November Q&A – Postdoc Apps, Flourishing ‘Fro, and More!

I’m applying to several postdoctoral fellowships, which are 1-2 year university staff positions that prepare doctorates for faculty positions, while giving them time and resources to complete a few research projects and publications.

I’m excited about it! I’m obviously biased but I think I have a really cool research project and would love to be able to devote more attention to it, while seeing if an academic career is right for me.

Thanks! And I don’t know if it would mean that we’d be moving back permanently, but postdocs are usually two years long, so yes. But who knows, life could still be virtual next year so maybe I could do it remotely!

Not really, academia is still problematic and toxic for Black women. But there are a few reasons I’ve changed my position on being in traditional academic spaces. Storytime/chit chat explanation video coming later this week!

Storytime/chit chat explanation video coming later this week!

Absolutely. I don’t think that programs do a good job explaining what skills are transferable outside of the lab or classroom, but I’ve come to realize there are a bunch of skills I have that are useful outside of academia.

Go to therapy! One of the areas I covered in counseling was my desire to impress and achieve. Yes, part of that is put on us by our parents, but at some point you have to own up to your own role in ideas about your self worth and value, and work towards addressing them.

I’m never one to tell someone to pursue their passions at the detriment of their finances. You need money to live. So if you’re struggling to find employment in your current field, and are confident a career change will improve your bottom line, by all means go ahead. Keep time on the weekends or evenings for your other, not so profitable/employable passions.

I shared his name here 🙂

Yup.

Most of the things he has were from our baby registry, but I listed his furniture and some of the most used products so far in these posts. I’ve been buying clothes, books, and toys from this list too!

We’re hoping for another child so holding onto the things he’s outgrown.

I love walking outside with him. He’s a chatterbox indoors but once we’re outside, he’s so observant and just soaks everything in. We also love saying and waving bye bye!

During the week when our nanny is with us, he doesn’t watch any TV. On the weekends he’ll usually watch 30 minutes or an hour of a kids show, then play with his blocks and toys while we watch an adult show.

I breastfeed in the morning and at bedtime, but to be honest I don’t know if he’s eating or just soothing. He’s started to teethe so biting is now a thing. I haven’t done anything particularly about my supply. We’re at an age and stage with solids now that if my supply disappeared completely I think he’d be ok.

Yup.

It did hurt and I do want to get it back! I can’t decide if I should let it heal completely first or just repierce it now.

I answered that in several past Q&As, check here!

Haha thank you. Yes, let’s give her a name, I’m open to suggestions!

I wear a bonnet and go to sleep lol. I remoisturize and retwist or braid maybeeee once a week, but really just if I have a shoot coming up. If I’m just in the house and not going anywhere, my hair will be shrunken and dry and I don’t care.

I’ve loved having my hair colored, and I miss it! It’s important to go to a color specialist — not everybody knows how to color without damaging your hair. Here are some more tips for healthy hair color and some of my FAQs about hair color.

My whole skincare journey can be found here, but here’s how I cleared up my cystic acne.

I’ve done everything from microneedling to laser therapy to light chemical peels. Ultimately, controlling acne is more important than dealing with hyperpigmentation, because you don’t have to lighten spots that don’t exist. Daily sunscreen and vitamin c use is also helpful.

This question makes me uncomfortable. Though it’s meant to be a compliment can we not comment anything — good or bad — about women’s bodies, especially online? You never know what body image issues people are dealing with. I’ve become more content with my postpartum body by tracking my meals using WW.

5’6 and a half! I’m taller with the fro 😀

No clue. We’re taking it a year at a time.

Well before my move I could not wrap my West African mind around the fact that Kenyans don’t like to put seasoning, especially pepper, in their food. Since the move, I’ve observed some interesting speech patterns. For example I’ve heard Kenyans double their pronouns, saying “me, I’m going to the store,” or drop noun articles like “I went to hospital” instead of “I went to the hospital.”

Yes and I’m enjoying the process of discovery! I’m currently loving finding Kenyan furniture and home decor makers and designers (surprise surprise lol).

I don’t live my life for the consumption of others. If you go back to my YT videos when I lived in the US, I rarely vlogged, I mostly did tutorials and chit chats. When I’m 80, I want to look back at my life and remember me actually living in the moment and experiencing my memories, not recording them so other people could watch. I could never, and have no interest in, vlogging full time for that exact reason.

Yup, I have. But we’re still in a pandemic, so I’m not actively meeting new people or even connecting often with people I already know right now.

I do collaborations all the time! Just email me with your idea to start the conversation.

From Ken & Dana Design in New York! I love them so much, they’re so timeless.

Whatever works for y’all! When we were LDR Jonathan visited first because he came back to take the GRE, then he was broke so I visited. There’s no right or wrong way to approach it as long as the two of you are on the same page.

To LET GO and let him be in control. I feel like that’s the lesson everyone was forced to learn — whatever plans we had for 2020 were basically thrown in the trash. But he’s still in control and still working on our behalf. Also that my worth is not tied to my achievements.

The Bible app. I haven’t opened my physical Bible in months.

I shared a list of my favorite books earlier this year!

My one rule is to never spend what you don’t have. Even when I buy something with a credit card (which is often, because I love racking up points!), I only buy it if there’s money in the bank to pay the bill completely. Some more money advice can be found here.

If I ship using DHL, about 1-2 weeks. If I use another company, it takes around 3 weeks.