Category Archives: Life

American Built, LIBERIAN STRONG!

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 On a fateful Saturday when the Super Eagles were preparing to demolish the Black Stars. I was hopeful the Super Eagles would win the game until I saw the mad skills on the Ghanaian team.

Rufus Afropong stood out on the field. Rufus played for the Ghanaian team.

Let me officially introduce you to this star. Rufus is a semi-pro soccer player from Liberia. His father is from Ghana. For those who do not know Liberia was founded by freed black slaves who returned from America. Liberia, unlike other West African countries, has its own unique history.

I pray his story you will inspire you to chase your dreams.

9jagirl4real: Hello Rufus, thank you for taking out time from your business schedule to do this interview. I really appreciate this.

Rufus: You’re welcome.

Liberian Strong

9jagirl4real: Who is Rufus?

Rufus: I was born in Liberia. I went High School in Liberia. During the (civil) war, we moved to Sierra Leone and came back to Liberia after the war. Finished my high school in Liberia. Attended a University in Liberia. My parents decided to send me to the States for college. Got accepted to a school in West Virginia. Left this university because the school lost their accreditation. The coach in West Virginia introduced me to a coach in South Carolina.  Played soccer for this school for 4 years and graduated.

9jagirl4real: When did your love for soccer start?

Rufus: I started from a young age. My mother loves soccer. She bought me a soccer ball. Soccer got serious when I graduated from High School. I made the club team (premiere) in Liberia. My mother was the main force behind everything. My father wanted me to be more focused on school. He didn’t change his mind until when the school wrote him and told him how me playing soccer was bringing more students to the school.  My father called me and told me to also focus on soccer.

(Laughs)..

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9jagirl4real: Are you pleased with this sport that you chose?

Rufus: My mother wanted me to try a different sport at a young age because of my height. I tried basketball. I was told by the basketball coach then to stick to soccer. Soccer is hard and different. Your footwork must be good. You need to have endurance. You also need to be fit.

9jagirl4real: In Liberia, you call it “soccer” or “football”?

Rufus: Football

9jagirl4real: What is the major language in Liberia?

Rufus: We speak English but different dialects of English.

9jagirl4real: What is the political and economic climate right now in Liberia?

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Rufus: People are still recovering from the war ( two civil wars).

9jagirl4real: What is the difference between the Liberian culture and American culture?

Rufus: The people in American are more independent while Liberia is more like family. American culture people don’t know themselves.

9jagirl4real: Does playing Fifa help you in the decision making when you play sport in real life?

Rufus: Yes, it helps you a little bit but not much. I don’t really play Fifa like that.

9jagirl4real: What do you want your legacy to be?

Rufus: I don’t want to leave a bad image for the kids.  Kids are my focus. I am trying to help the kids in Liberia.  I am supplying soccer game materials to keep their soccer dreams alive.

9jagirl4real: What does your faith mean to you as an athlete?

Rufus: It helps me to depend on God. I have seen God move in my life. Coming to the States and my college (ICU). I try to focus on God for everything. Every good thing that comes to me, I believe God did it.  Whether good or bad, God knows the reason.

9jagirl4real: Tell me about workout schedule?

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Rufus: I work out every day from Monday-Friday. 30min Cardio. Lifting weight. When I came to the States, I was skinny. I gained muscles when I came to the States. I made up my mind to go to the gym no matter how I feel.

9jagirl4real: What advice would you give your 16-year-old self?

Rufus: Be focused. Believe in yourself. Don’t listen to other people. Work towards your goals. Things will fall into place with time. Have Patience! Pay attention. At the right time, things will happen.
9jagirl4real: Ritual before a game?

Rufus: Listen to music. Sometimes gospel music, or R&B. I watch a movie. Do other things to distract me from the game.

9jagirl4real: What Keeps you up at night?

Rufus: Passion! I want to do things to make a difference in people’s lives.
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Huge thanks again to Rufus.

Go team Rufus!!

Keep Soaring.

The White Girl in Me.

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Picture credits: http://thedreamwithinpictures.com

Picture credits: http://thedreamwithinpictures.com

I went to an all girls’ boarding school prior to my big move to the United States. Growing my hair in this school was forbidden, so I had to cut off my hair. Yes, you guess right. I came to America with little hair.

When I started middle school in America, she was born. Who? The white girl in me. We will call her, Ashley.

My first day at middle school, I was called “weird” because I didn’t look anything like Ashley. Ashley is the standard of beauty. She has straight hair. She is skinny and so white.

I was nothing like Ashley. The black girls at my middle school looked at me funny and laughed when I walked by because I was not Ashley. They were not Ashley either, but they were closer to Ashley than me. They had their hair relaxed. They were Ashley on the inside but black girls on the outside.

I saw Ashley everywhere, she literally followed me everywhere. I saw her on billboards. I saw her in the clothing store where I buy clothes. She was everywhere. She looked nothing like me. Even the clothes I buy were sewn with Ashley in mind. Most of the stores sell clothes to fit Ashley. I had to go to several stores to find clothes to fit my body type.

Even when I am watching tv. Ashley is in all the commercials. Ashley is winning. The white boys want her. The black boys want her. Everybody wants Ashley.

In American society, beauty is a monolith. The closer you are to Ashley the prettier you are. The farther away you are from Ashley, then you are less attractive. To appease this naive society, I had to look like Ashley.

One day, I came back to school and everything changed.

My hair changed and I was at least 10% closer to Ashley and for the first time, the black girls at my school wanted to talk to me. They wanted to be my friend. Don’t get me wrong? It’s not Ashley’s fault, she is beautiful. There’s nothing wrong with Ashley’s beauty.

