Elizabeth Amarachi Ani

FIVE CHANGES I NOTICED IN MY BODY SINCE I STARTED GIVING MY BODY ENOUGH WATER.

2. My skin improved.

Girl! My skin literally went from acne-littered, acne patches everywhere, to something you can actually look at. 🤭

Yes, I still have some black spots here and there, but if you knew me before now, you would know that what I have now is clearer skin.

It can never be compared to what I had before.

And the funny thing is, I'm still using the same cream I've always used.

But my skin has improved so much.

Most people think water is just a drink.

Something they drink when they feel thirsty or when they feel like it.

It isn't.

Water is involved in almost everything your body does.

It is your body's primary operating system.

Every single cell depends on it to function.

Water helps to transport nutrients around the body.

It helps remove waste.

It regulates body temperature.

It supports brain function and energy production.

It helps maintain blood volume, supports digestion, lubricates your joints and helps your kidneys do their job.

It can also influence your mood, concentration and physical performance.

So when you don't drink enough water, the effects can go beyond simply feeling thirsty.

You may start feeling more tired.

Your concentration may suffer.

You may not feel as mentally sharp.

Your physical performance may decline.

And for many people, water is often replaced with sugary drinks, creating another problem entirely.

This is why I keep saying that hydration is not a small health conversation.

The water you drink is supporting the body you use to work, think, move, create, care for others and live your life.

So this week, pay a little more attention to your water.

Your body is doing a lot for you.

Give it enough water to do its job.

You just read this week's Monday Hydration Series.

I'll see you again next week 😄

YOU TRIED TO IMPROVE THE SITUATION, BUT THEN ENDED UP MAKING IT WORSE.🤦🏽

Can you relate to a situation where you were trying to make something better, then you eventually made it worse?

I mean, this was exactly what happened to me this weekend.

Guess what happened?

A friend of mine had gifted me a white T-shirt, brand new, like straight from the packet, brand new white T-shirt.

And I wore this T-shirt once. Okay, I wore it twice.

I wore the T-shirt twice, and then yesterday I was trying to wash it. And then I noticed that there was this stain by the chest area, just a very small stain that just refused to wash off, no matter how hard I tried.

But I had soaked it overnight in detergent, and the stain wasn't going off.

On one hand, I said to myself, let me just dry this thing like this. It wouldn't matter so much. It's just a tiny stain.

But then the perfectionist in me thought, let me use Hypo to wash it.

So I soaked it in Hypo.

I soaked it last night, and then this morning I brought it out and I wanted to wash it.

Tell me why my white T-shirt had gone from white to cream colour 🥲

I can't even explain it.

Please, has this thing ever happened to you?

Like, has this thing happened to you?

Why is it that Hypo changes the colour of white? Some whites turn cream.

Is it that the Hypo is too much, or what?

I don't even know.

But I feel... I don't feel happy right now.

Look at how I wanted to improve the situation of my white shirt, and then I ended up making it worse.

Now I don't even know if my white shirt is white or cream, or I don't know what it is.

Or can you relate to something like this?

Like, has something like this happened to you before?

I WASN’T SURE ABOUT HER CHOICE EITHER.

So, Treasure was in SS2 in secondary school when she told me she wanted to study History.

History?

Honestly, I wasn't particularly comfortable with it.

And I wasn't the only one.

Almost everybody had something to say about that choice.

But there was something I kept thinking about.

I had been teaching this girl to trust herself.

To have confidence in her own decisions.

To ask questions.

To think for herself.

So how could I now turn around and tell her what to study simply because I wasn't comfortable with her choice?

I decided to have a conversation with her instead.

I wanted to understand why she wanted History.

I wanted her to understand the decision she was making too.

So I asked her questions.

Why History?

What exactly do you want to do with it?

Have you thought about the opportunities?

Do you really understand what you're choosing?

I wasn't trying to talk her out of it.

I just wanted to be sure that this wasn't one of those decisions she had made without really thinking about it.

I also told her to pray about it and be sure that this was what she really wanted.

And I told her something...

If you are sure this is what you want, I will support you.

Even though I wasn't particularly comfortable with the choice.

And that was where I left it.

Although I was hoping that by the time she gets to WAEC and JAMB stage, she'll change her mind, I understood that was not my decision to make.

Because sometimes, guiding someone doesn't mean choosing for them.

Sometimes, it means helping them think through their choice and then allowing them to make it.

This is Treasure's dairy episode 4

See you next Saturday.

You know, I feel like sometimes, we complicate life ourselves by trying to control every outcome.

Sometimes, just BE yourself and let things unfold gradually.

Life always has its way. Don't you think?

Good morning 🌞

'You could be my heavens baby'

Coming from someone that needs to be reminded before they drink water 🙄

Respectfully now, go and drink water.

Except you want this heavens to pour you water ☔ 😜

MY NAME WASN'T EVEN ON THE ADMISSION LIST.

If you've ever gone through university admission in Nigeria, you know how it works.

You apply for a course. You write JAMB. You write Post UTME. You wait for admission list.

Then the admission list comes out and you rush to check.

And sometimes, they give you a completely different course from what you applied for.

You wanted Medicine and Surgery, they give you Biochemistry.

You wanted Accounting, they give you Education.

You wanted Engineering, they give you something you've never even imagined studying before. 😂

And you're frustrated because... “But I didn't apply for this one now!”

But at least, your name is on the list.

You have admission.

You can now start thinking about whether to accept the course, change it, or try again next year.

Mine was different.

During my struggle with admission, I wasn't even getting a different course at any point. Ever

My name wasn't on the admission list at all.

Year after year.
I would write JAMB, then post UTME, the admission list comes out, I'll check.

Nothing.

No Medicine.

No other course.

Nothing.

And after a while, I stopped asking for Medicine.

I was literally praying “God, just give me anything. Anything at all. I just want to see my name on that admission list.” 😂

It's funny now but it wasn't funny back then.

Imagine wanting admission so badly that the course didn't even matter anymore.

Just let me enter university first.

That was how badly I wanted to see my name there.

And after years of this, I genuinely started wondering if something was wrong with me.