“Last week, I had the good fortune of going through my storage to revisit stored items. It had been a very tough week, emotionally, and it seemed like going through my stored items was exactly what the doctor ordered.
Kneeling on the floor of my storage amidst boxes, I dug through and discovered so many things. I saw love letters written by ex’s. Love letters which as I pored through, made me grateful for the privilege to have had persons in my life who loved me that much. I saw articles I had written in college. I laughed at the maturity I displayed, even then, because I began college during my mid-teens but wrote as if I was in my thirties. I saw my numerous diaries. I have always been a writer and have loads of diaries where I have conveyed my thoughts. Writing is my therapy. Poring through those diaries, I chuckled. How sweet and refreshingly beautiful it is to be that young, naive and full of hope. Time flies so quickly!
I saw items from my time in Nigeria as a child and my”Ladybrille” titled scrap books that I have kept. It was interesting to see the journey I have traveled so far. As I continued reflecting, I opened one of my storage boxes and in it, I found pictures my older sister took of me in my fitness attire during the time I was a certified fitness trainer for one of the larger fitness gyms here in California. I chuckled.
My mind, all of a sudden, drifted into deep thought as I realized that through all of my journey: the highs and the lows, the good, the bad, and the ugly, the consistent message was the power of good health. For the most part, with good health, I saw how quickly I bounced back each time life’s curve balls hit me. My disposition was generally very optimistic and I came back even stronger after overcoming life’s hurdles thrown at me. There was one instance, however, in the journey, as I observed on my timeline, where life threw its dangerous curveballs at me. It hit me right where it was intended to and it took me quite a long time to get back up. Reviewing that particular timeline, I saw that my good health was actually replaced with bad health and so logically, it made sense it took me that long to bounce back.
Welcome “Ladybrillers” to another month of an action packed powerfully intelligent and brilliant articles, we hope. I hope it is a month that we can inspire you to take responsibility for your health and be the powerful person you can be, with good health. Good health is a critical component of enjoying a good life.
This month, we look at your overall health with an emphasis on our Ladies. Ladies, as we age, it becomes very important to really zoom into our health and overall well being. To have a candid talk about health, we invited Dr. Nelson Awolade, our Ladybrille Man of the Month and an OB/GYN, to help inspire us and give us our basic health checklist for each decade we clock in our lives- 20s onwards. Dr. Awolade also talks to us about sex, paying keen attention to our teenage girls.
Years ago, Dr. Awolade had a life altering experience when he delivered a baby for an 11 ½ year old girl through C-Section. That experience moved him to wake us up, as a society, about the kinds of behavior we are modeling for our young girls as well as push the abstinence message for teens. The options for our young people should not be restricted to, “here’s a condom you are going to have sex anyways.” This is absolutely unacceptable and is and has proved to be a liability for us, as a society. Our young people need to hear the alternative message that they can and should wait to have sex. Stay tuned for his interview.
Matching the health message of our Man of the Month, is our Ladybrille Woman of the Month Sarah Khanna, a rising and successful food blogger based out of Egypt. Many within and outside the USA struggle to lose weight daily, but it is not as complicated as it might sound. Nutrition is key and 60% of the battle is getting our nutrition right in addition to exercise, rest and stress reduction. Our diet reflects our mental, physical and emotional state of mind. What can and should we be eating? Khanna’s mouth watering yet healthy recipes nudges us towards the right direction.
Finally, it is breast cancer month and that fact is not lost on us here at Ladybrille. All of you, at some point, have heard or know women who have had breast cancer? I have known quite a few. I also have an aunt who died as a result of breast cancer. During college, I also had a scare when I discovered a lump in my left breast. From the tips and information I received earlier on, I knew to routinely conduct a breast examination. It was during one of those examinations that I found the lump. Thankfully, it was benign and being a “fix it” kind of girl, I went ahead with the medical procedure to have the lump removed. I continue to routinely do my breast examinations.
I hope our article on ’10 tips to Prevent Breast Cancer,’ serves as a useful guide for all of our ladies. For our men, we hope you pass it on to the special women in your lives.
Have a healthy and successful month ahead and I wish you all brilliant blessings.
Here is to good health!
Yours truly,
Uduak Oduok, Esq.
([email protected])
Editor-in-Chief
www.ladybrillemag.com
Founded in 2007, Ladybrille® Magazine is a California based pioneer digital publication demystifying the image of Africans in the west through contemporary African fashion and celebrating the brilliant woman in business and leadership, with an emphasis on the African woman in the diaspora. Our coverage includes stories on capital, access to markets, expertise, hiring and retention, sales, marketing, and promotions.
