Why is this? Who am I? Another answered, not by voice, but somehow He heard. You're My Son, My first creation. What does creation mean? I'll show You around after a little more creating. You're also My only joy. Source shared the very essence of Who He Is, and suddenly, the Son started to learn and comprehend very, truly, extremely fast. He mysteriously understood atomic forces, protons, electrons, neutrons, neutrinos, recurring and changing inorganic and organic molecules. He became ecstatic while gazing at forests, oceans, rivers, lakes, mountains, skies, worlds, suns, stars, galaxies, and universes. He was everywhere with this magnificent One. He asked, “Who are You?” “I Am.” He instantly comprehended His own name and being is Christ. He became aware His Father's very nature is to teach all He knows, and He knows everything. Christ knew He was not separate or different from God, and understood He is an extension of the whole. Christ supremely became as powerful and most importantly as loving as His Creator. Due to the infinite wisdom of I Am, they stopped short of creating life to populate all that is, though they knew exactly what to do when God would say the moment was perfect. Every question the Son asked was instantly answered. However, somewhere, some-when Christ innocently asked a question that was like “What else is there?” God, for the first time, did not answer, because there is nothing else, but Source's perfect creation. Horrifyingly fast, Christ felt fear, a petrifying unknown. Christ designed this universe in a “tiny instant of insanity”, the big bang occurred. He mistakenly thought His communication with God was permanently severed and entered into a dream state of illusion. The first ego was created, a mind that believes it's completely on its own. God knew His Son was dreaming because they were no longer communicating. Source understood He could not enter the dream because there was a risk the dream would become real to Him as well. If God forgot Heaven, Heaven would no longer be. To solve the first and only problem there ever was or ever will be, God's second creation occurred, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was placed into the dreaming Mind of Christ and was created with the divine ability to view God's perfect Heaven while also viewing the Son's imperfect dream. God's second creation is in every mind alive in the year 2024. So those dreaming of poverty, prison, addiction, depression, and fear can turn to the Voice for God and listen to the truth that none of what they're experiencing is real. Life outside of Heaven is impossible. In that “tiny instant” Christ had forgotten how to laugh, how to love. The Holy Spirit showed Christ the Love of God in His forgotten memory, He chose again and woke up in the Heaven He'd never left. Jesus's name is not Jesus Christ it's Jesus of Nazareth, he understood perfectly he is one with Christ, who is one with God. So are you, so am I. We are all bipolar, the right side of our mind is founded on Spirit and truth, the wrong side is our ego which is based on fear and lies. Fear of what? In the deepest part of our subconsciousness, God. Choose again and know this is our ego's insanity. We are God's first creation, Christ. Jesus told a parable called the Prodigal Son. A king's son took his vast inheritance and squandered it on wine and women, he became impoverished. He thought my father's servants live far better than this, I'll return and beg for forgiveness. Perhaps I can work in a vineyard. The king knew his son was returning and said, “Prepare a feast, my son was lost but now is found.” The thought occurred to me that Christ was the first Prodigal Son. After healing, He must have understood something also previously unknown, what it felt like to be forgiven. Although God doesn't forgive because He sees nothing to forgive, Christ knows what He felt. While being crucified, Jesus said, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” to place into the collective human psyche, the extreme importance of forgiveness. Our mind is very powerful because it's an extension of God's Mind. Our ego invented the lie of Satan to put the enemy “out there” and came up with the falsehood of “fear God.” Why? So we wouldn't look for our true enemy, ourselves, and not depend on our real strength in God. So how do we defeat our ego? Don't feed it. It derives its power from our mind, whenever we're depressed, angry, or fearful we're feeding it. Pray, “Holy Spirit, for my highest good and the highest good of all, grant perfection in listening to the sacred silence between my thoughts.” You'll become enveloped in a deep peace, and your egotistical thoughts will leave. Our ego is like an onion, peel away a layer, and it still looks like an onion. Every time we forgive a perceived wrong, we're peeling away a layer. As promised by God, in an instant our last layer will vanish into the nothingness which it is, and we'll awaken in the Heaven we've never left. Bob.

