CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

This blogger is officially a graduate of the University of Leicester. A BSc holder in Business Economics. To God Be The Glory.
It's been a week since and I'm still hungover - not on alcohol, but excitment. There's been lunches and dessrts, and dinner and more...

Here's a couple of pictures. Enjoy.

Banks!

My LE Bestie. x

Econ Squuaaaa!!!

Femi forever posing.

Family

Grandma looking at Ola like 'Wossdimeeninovolldizjackie?'

We're complimentary to each other...

Meet Scott. My fave BSc buddy.

Catching bants with the bro 

T-SMOLLZ!! I love her  - simples!

Squuuaaa!!!!

Cousin Abby!

She's more than an ordinary friend.

Manny Can actully be a cutie.

Are we talking? Or having a conversation?

Do you guys talk or you just have conversation?

Know before you interact. Cos it affects the other persons interpretation.

Recently, I've come to realise, there's a difference between a talk and a conversation.

Most people fail to realise this and head straight on into communication. 

Words and Ideas and topics come up, with no real substance to the discussion

And even then people aren't aware, that the speaking is merely a form of interaction. 

See when conversation is nigh, there's no solid destination

Any and everything goes, 

It's an exchange of knowledge, or random ass stories or a line of mutual friends one knows. 

But a talk, now that, that holds shed loads of weight

For there's a purpose, an aim, a goal. 

Apology, explanation, update or confrontation

There's something that has to be said. 

The convo* won't end, till the agenda is reached

The problem lies in simple differentiation. 

We lack ability to do. 

And even the party responsible for initiation 

Tends to start off on the wrong foot.

'Can I talk to you' said the man at the bar, when he has no clue of what he wants to say. 

Another problem is clarity in definition.

A misunderstanding of your 'relationship' can do as much damage as emotion.

Are you on that level where you can have a 'deep conversation' 

Or is every word said measured in the context of bants.

The inability to decipher, the strength of the bond leaves one party more enthusiastic than the other. 

Thus when it comes to understanding, two mindsets have been fed, and interpretations different because one party was misled. 

Let's not leave out expectations. 

These are critical in conversation. 

Because regardless of the way we talk elsewise will be heard. 

For someone filled with hatred, they may have developed a dedication to demand that every interpretation is an imitation of the past. 

We set our minds to believe that someone is already bad,

Therefore all the ever say must follow suit. 

They hear no excuses, want no explanation just hold that opinion against them and keep other opinions mute. 

?

I could go on with shed loads of reasons, for what I call misspecification,

But the key is to differentiate between a talk and conversation

A change in Dynamics.

IT'S GRADUATION MONTH!!!!!

And oh look, yet another post about being a graduate! Yawn? 
Well, it has become apparent that after graduation, it is customary to start a blog. Well at least this is what I've noticed about my peers. My initial reaction to this was 'it's a phase, they'll grow out of it.', but no one has. In fact, there's shed loads more blogs, and I LOVE IT! 

However, why? Don't you wonder why this has all happened? (wonder why they've saturated our market). Well here's how I see it. We all know the whole facade about graduation being a party into the big bad world, reality, the hard stuff and all other scary names that society has for it. What we don't realise is that we are alone. Yes, we graduate with a group of friends, BFF's if not, but the truth is, we are alone. Many of our experiences are alone, but they are also in common. 

Take for instance Rachel. Rachel graduated from the University of Birmingham last year. Between then and today, she's been rejected from 28 jobs, worked part time at New Look, gone on 3 holidays and lives at home with mum and Dad. In September, she will be starting a masters in Business Management  (Sound familiar graduates?). A lot of these experiences are extremely relatable,however people don't know that, and a blog is a medium through which this is done. 

Reading blogs of friends and peers, I somewhat feel prepared for experiences. I feel prepared about how everyone is going to remind you how, you're still young, but expect you to be responsible for everything - as you are, at the same time old enough. I feel prepared for job rejections, I feel prepared to be constrained by my parents in movement and timing. I feel prepared to be broke - no pocket money. Does this mean I am ready? (Of course, I'm a fighter -not really, no.) No, it just means I know what's ahead of me. I'm mentally aware of what's potentially about to come my way and different ways of handling this.

