Know my name

My name is Ifemelu but most of my friends call me Ifem.I have short,tough full African hair.Its sometimes hard to maintain so you will often find me with a scarf wrapped around my head.

I am the African Queen.Thats what my boyfriend calls me and I have embraced it in every way.My thick thighs that used to be my biggest insecurity are now a significant sign of my beauty.I love the dimples in my back at the bottom of my spine but i always think that they would look more beautiful on my face.He says I have a beautiful smile😍😊🤗.

Darling,hurry up!You know I can’t go alone!

That’s my friend Gini.She is too loud.Always making me do stuff that I find too crazy.She says I am too shy but sweet it adds flavour to her demeanor so she always takes me with her.Infact,that is how I ended up with my boyfriend back at home.I didnt mention,I came to America to further my studies.

As you can see i am happy and my life is all figured out that everyone wants a piece of it.I agree with all of you except that I think we will all have a different answer after I tell you what happened the other day.

When I came to America,we were still dating with Obinze.He was everything a woman could want and even dream of.He was a well kept man,if you know what I mean.We had plans for the future and even when we were worlds apart,we still felt each others presence.We talked a lot on phone and face timed too.

Months later,i stopped talking to him.I didn’t reply to his emails and I asked Gini to stop talking or giving me any messages from him.I quit my job and stayed in my room,curtains not drawn for days.I did not eat and when I did,I did not clean up.

My name is Ifem and I was raped.That was meant to be my job but he took away my power that night.

Page 154 is the saddest page in Americannah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.Still can’t get over it😭😭!You all should read it.

You might find this worth watching too.After being raped while drunk at a party years ago,Chanel says that she knew the consequences of drinking too much and rape wasn’t one of them and should never be.