This is my story as a 20 year old boy fighting depression and my choices. It all started when I was forced to migrate to Nellore from Chennai as my parents were in search of better educational standards in the school I study. But what they were really interested in, was to replace all of my extra-curricular activities with books, so I'd turn out to be a total geek and start the same old man-machine cycle. The cycle involves getting a high-paying job, serving as the ATM for a family for several decades, leading another descendant to starting this whole thing again and of course die a seemingly meaningful death. Ever since I reached Nellore, I felt my sub-conscious telling me all the time that it was not the right place for me. We landed in a creepy house, home to lizards, mosquitos, frogs, cockroaches, moths and what not. I got diarrhoea within a few days of staying but somehow my parents seemed to like the place. The school I got admitted into had a cemetery right behind it. All of these were definitely not good signs. I left the school within a year of joining after pleading my father. The next house we moved into was comparatively expensive but that's much better than a house of horrors, isn't it? I got admitted into a much smaller school but that's better than a big school with a bad omen, isn't it? Although I was satisfied that I could keep the past aside and move on, I always felt incomplete. Ever since I watched Dhoni hit the six and thus win the world cup for India, I kind of became a daydreamer. I either used to imagine myself hitting the six or taking the last wicket of my opponent team and winning the world cup in the end. I always used to request my father to help me join one of those cricketing academies. In reply to that, he would either hang up the phone or divert the topic. A few years passed and my high school was done. My parents immediately suggested on preparing for the JEE-Advanced test and joining a secondary school that'd coach me for that. I had to say yes and had to regret saying it for the following two years of my life. The secondary school had nearly 11 hours of classes a day and I used to feel hungry everyday on my way home. I performed extremely underrated and my parents used to yell at me at will, reminding me about the amount of money they paid so I could study and the problems they faced as kids. None of that got into my brain as it was already pre-occupied with un-fulfilled dreams. I didn't even come close to qualifying JEE-Advanced and that very thought made me feel worthless. In the end my mother developed anxiety issues whereas my dad developed short-temper issues, all of this as a price for migrating from Chennai to Nellore. I was heartbroken of the fact that while many other teens of my age were out there preparing for their U-19 trails and some of whom were playing the U-19 world cup and thus the IPL, I was aging really fast into probably a helpless old man. I joined a small under-ranked university and my parents were not too amused with that. Everyday they used to lecture me on how their relatives and my fellow-mates made it to prestigious institutes while I had to settle for something small. From that moment on, I got addicted to the pokemon anime which I was watching back then. After I saw the main protagonist Ash Ketchum loose one pokemon league after another, a spark got lit deep inside me. I wouldn't say it was much but It reminded me of myself and my failures. I felt like I was watching my story. So I kept watching of the hope that someday he'd win and that would change my fate as well. In the meantime I was able to convince my father into joining me in a cricket academy. Although I felt like things were slowly going in my way and I was going to do something extraordinary, I eventually realized that I was too late. My age criteria for the U-19 trails confirmed that. It tore me apart. In 2019, the spark that had lit itself in my mind years ago became much brighter as I watched my favorite protagonist Ash win his first championship after loosing six. A dream that lasted nearly 2 decades, reality! That gave me hope that maybe, success is nearing. This gave me a bit of confidence preparing for my do or die U-23 trails. But just as I was so anxiously waiting for my trails, the lockdown came as a party-pooper. Finally, I realized what my second chance was. I realized that my dream of playing for India was already done and had to be replaced by a new one. I decided that even if it means that I'm going to play for a different nation, I'll not give up on my dream. I planned and I executed. I got the highest package ever offered in my university but didn't settle for temporary satisfaction. I passed the IELTS test with flying colors, developed a really high profile on my CV, pleased my parents and am looking for my next country to land on.

Why did Jesus die so horribly? All have sinned, except Jesus. To God all mortals are worthy of the punishment for sin. Jesus is alive, and only He can forgive sin. Jesus is always faithful and just to forgive us of our sins when we ask Him for forgiveness, but we still need to know what we did wrong before asking. Without the awareness of sin, there is no forgiveness of sin. If a Christian cannot recite all Ten Commandments from memory, then how can a Christian live by God's grace in holiness, being ready for eternity? How can a Christian be ready for eternity without knowing repentance, forgiveness, and living by faith? How can one ask for the forgiveness of sin and repent of sin while ignorant/forgetful of sin? If a Christian does not know what sin is, then a Christian does not know why Jesus suffered and died.

