A few years back, I was supposed to put on a white dress. Instead, I put on black. Hours earlier, my childhood home was bursting with music, laughter, and pure joy. We danced until midnight, hugged everyone we loved, and went to bed with full hearts, counting down the hours until I would walk down the aisle. Then, in the dead of night, a sharp scream tore through the house. I bolted out of bed to find my mother struggling to breathe. She was asthmatic, and in a matter of moments, a sudden asthma attack took hold. Panic gripped our home as we fought to save her, but everything happened too fast. Right before her hands fell still, her voice rose into a frantic, agonizing shout that will echo in my heart forever: “My children! My children! What will happen to my children when I’m gone?” Those were the last words she ever spoke.

Why do we always make the simplest tasks in life ten times harder than they need to be? You sit down to do a 5-minute task, and before you know it, you've overthought it into a whole production. When you finally step back, you realize it was smooth sailing all along. To say “simple” or “easy” in Mandarin, we say 简单 (jiǎndān). Example: 这个事情很简单！ (Zhège shìqing hěn jiǎndān!) This matter is very simple! What’s something you overthought recently that turned out to be totally 简单 in the end?

Just got off the phone with my aunt. She says Ebola cases have been recorded in Abuja. Please, let’s not take any chances. Wash your hands, sanitize, and watch your surroundings. Stay safe, guys! ❤️