I perceive blogs as journals. Rants, stories, poems and the lot, they all stem from experiences and observations from life and the eyes of a graduate provide many windows into life for us soon to be's.  I also see blogs as 'Avenue FINALLY'. One thing I've noticed is that most blogs have a central theme. Some people stick to sports others photography. Whatever the interest, most people are finally focusing/giving time to personal interests. Blogs manage to infuse these interests with personal experiences. I remember reading this one guy's fitness blog. I LOVED IT! For every exercise he put up, he had a story to tell. Why he learnt it, or why he was working out, or what happened in the gym or what he's noticed on the tube. I could relate to a lot and it motivated me to work out to (which didn't last long - partly because he stopped blogging.). He was also funny, which made it appealing. My main point here is that through a blog, you can combine your interests and experiences, and share this to the world (or the 20 people/friends who actually read it). 

The advantage of this, you will find your not alone. (If you enable comments), People tend to respond, explaining how they've been through similar experiences, sharing how they may have reacted and so on and so forth. However, this does not eliminate 'opinionists' (yes I made that  word up - they don't deserve to be called anything meaningful). Anyway, these are individuals who feel it necessary to force their opinions on you and even possibly insult you at the same time. But remember, you control your blog so you can ignore these or simply acknowledge them so they can shut it!

Anyway, the moral of this post is that blogs are NOT bandwagons. They aren't habits or tumblrs which you pick up and  drop. They are lifestyle exposures. I'd advise graduates to get a blog, you never know who you might save (prepare) and who might save you. 

So relax, and enjoy as ToniVerse becomes, not just a poetic pun (just in case you never actually knew) on my name, but an insight to my world/life as a graduate.

Butterfly...

As I opened my eyes this morning, 

I stretched.

I didn't stop stretching.

I expanded myself.

I felt my outer shell breaking.

Is this Freedom?

I thought it was.

A spud of excitement grew within

But I kept on stretching, beyond control

Beyond my reach

Beyond the spaces that I actually know.

For a brief second, fear crept in.

I was scared, scared of the unknown

But it stopped.

The fear, the growth, the breaks.

Everything stopped.

I looked down

I was different.

I was beautiful.

I had features unique to myself 

But common to all. 

I wasn't sure what to do with it.

Then I took a step.

But it wasn't a step. 

I was flying

See I had wings

The most beautiful set I had ever seen

I had no ears for those who didn't believe so.

I took off and began to fly

I flew and flew into the darkest night

See all this while I was in a cocoon 

Sheltered from this world.

Hidden in darkness

In what I thought was my comfort zone

Little did I know there was a plan

I thought I could hide from it

Sleep it away

But it was a process...

A development

And now I fly today.

Today I am a butterfly.

I had no plan on writing that poem. I literally put my fingers to the keyboard and began to type and that all came out. I was gonna go on about how it's summer and how as a graduate and that I'm open to new things and how this blog will reflect that and how I've had bad experiences, and how I've been dwelling in them, hiding from the world, but now I'm ready to use them to grow. That was the point of the post, thats IS the point. And being a butterfly metaphorically represents it all. 

...with a dream

A woman with a dream is viewed as many things.
She's looked up to by those 'below'.
She's placed on a pedestal of role modal expectations
Her every move is watched.

A woman with a dream, is considered as lethal
She'll cut anything or one in her way
She'll strive through it all to achieve the end goal
Her actions are being noted

A woman with a dream is considered feminist
Sometimes not by her choice.
For she stands against what the norm
Her ways depict this at least

A woman with a dream can be seen as selfish
After her own fulfilment's in life
When her family at home don't get as much love as her work
Her decisions are intended for her alone

A woman with a dream is considered conflicted
for society expects other things from her
And while she wants those things as well
Her choices are being judged.

A woman with a dream is over ambitious
She's greedy, selfish and self-absorbed.
Her sole focus is herself, she cares for no one else
Her lifestyle is frowned upon.

A woman with a dream is a struggle to be
For there's too many pros vs cons.
And in a a finding the right balance the dream is lost
Thus is the woman too.