“THE THINGS I LEARNED DURING QUARANTINE LIFE” When you think back to your first day in lockdown, what were your fears, worries, and hopes? Are you the same person now than you were at the beginning of all this? What has changed about who you are and how you view the world? Before the lockdown was implemented! I was living a ROBOTIC life like most of us; I knew I had to make CHANGES; I knew I had to inculcate certain habits to make those changes, I knew I had to START… but I just kept living almost as if somebody had put a socket and a battery in me and I switched it ON every morning, did the routine stuff, and then switched it OFF at night to go off to sleep. But, the lockdown changed things for ME, or maybe it was just ME, who pushed myself to changed and take change. This lockdown gave all us a great opportunity to grow, at least; I will always Thankful for this lockdown. This lockdown taught me some important lesson of life, which are as follow: The thing I learned is that, Everybody is a treasure in them. They do not need to keep finding that treasure in a loved one, job, money, fame. Don't get me wrong here. I don't mean that relationships are not important and that other humans who we bond with to form relationships should be discarded to discover yourself; or that all jobs are worthless. What I intend to says that Humans, we forget to validate ourselves, in a world when people feel validated only when OTHERS COMPLIMENTS THEM or OTHERS TELL THEM ABOUT THEIR STRENGTHS, They will very quickly feel invalidated when those some OTHERS WILL CALL THEM OUT ON THEIR WEAKNESS, BELITTLE THEM, CRITICIZE THEM, that is why it is important to find the treasure within YOU. I'm still in the process of doing that but it has been a wonderful and empowering Journey. One more thing that I learned is that whatever you wished for maybe some years ago. You can bring it to action today. We will witness so many writers, actors, singers, musicians, chefs, designers, programmers, painters, and the list is long, showcasing their talents. Also, large friction was of people who discovered their new talents. Many gained new skills through practice and hard work, talking about my self. I like to write because it allows me to focus on something and help me relieve stress. I enjoy writing because you can write anything based on how I feel at that moment SAD, HAPPY, ANALYTICAL; anything can become good writing, I like to write because it is a way for me to express my thoughts. During this lockdown I got time for myself to polish my writing skill, as I'm a stay at home parent .so, I couldn't be able to find time for me. So, I just wanted to use this lockdown period productivity, and want to do something different for my career. So I have completed online courses on a different topic, I have started my career as a creative writer. I have also started my blog, where I can post my thoughts and my experience. I would love to write about POSITIVITY, HEALTH, MOTIVATION, and RELATIONSHIP. I have also worked as a guest blogger for different platforms. I believe that bringing a child into the world and focusing on his or her needs through infancy is a worthwhile goal. But as your child gets older and begins preschool or kindergarten, you may find that you are interested in returning to a career or getting an education. So this lockdown is a golden opportunity for all of us especially for the stay at home parent to grow and develop your career. This is my suggestion that you could also write about your quarantine life and things you learned during this COVID-19 pandemic. Good luck.

My husband and I watched D'Jango Unchained (2012) over the weekend. I thought it was cute that, even though we were separated, we both said we would not watch the movie when it was advertised because of it's depiction of slavery. But, once we watched it and got a gist of the story line, we were hooked. It was interesting to me that even during our time apart we still thought alike... LOL... I digress that's a different story. Please, forgive the musings of a newly reunited, dreamy-eyed wife. I have seen this movie several times but, apparently, I have not watched it. Maybe I should say I did not pay attention to it. Or, a more likely scenario would be that I slept through the majority of it - which I confess I am notorious for doing. Whatever the reason, I seemed to have missed the entire scene where Dr. Schultz tells D'Jango the story of Broomhilda. She is a princess who is banished to a mountain top guarded by a fire breathing dragon. The dragon surrounds her "in a circle of hellfire". She is fated to stay there forever unless a hero saves her. Sigfried is that hero... "He scales the mountain because he is not afraid of it. He slays the dragon because he is not afraid of it. And he walks through hellfire because Broomhilda is worth it." D'Jango responds, "I know how he feels", because he is on a similar quest. The victories of Siegfried and D'Jango were not won because of special skill, talent, or privilege but because of their commitment to obtaining the prize. This is a profound example of perseverance. Often times we get discouraged and disappointed by the various obstacles that present themselves during our human experiences. For those who have reached their desired position and are now resting on your laurels , I commend you. But, for those who have dreams and goal that you have yet to attain, please allow these words of encouragement to help laser beam your focus and strengthen your resolve to continue your pursuit: BE THE HERO OF YOUR STORY! SCALE THE MOUNTAIN! SLAY THE DRAGON! WALK THROUGH HELLFIRE! YES, YOU CAN DO IT! *YOU ARE WORTH IT!* Photo by Dương Nhân from Pexels

