Got to do it? Smile at it!

Sometimes it is frustrating to want to do a lot of things not because you just want to but because you know you can! Okay what am I talking about? Well, let me use ‘yours sincerely’ as an example. I am a writer. I have written some short stories and published them too. I am a songwriter. I have written and composed music for the choir of my church and I can proudly say that I have a lovely deep voice. It kind of reminds you of Toni Braxton (Don’t believe me but I believe myself. And so does my family. And my friends. And my man. And the guy that featured me in his album. And the guy that is going to produce me some day. I could go on you know).

I have a Diploma in Public Relations from a college in the UK. I am about to get a Bachelors’ degree in Marketing. I know quite a lot in fashion and beauty. In fact, so much that people think that I would be wasting my time pursuing a career in Marketing. I should own and run a beauty business. I was thinking of having my own skin care and make up line. You know I would just look stunning and talk about my ‘moderately priced’ cosmetics and all the stuff that entrepreneurs like Iman and Kimora do. I would just love doing that. Just as I would love autographing my books (collections of short stories mostly). And singing on stage with my fans screaming for more. And having a successful Public Relations outfit that I run with so much finesse, elegance and determination.

Now that I am so sure you don’t envy me, I have also tried modeling. Yes. It is the one thing that I don’t know if it quite agrees with me. I can’t keep a fake smile for more than five seconds and I have been meeting psychos that pose as agents. I have taken loads of pictures and believe me; some of them are not really flattering. Some were just horrible

Why am I telling you this? Well, I know some people blog because they have nothing else better to do. Some do because they want to talk about something. Some do because…people they know have blogs and it would be cool to have one too. Some blogs are for business. Others for pleasure.
I blog because just like I can do all the things mentioned above and want to do it too; I really want to do this. Being a woman who wants to be successful in every sphere of her life is the most challenging thing ever. Every waking moment is a battle. Every move you make is got to be on point. And you have to find a balance to everything. (Like I am preparing dinner as I am typing this. Seriously).

It is not easy. But you got to do it. Just like I write stories and songs, read for my exams and beauty recipes, try to find a job as a PR person, find time for my man and family, and write here when I can. But you know what Miss Girl, I love it! So don’t whine and bitch about all that you have to do. Just do it and find a way to love it all.

This doesn’t have to make sense to everyone so if it does to you, I deeply respect you!

LILY JOHNSON

Think positively

Yeah, things may be in a major jam and so bad the solution seems not to look like a solution at all. All you do is run around helplessly and your mood, a thick black cloud.

I usually tell people that I am a realist; that is; I am neither pessimistic nor very optimistic. I see things the way they are and take them as they come. But I am a huge fan of positive thinking and most times it does work! At least, it lifts the spirit and prevents one from going into depression.
In a very bad situation, believe me; I know how hard it is to think positively. How on earth is a sister supposed to think positively when she just lost her job? Or when her fiancé of five years just called off the engagement? Or when her best friend just died in a car crash? Positive thinking would be nowhere in the books please!

But honey after everything; the mourning, the crying, the frustration and bitterness, life goes on. You have to move on. You got to tell yourself that things would turn out just fine and believe it. Tell yourself that you are going to get a new and even better job {f the boss. He didn’t deserve you}. Assure yourself that your knight in shinning armor is going to find you and be with you forever {f your ex too. He didn’t deserve you either}. Look up to the sky, your loved one is in heaven and expects you to be happy {And babe, you deserve to be happy}.

See each day as a day filled with great expectations that are pleasant and when bad things happen, look at the bright side. Infact always look at the bright side of life. Go through each day with a smile and believe you are a survivor. Get rid of all the negative thoughts. “It is not going to work” should be used only when absolutely necessary. Someone told me that it is frequently used by losers. Remember I said when absolutely necessary {I am a realist remember?}
It will work. You can do it. Think positively always

LILY JOHNSON

And for some entertainment....2

And don’t forget to always finish what you started. When you do that people would not only trust you but would also rely on you. They would see you as a consistent person.

When you promise to help someone do something, try your best possible to be there to the end. If your friend asked you to accompany her to a dinner party, stay until the party is over unless you get an emergency call.
Finish knitting that sweater! Continue writing that book until you are done!

This is the last part of the story. Enjoy!


