Fireflies

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to this week’s episode of Words of Wednesday.
Your one and only Wordsmith reporting for duty.

Earlier today, I went on my walk before the evening settled in. I was trying to catch the sunset and I kind of did, but I also kind of missed it from the angle I wanted. Which made me realize that if I want to keep doing these longer walks and still catch the views properly, I need to start earlier. The walks have gotten longer because I’ve been trying to consistently get over 10,000 steps, but now I’m realizing timing matters too.
More daylight. Better views.
Better pictures. Better moments.

And honestly, today’s walk gave me a lot to think about. A lot of curiosity-awakening thoughts. A lot of reflection. So let’s get into it.

First things first. Lloyiso’s album Never Thought I Could is Grammy-worthy. I said what I said.

It feels short enough to be an EP, but I guess that’s just the direction music is moving in these days. Either way, it is such a good body of work. It’s introspective, vulnerable, emotional.
It really explores love from a male perspective in a way that feels honest and layered.

Now, I definitely have thoughts about Loe Shimmy’s love life based on the album, but I’ll keep those to myself for now. Maybe one day I’ll get the opportunity to interview him and ask him directly. Until then, we move.

Still spinning Asake’s new album Money as well. I mentioned it last week and I stand by what I said. A few songs on there are absolutely going to become major records. Right now there’s obviously marketing push behind the album, but the real test is whether the songs continue to grow organically over the next few weeks. So far though, very strong project.

Another album I revisited today was Basketmouth’s Yabasi. What an incredible project. I randomly saw a clip of Oxlade performing one of the songs he featured on and it immediately sent me back to the album during my walk. So good. Truly one of those projects that deserved more love than it got.

Anyways.

When was the last time you truly dreamt?

And I don’t mean dreaming out of desperation. I mean dreaming out of excitement. Out of wonder. Out of possibility.

I’m currently navigating one of the biggest decisions I’ve ever made as an adult and it’s been interesting watching myself process it all in real time. Hopefully by the grace of God, everything works out the way it’s supposed to. I’ve prayed about it, but honestly, I probably need to pray even more.

While I was walking today, I caught a few glimpses of downtown Austin. I’ll probably share some pictures below. And as I stood there taking it all in, I caught myself thinking, “I really want to live downtown one day.” Not just visit. Live there. Wake up and do these walks every morning or every evening with the skyline right there in front of me.

But then another thought hit me. I could probably force that life right now if I really wanted to, but it would compromise other aspects of my quality of life that I currently enjoy. And that made me realize maybe I just don’t have that particular version of life yet. Not because it isn’t possible, but because maybe it’s just not time yet.

And somehow that led me into another thought entirely.

When was the last time I allowed myself to dream bigger?

Because I’ve dreamt before. I dreamt about moving here. I dreamt about career growth. Promotions. Stability. Leadership opportunities. And by God’s grace, so much of that has happened.

But beyond survival and adulthood and career progression, how much have I allowed myself to dream creatively? About poetry. About spoken word. About content creation. About storytelling. About building something bigger than what I originally imagined for myself?

I don’t know if I’ve fully done that.

I think adulthood has a way of making practicality consume you. Your bills. Your job. Your responsibilities. Your routines. Your quality of life becomes tied to consistency and structure, and somewhere in there, you slowly stop engaging with wonder. With magic. With possibility.

And I want that back.

I need to dream louder. Bigger. More intentionally.

Because if I’m being honest, every major thing I wrote down and prayed about over the last few years, God has brought to pass in one way or another. Sometimes even beyond what I imagined.

So maybe the issue now is that I need to start writing again. Dreaming again. Speaking life over things again.

People often tell me that I’m naturally suited for influencing or storytelling or content creation. And maybe they’re right. A lot of it has felt surprisingly natural to me. I’ve never really felt like I had to force a personality online. You guys genuinely get very raw versions of me.

I know how to dress. I know my angles. I know how to capture moments that feel like me. Sometimes I’ll literally just walk outside my apartment, take a few pictures, and post them. I still do a terrible job posting consistently or posting on time, but still, it’s become a real extension of who I am.

And hopefully it grows into more.

More partnerships. More storytelling. More opportunities. Maybe even a full career lane one day. Who knows.

But all of that starts with dreaming.

Maybe you need to do that too.

Maybe somewhere along the line you got so focused on surviving life that you stopped imagining what life could become. So let this be your reminder to dream again. Write things down again. Pray over them again. Believe in them again.

During the walk tonight, I also noticed a few fireflies.

At first I wasn’t even sure I saw them because they appear so briefly. One second they’re there, the next second they disappear. Blink too quickly and you miss them entirely.

And somehow that reminded me of opportunities. Relationships. Timing. Life itself.

Sometimes the biggest moments in your life arrive quietly. Briefly. Almost magically. And if you hesitate too long or second guess yourself too much, you miss them.

It reminded me of something that happened years ago in Arizona. I was on the phone with my best friend Atafi because we were both heading to the Grand Canyon. I got there earlier than him and while walking through the airport I thought I saw 50 Cent.

I called him immediately and he was like, “There’s no way 50 Cent is in Arizona.”

And for a second, I believed him.

Then something told me to check. So I Googled it and sure enough, 50 Cent had a show in Scottsdale the next day.

I was so upset because Get Rich or Die Tryin’ was one of the first albums I ever owned as a kid. Meeting him would have been crazy to me at the time.

And it made me think about how often we blink because someone else cannot see what we see.

Not because they mean harm, but because they’re not experiencing the moment from our perspective. And if you’re not careful, other people’s limitations, doubts, or inability to recognize something can make you miss what was right in front of you.

You blink and a career opportunity passes.
You blink and love passes.
You blink and purpose passes.

So stay present. Trust your instincts sometimes. See things for yourself.

Last but not least, your boy is finally recovering from being sick and thank God for that because the last week and a half has been absolutely miserable.

I’m finally feeling like myself again and I’m really excited about the response to some of the content I’ve been posting lately. Especially the cooking videos.

Ironically, I think I’ve realized I need to completely change how I edit them. The longer form style isn’t holding attention the way I want it to. I think shorter cuts and quicker pacing might work better for the audience I currently have. So we’ll experiment with that.

And maybe a YouTube channel soon too. Who knows.

Anyways, till next time, stay up.