I would like you to read my first story and listen to my past experience, despite all i went through in the hands of my step mum, i have forgiven her, i love her so much, i still buy gifts for her. who ever that has ever hurt you, forgive and live a happy life. Thank you

“When I grow up, I want to be a doctor! A firefighter! A teacher! An astronaut! A ballerina!” All the kids yelled out with excitement, when the teacher asked what everyone wanted to be when they grew up! Now, those very same kids are all grown up, sitting in a staff meeting, wearing stuffy business suits, drinking coffee and thinking “this definitely could've been sent in an email”. What happened to those excited little kids from a couple of sentences ago? There's a four-letter word that I think explains what happened perfectly; LIFE! That's right folks I said it… LIFE can be something else! Now life is different for everyone, we may share similar experiences, but our responses and the affects these experiences have on an individual are usually different. This isn't going to be some sad story about how life threw a bunch of lemons at someone and knocked them out! Nope, this story is about collecting those lemons & making delicious lemonade! Of course, I'm not really going to talk about making lemonade! Take a minute and think... when the teacher asked you in elementary school, what you wanted to be when you grew up, what did you yell out? I said I wanted to be a doctor, because I wanted to help people! There I was, five-years-old and I already had life all figured out, or so I thought. If I could give five-year-old me some advice, it would be: grab a helmet, knee & elbow pads cause this ride is gonna get rough! So, here we are folks, it's senior year! Adrenaline was pumping, nerves were I don't know nervy I guess (lol). I was excited and ready to walk across that stage, down the steps, through the parking lot and into adulthood! PUMP THE BREAKS MISSY! That's me yelling at myself! Why were we so eager to “grow up” to become “adults”? How come the adults didn't warn us about… oh wait, okay…that's what all that “Don't rush it, before you know it, you'll be an adult” chatter was all about! Mm, I see now. I don't know about you but I would've preferred a breakdown, like I tell kids all the time specifically why they shouldn't rush being an adult! Like how they should take advantage of naps because they're not included at work. How about these pieces of paper you get in the mail that list out stuff you've purchased or used and at the very bottom, are some numbers that are behind a dollar sign…. These papers are called “Bills”! I can't believe I almost forgot to mention the most terrifying part of adulting… there's a place you go to for about eight hours out of your day (maybe more it depends) and you do tasks (some you might like and others you may not) … this place we call “Work”! So, enjoy being five while you can, because it doesn't last forever! I just needed to get that off my chest! Now back to my education timeline. Here we are, and its college graduation time woo hoo!! Finally, I can be done with all this school stuff, get a career, make lots of money and be happy! But that's not quite how it went for me! Remember in the beginning when I said life is different for everyone? Well, it's true! Some of my school friends graduated, got their degrees, their dream job and they are living life. While others I graduated with, have a couple of degrees in different fields, started off in what they thought was their dream job and realized none of that was what they really wanted. Then there were some who said forget college, they mastered a skill/craft, found their passion and either work at a job they love, or they have their own business. You see life is truly what you make it! It's like a game of cards, we're all dealt different hands BUT at some point, we all have/had similar cards, it's what we choose to do with them that results in the outcome of our lives. And I believe the only time it's too late for change, is when we're sleeping eternally! Some of you are probably saying, “ok what's your point?” And that is an excellent question! When I first started writing this, I wasn't sure which way I was going with this story. I just knew that I wanted to be able to encourage someone to get up and say “you know what, life threw a hell of a lot of lemons at me and now it's time for me to make some lemonade!” I know I said I wasn't going to talk about lemons and lemonade but I couldn't help it!! Here's my “real” conclusion, where I bring everything, I talked about altogether! Most of us dream when we're little and sometimes those dreams fade away as we get older, but it's never too late to fulfill those dreams! We've all been given life but live it differently. Some of us know what we want right out of high school, while others of us find our way a little bit later in life. Some people take life's lemons and complain about how sour they are, while other's make lemonade. Now it's time for you to decide… what will YOU do with the lemons in your LIFE?! ~Tiffany Renee~