LILY JOHNSON


I opened my eyes. The mirror showed me nothing. I touched the mirror but I didn’t see my hand.
“What is going on?” I cried out and slammed the door of my wardrobe shut, “Can someone tell me what is happening to me?”
“Come on Lisa. Don’t get hysterical”, my body sat on the bedroom sofa, “Didn’t you hear me? You are a spirit. Spirits are invisible. You and I know that you like reading so you must have come across something like this. I know I have”, it smiled, “And like you said, you are me so we are one but separated for a while”.
“No”, I closed my ears with my hands; “I am not listening to this anymore”
“Suit yourself”, my body walked back into the room and laid on the bed.
“It’s almost dawn”, It said in a sleepy voice, “In a few minutes, you and I would be one again. Understand this Lisa, you have the power to leave your body and come back to it. You can go wherever you want and do whatever you want when you are what you are now. A spirit. Invisible”.
“And you? I mean….. My body?” I didn’t know what the right thing to say was.
“Well”, it propped itself on an elbow, “You see when you leave your body, most of you goes with the spirit. The good part of you that is, leaving behind the other part of you. This makes the body and the spirit rather different. The spirit is willing but the body is weak”, it smiled, “Should have been the other way round though”
Why is this happening to me and why? I thought, I was too tired of asking questions. I still had my night gown on and that was what the figure on the bed wore too. A pink silk night gown. My favorite.
“Your questions would be answered tomorrow night Lisa’, it smiled and closed its eyes.
Suddenly, a mysterious wind whistled its way into the room and dragged me towards the bed. I was too stunned to cry out.

And for some entertainment....

I write short stories and I am going to post some of them here for you to read. You must have heard a thousand times that you have a special gift. I assure you that you do my dear. Some of us are just too lazy or busy to discover what it is that God has deposited in us. It really doesn’t matter when you discover it but do try to when you can do something about it.

I started writing at the age of seven. Then, I wrote fairy tales. As I got older, I began to write romantic stories. Some magazines have published my stories in the past and I go paid for it too. Now, I write stories of all genres.

The title of this story is “I and Myself”. I honestly don’t know what genre it belongs to but I have submitted it to a magazine before under the horror genre. I will post this story in two parts so you are about to read the part one. Enjoy!

LILY JOHNSON


I AND MYSELF

I was alarmed when I opened my eyes. When did I sleep off? My journal was still beside me but the bed side lamp was off. I started getting up but I couldn’t. It was like a heavy bag was on my chest. I struggled to get up and shout but I couldn’t and no sound came out of my mouth. I struggled harder and finally got up. I felt light as if I could fly. I stood up on my bed and looked around; the whole room was very dark. The windows were open but the moonlight wasn’t penetrating into the room. I found that strange. I turned to put on the bedside lamp and screamed. I was starring at my own body still lying on the bed. My eyes were open and looking directly at me. I tried to scream again but no sound came out. My body on the bed stirred and the mouth opened. In a flash, I jumped out of the bed and ran across the room to switch on the light. I couldn’t feel my heart pounding. I felt that I must be dreaming until my body got up from the bed and started walking towards me. I wanted to run again but I couldn’t. My feet were glued to the floor somehow. This couldn’t be happening to me. When my body approached me, it was smiling. It was like looking in the mirror. My large brown eyes starred back at me
“Are you scared?” It asked
“I am dreaming”, I said in a voice I couldn’t hear but my body apparently did
“No. You are not .You are only experiencing what you should have a long time ago”.
“You are me”
My body laughed. It was a carefree, sing song sound that was very familiar. It belonged to me.
“You haven’t noticed?” It asked, “You are the spirit and I am the body”
“What?!”
“Take a look at the mirror Lisa”, It walked towards my wardrobe and I followed suit like I was under some kind of trance. It opened my wardrobe to reveal the mirror that was nailed to the door on the side. It smiled and pointed at the mirror.
‘Take a look”
My legs were wobbling as I walked to the mirror. As I stood before it, I closed my eyes
and whispered, God help me! What on earth would I see? An animal? A monster?

Fashion Horror

The evolution of fashion is one thing that would not ever stop to amaze me. I have one word to describe the designers, the models, the clothes and the industry; awesome!
But some designers really make me ask questions like “Excuse me, was that made to be worn on this planet?”. I saw a girl last week walking on the streets, looking like a cockatoo. She was quite pretty but if you looked closely, the blouse she wore was scary.

It had bright coloured feathers all over it and the cut of the blouse was quite odd and this made this young woman look like the mentioned bird. To make matters worse, she paired the blouse with a pair of red skinny jeans and ridiculously high-heeled shoes.

Maybe she wore it to attract attention because she was a small woman, or the blouse is quite expensive which is what I strongly suspect. Some designer must have put in a load of ‘hard work’ to create that strange piece of clothing and would tell the whole world that every clothing item he creates, is unique and makes its wearer stand out in the crowd thereby convincing the little woman that she needed to wear that horror of a blouse on that very hot afternoon. She did stand out though. Please!

