I am a mother to four adorable children, a wife to an incredible, extraordinary brilliant man, a daughter and a sister to a legacy almost denied. If you know my story, the shoulders upon which I stand, then you will understand why I strive to persevere. It’s in my bloodline and my middle name. I was never meant to be. The fact that I exist today is because my grandmother never gave up, because my mother never gave. Because of them, I can’t give up. Because of them and with the never ending support and love of Zobam, the one God called to literally save me, I can dream. Because of them, excuses are not an option. Because of them, I walk with clarity of a gazelle, the audacity of a lion and joy of happiest birds to accomplish all that I can, with every inch of my being.

Welcome to a collection of my thoughts aptly called my keep lists. They are lists of ways to tell our stories, ways to speak truth to our existence, in ways that make sense to our being. Black stories or black experience in its simplest form, are never fully given the space to flourish or thrive in ways other literature by other authors do. So we stay silent. We repress our dreams, ignore our desires and fail to add our everyday experiences whether with raising our child or working non stop under weird conditions, to every day readings that matter.

This little blog is my attempt at representation. My attempt at dreaming and telling stories of a black experience that matter. I have no idea where the journey is heading but I love being on this journey. I will do my part to share all I can along this journey through life, through parenting and through my lens as a global health researcher at a top public health university in the US.

By day and night I am passionate about my children, my family and also implementing sustainable solutions that improve health outcomes in resource limited settings. I also love story telling, sharing the ups and downs of parenting a child on the spectrum and mentoring students. I am a true student of life. My only ask is that you stay open-minded and like what you read as I chronicle a list in praise of my existence and experience as a black mom in light.