Between war, negative life circumstances, depression and my dreams which one will win? You will be an important person, an American soldier told me. Alone in the jungle, I am freezing, I am hungry, I am afraid. There is a lot of blood. Let me hide. There are dead bodies. What's going on? I do not know where I am. I am lost, I am afraid of Dracula. The Bush is moving, it might be a lion, not maybe a tiger or cheetah. Oh my God, I am too young to die. Anyway, I am not ready to die. Come on, dying at this age. I just totalized 11 years old one week ago. “I am screaming mom, dad, where are you? Like ten times”. My parents are not responding. I am hearing some noise, it is a roar. How did I get in a jungle? All these thoughts in my head, let me take a nap and maybe tomorrow will be a better day. I remembered Mama once said to me “jo never ever forget to pray before sleeping" in my prayer I thought God to bring back my parents and help me remember what happened? I found a tree where there was a little bit moon shadow far away from those dead bodies. I decided to force myself to sleep despite it was cold. In my dream, my mom and dad calling my name I am alone in the jungle. It was all dark. ''They found me and mom asked me why am I alone and crying?" "I told them I am lost, and I was looking for you". "'My dad told me don't cry any more, my son". "You are the son of a leader who will be a leader". "He said son remembered you have my blood." "I gave you everything u need". "Life is going to be difficult but if you are keeping working hard and praying". "One day you will be successful and make us proud". "Life took us away from you, but we are watching over you and just know we love you". After that, I saw a person with a bright shadow appearing and tell them the time is up. My mom and dad hugged me for the last time, and they disappeared. Directly I woke up in the jungle early in the morning, I thought about my dream, but I realised what happened yesterday was a bad dream. instead, it is a reality; I am a child turned a man. So, I decided to find a way out or find where people are. I started walking, walking without resting and I didn't eat. I kept walking until I saw a river. I was thirsty so I decided to drink water from the river, and it tastes like salt, but I had no choice. Then I had a pen and a small paper in my pocket, but I don't know where it was from. the pen I had in my pocket just felt down in the river. It started flowing and I decided to follow the pen as I followed the pen, I saw a girl running so I decided to follow her. By following her, I saw there was a kind of armed soldiers I never saw before after her, so I decided to run smartly behind them to discover what is going on? Then I saw one of the soldiers getting out of the car and took her by force, so I was behind the remaining soldiers. I saw the soldier who was before her, trying to take off her clothes so she is shouting leave me alone and I thought they want to rape her.

Loving parents didn't stop me, a good education didn't guide me, and love couldn't hold me. So much for sociology, human wisdom, and earthly nurturing. I was never unkind or unloving and my conscience, being sound and developed, was healthy. Yet, my story bears witness to the frailty of the human condition. Like one who cuts the anchor, raises the sails and throws away the compass and the map, those who worship on the alter of humanism are doomed to the whims of the winds. It was summer and my mother had recently passed away. I had a wonderful wife and though there were struggles there was no reason to feel anything but blessed. I was employed, educated, and surrounded by all sorts of opportunities. The one thing I didn't have was God. I believed there was a God, not a problem there, but believing He could care less what I did there was nevertheless no Godly influence to draw from. Suddenly, I was overtaken by strong feelings of regret over my marriage. Looking back I understand now that those feelings which a man refuses to master will in turn master him. Nevertheless, I wanted freedom, at least my version of it, and so I asked for a divorce. I had been playing fast and loose with drugs, drinking, gambling, and staying out late. Godless and rooted in nothing but self-desire it wasn't long before I began to call good evil and evil good. It seems that pride truly does precede destruction. It's been said that one should be careful what is asked for in case it is received. So it was with me and it was now time to see if I truly wanted what I got. No more mom or wife to worry about, no more worrying about others, and no more guilt. This was true freedom, or so I thought. To make things even easier it seems that God, in His wisdom, had timed the revival of my credit to coincide with this precise moment in time. I took on debt and proceeded to buy “stuff” to further feed my selfish desires. Surely it surprised no one in my family at this point that I ended up finding myself a new girlfriend with similar desires. We partied late, worked a little, partied some more and threw money around without much care for anything. Remember, no more anchor or silly compass and definitely no map. The tragic thing about sailing through life without these things is that the wind still does what the wind will do; and so, a storm is certain to rock the boat eventually. It didn't take long for me to run into my own personal God-ordained storm. Having parted with sanity and completely bereft of morality came the inevitable, I lost control. The money started to dry up as my new girlfriend and I spent ourselves poor. Our desires neither wavered nor slept and we wanted more and more fun and freedom. Drugs, gambling, and late night drinking provided us with the “escape” from our problems. Then it happened, I lost the better of two jobs and the money ran out. As sure as the money ran out so did she, the romance was over. Appreciating poetic justice I can now look back and truly say that I got what I deserved. Now alone, depressed, and broke I was smack in the middle of the storm. No more money for rent and no more roof. My brother, who was my landlord, took me in and rented my former place but still it seemed good for me to refuse chastisement. So, unappreciative of his counsel, I loaded my car with what was left of my “stuff” and left. I spent a couple of years sleeping in the car, selling off what I had left, gambling, working hard, doing drugs, trusting in so-called friends, and dwelling in strange living arrangements with salty characters. I severed my relationship with family and real friends and lived for the moment. I was betrayed, mistreated, used, and