dope (in no particular order)

After my first post, I'm not really sure how to continue. I guess the best way to continue my introduction by sharing some of my favorite pictures. Hopefully, this helps!


December 2007 (I think it was New Year's Eve). Yaounde, Cameroon. My four brothers (one of them biological) I've known them all since I was born and they have been bffs for over 25 years! This is the definition of friendship. I cherish them.


Fall 2007. Boston, MA. I don't remember why I was home but I was and ended up in the Public Gardens. If you ever visit Boston, you must take a walk through it because its beautiful. I was trying to be a photographer...

Fall 2007. New Rochelle, NY. This was taken in September as I walked on campus looking for inspiration and trying capture as much of autumn as possible. I love this picture.

Summer 2007. Paris, France. I believe this was taken on my third day in Paris and their second. I don't remember. The Eiffel Tower is overrated but Paris is gorgeous. I sincerely believe that everyone should travel there if they can and bring someone they care about (it doesn't have to be a significant other!) Can we say pilgrimage...?

Spring 2007. Montreal, Quebec. After a long day of walking around I was exhausted. I just had to have a picture of it because it spoke to me...Montreal est sublime!

This is one of the first pictures I ever took. It helped me realize that photography was something that I did well and should pursue.

This was taken in December of 2007. Yaounde, Cameroon. My brother's wedding! There's something I love about this picture although some think its lame. I think it's oozing with dopeness!

Summer of 2007. Tours, France. One of the most powerful exhibits I've ever seen. She and I are no longer friends and it's unfortunate because we were incredibly close. I miss her and think about her often. I wonder if she thinks about me...

Summer 2008. Dakar, Senegal-Rue Karack. My neighbors. Les hommes de mon royumme. In 7 weeks, they supported, loved and cared for me. Whether is was over games of chess or just sitting around on a hot afternoon, they each taught me more than they will ever know. They challenged me in so many ways. They'll never know the impact they made. If I ever needed a husband...

Y
Estella

I love to be loved

I am dreamer,

Limitless,

effortless,

and graceful when you least expect it.

A daughter to a psychotic mother who has loved me the best way she knows how.

I am an aunt.

Scholarly,

La grande royale,

seemingless,

mignon,

incredible at my best,

everything Fanon thought of but never explored or wrote of;

I am a treasure chest.

Everything you wish you were,

your rival,

your lover,

the best friend you wish you had.

Compassionate,

loyal,

profound without even trying.

I am an amalgamation of reality,

a photographer,

Camerican,

stuck,

Giving,

improving,

vain,

self-reliant

fragile,

GREAT when I'm mediocre, stellar at my best;

everything you wish you could be and then some.

a metaphor waiting to be written

i'm on a quest.

I looked for God in many places,

I found him in a mosque,

Lost faith in humanity,

found it in Islam,

I am in recovery.

I embrace my shortcomings.

a firm believer in spring cleaning.

Lost

I'm a believer in Christ;

I'm a fragment,

magical,

A thinker,

inconsistent

profound when you least expect it.

nostalgic,

the long lost love you've dreamed of but haven't had the courage to seek out.

Cameroonian by birth,

rooted in Yaounde,

A Parisian in the making,

Bostonian in love with Dakar

with New York as my ex

and D.C. in my future

I'm the revolution Africa seeks and has yet to find.

A martyr.

searching for truth in unconventional places.

Solace

That girl who loves to like and is consistently in like, never in love,

often in lust masked as love confused with like.
I am playful,

fluent in sarcasm,

in love with Arabic but French is my first love.

Haunted by what if's and missed possibilities.

Allergic to apples (but I eat them),

mushrooms.

I am severely allergic to bullshit.

I am depleted.

consistently moved by others.

Saddened by poverty,

taking it one day at a time.

I hate winter,

live for summer, sundresses, and sunglasses.

flip flops are love.

doctrinaire in redemption.

I am a distant memory

je comprends l'importance de savior,

i am witty,

i am poor,

Empowered by Desmond Tutu, humbled by Wangari Maathai, mesmerized by Camus and head over heals in love with Garcia Marquez.

I am unencumbered,

ready to continue the takeover,

a legend in the making.

waiting in a coffee shop

adherent to the belief that coffee is liquified gold.

Thoughtful,

reserved,

persistent,

obsessed with the preservation of memory.

Bismillah!

A soon to be college graduate in search of direction but my compass is broken.

I am affectionate,

a distraction,

your future boss!

Continuous.

Hopeful,

evolving,

crass.

Continuiously pensive,

a mystery.

I am forgetful.

cOmitted,

omitted,

celebrated.

a poor speller,

excellent grammarian (when I feel like it).

Educated,

red lipstick,

full of adventure,

unpredictable.

Living life simply,

and abundantly.

I am cultured,

rich,

and cultivated.

Flexible.

I see possibilities in impossibilities.

accessible,

open,

selective,

rebellious,

failed poet,

wanna be writer,

misunderstood.

an activist,

awkward,

articulate

an aliteration in the making.

I am everything Senghor, Cesaire, and Damas conceptualized and hoped for but failed to make a reality.

I am a fugitive.

I am the coolest thing since sliced bread;

true story.

Superb,

sensitive,

humorous.

A small deciduous European tree of the rose family,

a favorite.

I fear failure.

I am dependable,

insightful.

Je me souviens toujours.

Yangi ci jamm?

Jamm Rekk

Y

Estella

Wicked Tired

Title says it all. It's time to rest, process, and hopefully feel better tomorrow.