Before the natural hair movement, no one would look at me if I had kinky hair but as soon I relax my hair, heads turn. We are told the lighter shade of us looks better (closer to Ashley). A straighter hair looks better (closer to Ashley).

The truth is white America doesn’t want to recognize the diversity in beauty. It’s one thing for white America to tell us we are not beautiful, it is more self-debilitating for us to believe this lie. If white America doesn’t promote us, we must promote ourselves. We must learn to compliment each other. Tell a natural sister, she looks beautiful every day.

Some black women are walking around with white images of themselves. When some of them look in the mirror, they compare themselves to Ashley. White America wants us to walk in the shadow of Ashley.

Some black men have bought into the lie which states black women are not beautiful. They have drunk the “kool-aid” as one of my professors call it.

Our black is beautiful. You don’t have to be white to be beautiful. Stop bleaching. Stop searching for validation from people who have been conditioned by white America to only see white beauty.

“There’s no standard in beauty, there’s diversity in beauty”-Amber Starks

 

“Prettiness is not the rent you pay for occupying a space marked “female.” – Erin Mckean

Happy Independence Day, Nigerians!

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Dear Nigerians,
Happy Independence day!!!
Buhari is stealing your money and travelling everywhere.
Happy Independence day!
Our young people are growing up with no hope for a better future!
Happy Independence day!
Democracy is destroying our country.
Happy Independence day.

Our politicians are eating all our money and our people are suffering and dying every day for it.
Happy Independence day.

The common man is dying of poverty.
Happy Independence day.

Our children are dying.
Happy Independence day.

The future of our country is unknown.
Happy Independence day.
 
What are we celebrating?
What is there to celebrate?
 
Our best brains are leaving the country with no plans of returning.
Our politicians are not accountable to anybody for wasting our money.
The youth are silenced by greedy thugs with big details.
 
We really have a lot to be thankful for.
 
Happy Independence Day!
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Financial Intelligence for Nigerian Men Dating Nigerian Women

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Hey Everyone,
This is my first vlog on 9jagirl4real.
This is something new I am starting on this blog!!

The blog is about helping people, I apologize for the mistake in the video.
Thanks for watching.
Please post or email me your comments.
God bless!!!

Your Proverbs 31 someone..

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Photo Credits: Google

Ladies, the same for you.

The Death Penalty for Men who marry Underage women in Nigeria..

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Child-Not-BrideMarrying an underage child is prohibited in Nigeria, yet child marriages are prevalent in Nigeria.  Some people call it marriage, I call it slavery. A female child under the age of 18 is given off to marriage without her exercising her god-given right as a human being, that’s slavery. No parent should be allowed to give their underage child to marriage. These children are stripped of their rights to be children from a young age. Their innocence is stripped off as they are forced to experience things their underdeveloped brains can’t comprehend.

Life is in age stages.

Children are given off as young as 12 years old.
Do you know how immature I was at 12 years old?
At 27, I am still not ready to tie the knot.
That’s beside the point. Of all the things I hate about my country, child marriages is on my top list.
Any Christian or Muslim Man (more prevalent amongst Muslim men) who marries a girl under the age of 18 should get the death penalty.
The death penalty might seem too extreme; these men with their perverted heads deserve it.

Child marriages are inhumane and barbaric.
I hate when society flirt with the future of our children.
Some women even 18 years are not ready for marriage, how much more our little children?
These girls are children.
What sick demon in the form of a man would want to sleep with a child?
These men need a help because they are not normal.
Normal men marry women who are of age.

Why would you want a child who doesn’t know anything about anything?
Are beautiful, matured women scarce in Nigeria?
A man who marries a child needs to check in a psych hospital because he needs some serious help.

NO CHILD SHOULD BE FORCED INTO MARRIAGE.
EVERY MAN WHO MARRIES A CHILD UNDER THE AGE OF 18 SHOULD GET THE DEATH PENALTY.

We are not Animals. Even animals have more sense.

Enough is enough!!

It was YOU!!!

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It was YOU…

A friend did something today that proved to me he loved me.
To some people it may seem minute but it meant the WORLD to me.
I thought about what he did and I almost tried.
This guy has been through the highs and the lows with me.
Instead of building you up, I broke you down because I was broken.
You are the friend I have been praying for years.
I don’t deserve friends like you in my life.
I’ve crippled our friendship with my insecurities yet you still stand by me.
You are my biggest fan.
You are the first person I call when someone breaks my heart.
You answer my calls at any time.
I don’t deserve you as friend.
You choose to stand by me with my flaws and all.
I pray I am as good a friend as you have been to me.
We are friend forever and nothing will ever come between us and our friendship.

I love you!!
I promise to love you with your flaws and all..
You are indeed my best friend.

We all need REAL friends! I am blessed to have one!

Happy Independence Nigeria

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It is easy to get lost in a society that has a system that works. I don’t have to deal with NEPA; I drive on roads that have traffic lights that work. America has a system that works for its society and citizens. With the comforts this country provides, I still want to return to Nigeria and its broken system.  Nigeria, you have my heart and first allegiance.

Nigeria is yet to find a system that works for its country. Like other countries, we must go through our fight to find our system. Greed has taken over politicians, our children are becoming orphans, wives and husbands are turning into widows. The pains of Boko Haram have turned our country upside down. All we want is a savior to deliver us from our ailments, but none can be found.  Regardless of all the problems that plague us as a country, I am hopeful that things will get better.

BETTER NIGERIANS MAKE A BETTER NIGERIA!!  It’s time to heal Nigeria.

Happy Independence Day!!!