unappreciated. I was feeling very defeated and quite useless and was not even present when one of my two brothers passed away from cancer. Freedom, it turns out, is itself not free from consequence. So how does this story end? But God! That is how this story ends. Preached to at work by two kind souls I looked and found and I knocked and it was opened. Wisely following sound counsel I was gripped with the reality that God is real and that his name is Jesus and so I cried out for forgiveness while sitting in my car one night. I believed in Him and He came into me and in the blink of an eye I was forgiven. I felt forgiven and felt blessed and most importantly I was reborn into a whole new creature. Suddenly, every change in me that could produce peace and happiness began to happen. Desires can change but not easily and so we know, those of us saved by the grace of Christ, that we are living breathing miracles to His glory! A roof, a wonderful wife, new desires and tremendous peace is what I now have. I am provided what I need and rejoice in Godly desires: to help others, to be kind, work, preach, love, and seek the fullness of God. The bible is my book of choice and prayer is my delight. His word, His love, His way. And so my friends it is that I am finally Free at Last!

My wife and I had had a great night at the Rad Madison Hotel. Head office announced my new role as regional manager and chief of operations across Sub-Saharan Africa and some part of the Middle East.\n\nRegina was beaming, with a permanent smile stuck to her face. I'd never seen her that happy.\n\nThe Cadillac Escalade crawled into the driveway of our Gregorian type home; sturdy columns, vintage carvings by the prominent Italian wood sculptor and friend El Giovanna.\n\nI stepped out and helped Regina onto the Porch, the light came on but there was no Dare. My Valet and Chef also doubled as the family Nanny and would always watch the kids while we went on outings.\n\nThe day we met, it was at an African day function, he was there cooking up some grilled meat popularly called \\"Suya.\\" We laughed and talked about our homes; how I missed Kumasi and he Lagos. We shared an uncommon bond which seemed to be a result of our West-African heritage.\n\n\\"Why's the house so quiet?\\" Regina asked me. I turned to shush her.\n\nThe eerie silence told me there was something out of place.\n\nEven Kgomotso, our live-in gardener was not at the gate as usual of him. We had made sure our home was colored with African nationals. John, our first son could speak a little of the Zulu he had learned from Kgomotso. Our daughter had taken a liking to Dare who told some of the most beautiful Ijapa and Yanibo stories.\n\nRemembering where we had been from, I always felt like my home was too perfect to remain forever.\n\nI could feel my heart starting to race as I pushed open the front door.\n\nThe lights were out. We stepped into the living room and I flicked on the light. Regina let out a scream.\n\nThe seats and shattered center table were covered in blood. Regina had started to run up the stairs and I followed suit, grabbing a baseball bat along the way.\n\nWe rushed into the children's room, Regina ran straight at the pile of bodies.\n\nFirst, she pulled off Kgomotso whose back was riddled with knife cuts, his body rolled off the pile.\n\nMy hands fumbled through my jacket, grabbing my phone, I dialed 911.\n\n\\"Help me pull his leg!\\" Regina screamed at me, pointing at Dare whose eyes stared into space unblinking.\n\nI could see the tiny arms of my daughter, so I grabbed Regina and held her as she kicked and thrashed about.\n\n\\"My babies, My babies!\\" she wailed on and on in my arms.\n\nThen we heard the sound that shut her up \\"Mommy...\\" John called out almost inaudibly.\n\nWe both rushed to pull Dare's body off. John had a small cut above his eyebrow, a scar that would forever remind us of that day. Kisi cried for months anytime she saw or heard someone speak Yoruba.\n\nThe reports from the New York Police Department (NYPD) led to the conclusion that the homicide attack was politically motivated, there was a letter. Someone had wanted me dead after the deal for DRC oil exploration had pissed off the government.\n\nThey thought I was the key to making sure insurgents were not given the fat payoff they had always had in the region.\n\nThe attacker had kicked open the door smack into John's face. The boy had quickly regained composure and run up the stairs to grab his sister.\n\nDare and Kgomotso had paid the ultimate price to defend our babies. They wouldn't budge until the attacker fled the house.\n\nThey must have made themselves into a body shield covering John and Kisi with their battered bodies.\n\n***\n\nThis fictional story is the result of my thoughts today about Ghana, South Africa, and Nigeria. We have been a major part of African liberation but yet are still full of hate for each other.\n\nNigerians must forgive South Africans in advance for what they might or will do to us. This is the only way to break the cycle of hate in Africa. The same must apply to South Africa and Ghana and every African country.\n\nOur fathers bled for the development of other countries of which today most of us have no stake in. We will always be presented with a choice, to bleed for Africa or to make others bleed.\n\nNo African has had it easy. Whether rich, poor or privileged. We all are products of centuries of bloodshed, slavery, colonialism, and struggle. It's our duty to honour their memories by defending Africa with our lives. This might cost us our pride, our feelings of entitlement, our memories of killings across tribes and countries. It will cost us a lot but we must be willing to forgive ourselves in advance for the evil planted in our hearts by decades of oppression and separatist politics.