If a dress makes you look like an alien, an animal, a bird, a hooker in 300AD or something worse, please don’t spend your hard earned money buying it. You would probably wear it once, cause a terrible stir and swear never to wear it again. Stick to clothes that ‘make sense’ and suit your body type.

LILY JOHNSON

Look out for Joe!

Before I say what I have in mind I must tell you my dear that I am not judging anyone. Who am I to do so? I am just going to say my mind. Period. And I am doing it because of some incidents that were rather disturbing that involved someone I know.
Women sometimes find themselves in some friendly associations with some men that they shouldn’t even be saying “hi” to but because of some emotional problems or even financial problems, we might just be friends with some guy because at that moment, he was being nice and caring.
Then some of us make the fatal mistake of allowing this stranger into our lives without taking time to find out who he really is. He becomes a friend, a confidante and a person we rely on and trust. Beware!
Myna had a boyfriend that she had been going out with on and off for three years. One day, she heard the news that her man had married some other lady who was heavily pregnant with his child. She locked herself up in her one room apartment and cried for days. It was like the world had ended for her. Four months later, she met another guy and they began dating. He was a great guy but his ego sometimes got in the way of the smooth running of things. He found it difficult to admit to a fault and when he did, he rarely apologized. The guy just didn’t ever say he was sorry. That frustrated Myna. She met Joe at a distant cousin’s house warming party. They got talking immediately. Joe was cute and funny. He made her laugh like she hadn’t in a long time. Myna was won over. She wasn’t the type that cheated on her man no matter what so he became her friend. He visited her and she visited him. She told her boyfriend about him and even introduced them. When Myna had problems with her man, he was there to make her laugh. Myna told him a lot of things about herself because she trusted him. One day, her emotions overwhelmed her and they had sex. And that was it.
Myna had told him that what happened was a mistake and would never happen again because she wasn’t that kind of girl and didn’t want anything that would ruin their friendship. Joe became a monster. He wasn’t going to accept that what happened was a mistake. He began to act strange, calling her names whenever it pleased him and for nothing. Then one day, after an argument over a trivial matter, Myna was seeing him off to the bus stop. When they got to the bus stop there was a group of people standing there and Joe suddenly started calling Myna names like “prostitute” and “public dog”. He made sure that he got the attention of the people around and called her more terrible names. He made a public spectacle of her. Myna couldn’t believe it. She told him that the friendship was over. She had had it.
After a few weeks, Joe tried to contact her but she made herself unavailable. Then he began to call her mobile number persistently. There were times that he called her fifty times a day. Myna didn’t pick his calls. He began to use other numbers and withheld numbers. He made Myna’s life miserable.
I think Myna made the mistake of letting him into her life so fast. Having sex with him was also a fatal mistake. If she had waited to find out who he was which I believe would have materialised, she would have found out that Joe was a jerk.
I know that sometimes weird things happen even to the most careful people on earth and some people are so crafty that you don’t find out a thing about them. But you have to always use your senses right girl. It is very important and more, it could save you from a rather embarrassing situation.

LILY JOHNSON

Don't you dare stop!

This is for the average but aspiring to be much more than average woman {Whatz up!} now, I am one of the people that believe it is not over until it is over. Yeah, life begins when it begins! No specific year whatsoever. It is just you and your drive to make it and continuing even when those pessimists {some call them haters} think “For God’s sake, it didn’t work when you were twenty! Why the hell would it work now you are fifty!?”
Honey, don’t stop the pushing, the working, the hoping, the praying until you are…well dead!
Of course there would be obstacles in the way and most of them grinning “I love being your obstacle”. But you can’t let them stop you. Please don’t let them stop you! Don’t look at those pages of glamorous women and ladies in full colour glossy magazines and wallow in self pity. Look at them and say to yourself “I will get there”. I love that Boy 2 Men track especially the line that says “I will get through the night”.

Consider all that is wrong but happening to you now as your night. The sun is about to hit you in the eyes and behold, your better days are here! But remember, hard work and patience plus prayer would help you. Work hard at what you are doing; anything you are doing at all because what is worth doing at all is what doing well {please don’t think I am encouraging some crazy stuff, I am not!}

I am addressing the decent {okay she loses her balance sometimes but she gets right back up!}, hardworking {the hustle, this babe is everywhere doing her thing and there is no stopping her!}and average {she is no billionaire heiress but she sure does pay her bills} young woman.
Keep going babe girl. You will get there and when you do, we are going to pop that champagne!

Lily Johnson