to achieve the next goal, usually while dealing with Imposter’s Syndrome, almost like we’re in a rat race (more on this next week…). I mean, how can you be at home, on a break, and still feel guilty about not doing work or not being productive.

And then by some wonderful stroke of the universe, I stumbled upon this article on twitter that talks about the burnout and eventual demotivation that “gifted kids” usually face later in life. It’s called (Ex-) Gifted Child and I think we can all learn something from it

Oh and we had a twitter space on the topic later on that evening and I got to speak and listen to so many wonderful people with a lot of different and similar experience. One thing I’ve learnt in life is that no matter what you like or are going through, there’s always someone else… find your tribe.

Moral lesson: Problem no dey finish, try dey rest and enjoy

April 4

I attended a poetry event and got hear from so many amazing poets on so many topics (especially erotic poetry for some reason… smh lagos people like bad thing). I also got to perform my poetry for the first time. Not something I ever thought I’d do tbh. I’ve always thought I didn’t have the voice to recite poetry but I’m glad I did. It felt really good. And in true Ore fashion, I took no pictures or videos. Thankfully, the media team of the event saved me.

And Since then…

• My boy started a YouTube channel. You should check it out as there’s so much to learn in terms of productivity and life lessons

We have podcast coming out soon. Anticipate!!!!

• I decided last year that I would like to be the organizing chair for the biggest football event in my school and somehow I followed through. Icl Organizing events are not easy. Competition’s not even here yet and its been series of meetings, red tape close calls and headache. Lots of headache. But I’m proud of myself for taking this on. I believe its going to go great.

• If you’re a series head like myself, you will most likely have come across or watched one or two marvel series, but do you really understand the context and background of the characters. Well, the New Rockstars YouTube channel is the best place for you to find videos on your favorite characters: DC, Marvel or otherwise. They break down episodes, characters and backstories so you can better understand the shows and movies you love.

No way I was writing this mail without including this song 😂😂. I know you’ve heard it a million times but even though, even though

Well… this is my bus stop for this week. I’ve really enjoyed writing this and I hope you enjoy reading it too. I wish you all the best week possible and I’ll leave you with a quote from New Rockstar’s Erik Voss

The enemy of good is Perfection. So just do it.

Bless You,

Oreoluwa.