I grew up in a big family where atmosphere of friendship and compassionate is in importance. As an older sister, one of my necessaries is share everything and help to my siblings. However, I never understand, why sharing can make my life happier or even give me some benefit.When I was 15 years old, I start studying a lot, due to of my exams, certificate. I dedicated all my free time for studying, but, on the other hand, I didn't help my sisters with homework or my mum with housework. In addition, I limit my conversation with friendsUnfortunately, despite how hard I tried, I didn't get excellent marks from all subjects. It was one the most stressful part of my life, when I concerned about my future, my job, all in all about life. I feel upset. Every time thoughts about what I had sacrificed for this exam, filled my head and made me really anxious. One typical summer day, I was in library. All friends know that you can find me in the library only in the section of math, science and English literature. The exception was that day when I pay attention on the section called psychology where I found a book with simple cover but, famous author Dale Carnegie which called “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living”. This book helps me more even today than knowledge of 10 grades.After reading book, I find a spark of passion for focusing on what I really love to do. Finding my interest in programming and robotics give me a lot dopamine to realize my potential in STEM. I took place in the Moscow, Karaganda, Louisville “Vex Robotics Competition” which my school sponsored and help me to introduce Kazakhstan to other countries. I noticed lack of girls in an engineering or programming specializes. Therefore, I started YouTube blog where I share my background and try to motivate girls to involve in technical sphere. As a result, by sharing my experience, helping my friends to pass their exams and sharing knowledge, money with others, I become happier than in my past life. I started realize that happiness is not having luxury house or brand clothes, happiness is not working at Google or having latest IPhone, happiness is communicating with people, sharing ideas and thoughts, for instance, just telling your problem to other, makes you feel calmer and lightened. The power of giving rather than sharing makes our planet kind. I had a lot of moments where effect of boomerang worked. Once, I was in bus stop, waiting the bus with a teacher. When It came, I went inside and suddenly, realized that I don't have coins for bus, also no money in my bus card. Inside the bus is some people whom I didn't know. That teacher saw me and give me money to pay. He doesn't know me, but he really helped me. Because, my house located far from school, therefore I couldn't walk to there. After several days, I was in queue where woman left her purchase at home and she need some money to buy. I immediately use this moment, give her some money. After this she gave thanks to me. Let is imagine, if we get everything from the Earth but do not return, we might face with ecological problems. If we get all resources from our parents or mentors but, never help them, everyone will avoid us because, even if you don't care about closes who wants to be friend with you. Therefore, if we don't give back, it doesn't hurt only a receiver, it may have consequences on us. For instance, we get everything from ocean. Starting from fish, finishing with energy resources like oil and minerals. Ocean resources provide jobs, goods and services for billions of people around the world and have immense economic importance. Unfortunately, we forget about helping ocean by cleaning shore or stop excessive fishing. We throw bin which everyday accumulates on the ocean. But, if we stop getting so much resources and start giving to him by cleaning or looking after endangered species, it will recover and feed us for a long time. Therefore, it is very important to not push the sense of duty to the nature, family and God. We often raise our kids to get the highest marks, the top facilities or study in the prestige universities, even tell them to get high-paid job. Yes, I am not arguing, but not every parent ask their children end of the school day, “Whom you helped? or What you did to be grateful? or Did he give a helping hand to surrounding?”. In my point of view, raising kids to not compete with society, but to be part of them will help him to be more opened and generous. To sum it up, I want underline that everyone should teach themselves to give, to share and to help. It really makes you a part of something big and if you start helping you do not want to give up or stop, because, it gives you a mass of positive energy and you realize values of life. It helps you to focus on good things and fill life with happy moments. Because, everyone should understand that all of us a big family. And giving instead of receiving helps us to save our friendship, stability and values.

