THOUGHTS OF A SOMALI GIRL

This year has been so hectic that I haven't even noticed how quickly it's gone by! While it's been super hectic, there's been a lot of valuable life lessons I've learned that I'm gonna share with y'all. 1. God first always! 2.. Parents aren't always right. They're human beings after all, they also make mistakes. 3. Don't openly challenge your parents. Sometimes they just don't get it so there's no point arguing. 4. The smaller your circle of friends, the better! 5. Sharing the same blood shouldn't automatically gain trust and loyalty. Only people you know have your back are your parents and siblings. All other relatives need to prove their loyalty just like you would with friends. 6.  Date multiple men and then choose the one who is most worthy. 7. It doesn't hurt to try and get things for free as a customer! Just ask. Who cares what other people think? Do you. 8. Coworkers are NOT friends. Never talk about persona

I follow Humans of New York and the other day one of his photos really got me thinking...most of his posts do but this one, really had me thinking about how some parts of the Somali culture (and other cultures) can be really effed up: it isn't okay to express feelings of love and affection between spouses and even between parents and children. Growing up, and even to this very day, I never saw my parents express their love to each other - at least not in front of me. Forget kissing, I never saw them hold hands nor hug nor call each other names of affection such as macaanto or anything like that. Other Somali parents are the same with each other. Even with my siblings and I, my parents never hugged us...at least I don't recall it. I also don't recall my parents ever saying "I love you". I never noticed it as a kid, but now that I'm older, I'm really bothered by it...and I think it's because I've realized it has affected me. It bothers me becau