I was 12 years old when I got beaten for the first time for the sake of God. I remember standing on the prayer mat and refusing to pray. I was probably reading on my phone, waiting for the five minutes to pass so I can go back to doing the same thing but on my bed. My mother saw …
Finding Your Way
Some of us search for a deeper meaning in life while some simply abide by a religious path or a combination of both. We share a common trust that whether or not we meet God, even if we don’t believe in such an existence, that they will protect us and guide us through a righteous path. While some choose to …
Congolese Gospel, God, and Me
Before tarot, before astrology, before therapy, music was the only medium I found solace in. Growing up as the oldest in a family of six, it quickly became clear that I had little space truly reserved for myself. When I needed to pour everything I was holding onto, I’d rely on my diaries. But those weren’t a comfort as much …
Finding A Middle Ground :
The Fear and Misconceptions of Being Religious
What is common sense if not the middle ground between two different views? And what happens when that middle ground is built on the thin ice of fear? Flashback to September 11 2001, a day I wouldn’t remember but the world would never forget. The twin towers fell and so did the idea of a middle ground. Islamophobia is not …
“Please remove Christianity from your profile”
That was a message I got on a dating site. Someone, let’s call him Mr. Hinge, brought up the fact that I filled out the section for a cause that I care about with Race and LGBTQ2S+ rights . He then threw Bible verses at me about how homosexuality is unnatural and a sin, how LGBT+ people are going to …
THE LAMP THAT GUIDES OUR FEET
“Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues in many lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven” (Luke 21: 10-12). For many religious and non-religious people alike, the unprecedented times that we are currently facing may feel like the …
Memories Shared With The Moon
Scene 1: Men are like wolves, they enjoy the night and prey on the weak The moon begs them to stop howling at it, feels a false praise As it tries to light the way home for people like me For gentle people, who forget stars are dead Who live in the moment, and try to forget the ones that …
Out of Many, One People
When someone asks me how I identify myself I may say Canadian.This will always lead them to ask, “But where are you really from?” If I go to the generation before me, I would once again say that my mother was also born and raised in Canada. Deeper. I would finally explain that my grandparents are from Jamaica. Jamaica explains …
CITY, yr. 2267
You hop off the hover-monorail and onto the misty platform with shoulders slumped and eyes downcast. The doors slide closed behind you and the hover-monorail starts up again, floating along its path and into the distance. You are alone. Your face finally meets the sunlight. Your silver earrings shimmer in one of autumn’s first sunrises and you breathe in the …
Losing my Language
I was five years old when I visited Ghana for the first time. I don’t remember much, but the few memories I have are strong. The smell was the first thing I remember noticing when we came off the plane. It’s a warm, tropical, almost smoky smell that’s hard to describe, but it smells like home. I remember seeing myself …