It was love at first sight! I knew it immediately when Mac first said hello to me in that mall store, his compelling brown eyes searing a hole right into my heart. In town, visiting family, he was just killing time. Typically, he wasn't the “shopping kind” but, that evening, he was doing a whole lot of shopping! Mac asked me out for drinks. I took him to my favorite hangout where we ate, danced and talked the night away. It was late and having ridden with me, I offered my couch and he accepted. Before turning in, we shared a very passionate kiss. We both ached for more but, with my daughter in the other room, he respectfully slept on the couch. Sleep was elusive as I lay there remembering the evening….and that kiss! I had learned so much about this man in just a few short hours and my head was spinning with the anticipation of learning everything about him that I could. The following morning, I awoke to a fully prepared breakfast, a pleasure that occurred regularly during our time together. We spoke for hours over that following week. I invited him for the weekend, which he readily agreed to, both of us giddy with anticipation. Hanging up, I told my sister, “Mac's coming this weekend and he's going to ask me to marry him.” He hadn't said so, but I just knew in my soul and with every fiber of my being that it was going to happen. Naturally, she thought we were both crazy. And, we were, of course - out of our minds and head over heels in love. This was the beginning of numerous occasions where we inexplicably knew what the other was thinking or going to say next. We couldn't keep secrets from each other - the knowing was so strong. It was the most incredible feeling that engulfed my heart, soul and entire being. Nothing that I had experienced before could compare to this. That weekend was bliss. With my daughter gone, Mac arrived bearing flowers, chocolates and a couple bottles of wine. We grilled out and ate by candlelight. The conversation was engaging, rhythmic and comfortable, like we'd known each other forever. The evening culminated into the most awesome romantic encounter imaginable. He proposed and I accepted. Mac and I were married just six short months later. He transferred jobs and moved in with me. Eventually, his two sons came to live with us. Our blended family had its ups and downs but we managed to achieve a comfortable, happy family lifestyle. Mac was always a perfect gentleman, holding doors open, pulling out chairs. The daily attention he doted on me, the kisses, stroking my hair, soft touches when he was near - all were exhilarating. I felt like a goddess on a pedestal and we devoted ourselves completely to each other's happiness. But life was not as it seemed outside my shrouded veil of bliss. Besides love, a marriage is about give and take, balance and most importantly, trust. Naturally, in every relationship, there are going to be rough patches. And during these rough patches, Mac would conveniently have to work late or stay away – needing time for himself. The obvious signs were there but I loved him so much that I chose not to believe. I became blinded by my own fear and continued to ignore what was blatantly obvious. Mac was having an affair. Still, I chose to look the other way. If I didn't acknowledge what was going on, then maybe, somehow, it didn't exist in reality. But when I caught them in a compromising position, the devastation crumbled my world and led to my divorce. I had been so desperate for happiness, for my happily ever after that I failed to acknowledge my inner sixth sense, that gut feeling that tells you that something is seriously wrong. I felt like a failure for not heeding my own instincts. Fearfully, I built a protective wall to never again experience that horrible pain. Mac became the ruler by which I measured other men. He lingered in my head, making me judge all others. For years, I allowed Mac's mistake to consume and compromise my life. I eventually sought help through individual counseling and with groups of others who shared similar insecurities as myself. I learned about the true meaning of forgiveness and letting go. I had to forgive myself first before I could forgive him. It didn't seem right but once the realization set in, I saw the truth in it. Forgiving myself was easy but I struggled with forgiving Mac. Visions of the past keep surging to the forefront of my mind. I soon realized that I was unable to control the past events that had happened to me, but I was in the position to control of how they affected my future. With renewed strength and courage, I forgave Mac. I've come a long way since then - a couple of relationships and a second marriage. You'd think I'd get the hang of it by now, right? But, it's all good, a learning process if you will. My marriage to Joe is built on trust and has survived the years but, more importantly – it has survived Mac. Forgiveness was the best gift that I have given to myself.