EncyclopediaPersonal Growth & Reflection

Personal Growth & Reflection

167 entries.

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Marriage Spectacle and the Defense It Teaches

PoiseSocial · 21 May 2026 · Social Evolution

A meditation on how public discourse around high-profile marital collapse—specifically the Edoho case—transmits destructive defensive postur

Personal Growth & Reflection

Numbers Don't Lie. People Do.

Tino Foy · 4 April 2026

An analytical reflection on the gap between quantifiable data and human interpretation. The writer examines how numbers function as neutral

Personal Growth & Reflection

Protection and the Postponement of Growth

Bimme Audrey · 14 January 2026

A reflection on how well-intentioned parental protection can inadvertently delay the development of essential life skills—communication, ass

Personal Growth & Reflection

Bilingualism as Mirror: A Reflection on National Character

Wandji Wilfred · 19 December 2024 · Social Evolution

The writer challenges Cameroonians' tendency to blame bilingualism for social discord, arguing instead that resistance to language learning

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Polymath's Path: On Creativity Across Boundaries

Tino Foy · 18 December 2024

A reflection on the career of a contemporary polymath designer who moved from streetwear and screen printing to the highest levels of fashio

Personal Growth & Reflection

Proactive Consistency: Lessons From Burna Boy's Rise

Wandji Wilfred · 19 October 2024

Consistency alone does not guarantee growth; what matters is proactive consistency—the willingness to experiment, take risks, and evolve wit

Personal Growth & Reflection

For Better or Worse: On Marriage, Vows, and the Limits of Unconditional Commitment

Tino Foy · 10 October 2024 · Cultural Geography

The writer reflects on the marriage vow—particularly the phrase 'for better or worse'—and argues that while couples should weather life's ci

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Storyteller's Art: Reading Tunde Onakoya's Chess Narrative

Tino Foy · 17 September 2024

A reflection on Tunde Onakoya's storytelling about teaching chess to over 10,000 children across four countries and placing 1,000 on full sc

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Carbon Foodprint: How a Duke Team Made Sustainability Visible in the Dining Hall

Gi Yo Ndzi · 15 January 2024

Norbert Foy and his interdisciplinary team won Duke University's inaugural Masters Impact Challenge by designing a system to display the car

Personal Growth & Reflection

Walk Away: Libianca's Quiet Mastery

Wandji Wilfred · 10 January 2024 · Local Heroes & Figures

This piece celebrates Libianca's EP *In A Way* as a watershed moment for Cameroonian representation in global urban pop, while arguing that

Personal Growth & Reflection

Greatness Against Hype: Apprenticeship and Depth in African Enterprise

PoiseSocial · 8 January 2024

The writer reflects on the gap between online self-presentation and actual competence in African business, arguing that true mastery require

Personal Growth & Reflection

Increasing Your Surface Area of Luck: Nine Practices for Emerging African Professionals

Ngwashi Christabel · 23 July 2023 · Social Evolution

The writer reflects on how she accumulated over $250,000 in grants, scholarships, and international opportunities as a young Cameroonian wom

Personal Growth & Reflection

You Stumble on Your Passion

Tino Foy · 4 June 2023

The piece challenges the contemporary culture of 'finding your passion' as a prerequisite for meaningful work, arguing instead that passion

Personal Growth & Reflection

Soundsation: Mimie's Debut EP and the Question of Label Support

PoiseSocial · 31 May 2023 · Local Heroes & Figures

A critical review of Mimie's first EP project, released amid considerable publicity following a public dispute with her former label. The wr

Personal Growth & Reflection

No One Size Fits It All: On Choosing the Right Measure for Each Moment

Wandji Wilfred · 4 January 2023

Life's circumstances are not binary—neither purely desperate nor purely normal—and they demand different emotional and strategic approaches.

Personal Growth & Reflection

Easier Said Than Done: Excuse or Wake-Up Call

Wandji Wilfred · 2 January 2023

The writer examines the familiar phrase 'easier said than done' and argues that it need not be a shield from responsibility. Instead, it can

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Devil's Errors: Vigilance in Times of Comfort

Wandji Wilfred · 26 December 2022

A meditation on hidden problems—those that masquerade as stability and success until they strike. The writer argues that true problem-solvin

Personal Growth & Reflection

Value Talk: What Can You Offer?

Wandji Wilfred · 21 December 2022 · Social Evolution

The writer argues that social mobility and success depend not on proximity to influential people, but on the deliberate cultivation of one's

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Wall of Bad Ideas

Wandji Wilfred · 20 December 2022

A practical meditation on the patterns of thought and behaviour that reliably lead nowhere—from get-rich-quick schemes to victim mentality t

Personal Growth & Reflection

On Genuinety in Human Relations

Wandji Wilfred · 19 December 2022

The writer explores whether truly genuine human relationships—free from pretense, hypocrisy, and ulterior motive—are possible in a world whe

Personal Growth & Reflection

Five Reasons to Always Keep Learning

Wandji Wilfred · 16 December 2022

Learning is not passive reception but active, conscious choice. This reflection outlines five dimensions—accuracy, self-reliance, leverage,

Personal Growth & Reflection

See the Bigger Picture: Action, Consequence, and the Calculated Life

Wandji Wilfred · 12 December 2022 · Local Heroes & Figures

A meditation on how individual actions ripple outward into larger consequences, using a public incident involving footballer Samuel Eto'o to

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Gift We Don't Use: On Reason, Instinct, and Our Collective Choices

Wandji Wilfred · 4 December 2022 · Social Evolution

The writer examines a paradox at the heart of contemporary life in Cameroon: humans pride themselves on logical reasoning, yet consistently

Personal Growth & Reflection

Six Tendencies That Undermine Our Claim to Logical Reasoning

Wandji Wilfred · 4 December 2022 · Social Evolution

This essay interrogates the gap between humanity's self-perception as rational beings and the widespread behaviors—information consumption p

Personal Growth & Reflection

Building a Career in the Age of Entrepreneurship

Wandji Wilfred · 21 September 2022 · Social Evolution

The writer examines the distinction between having a job and building a career in Cameroon's thriving informal entrepreneurship sector. Draw

Personal Growth & Reflection

Cultural Distress and the Machinery of Consumerism

PoiseSocial · 5 September 2022

The writer distinguishes between genuine hardship and manufactured cultural distress—the invented shame and anxiety that marketing and polit

Personal Growth & Reflection

Kwoh Elonge: The Real Secret to the Success of the Aunty Felicia Character

PoiseSocial · 10 August 2022 · Local Heroes & Figures

This essay examines how Kwoh Elonge's scholarly formation—two master's degrees and a forthcoming PhD—combined with deliberate character cons

Personal Growth & Reflection

Useful Concepts You Should Know (Part 3)

PoiseSocial · 21 July 2022

A curated collection of cognitive biases, logical fallacies, and intellectual tools—from Taleb's insight on overcoming prejudice to Popper's

Personal Growth & Reflection

Useful Concepts You Should Know (Part Two)

PoiseSocial · 16 July 2022

A survey of twenty cognitive biases and reasoning fallacies—from the babble hypothesis to ad hoc rescue—that shape how we lead, categorize,

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Water Theory: Excellence as Anglophone Leverage

PoiseSocial · 13 July 2022 · Social Evolution

The writer argues that Anglophones in Cameroon seeking to overcome marginalization should focus on building excellence and competitive advan

Personal Growth & Reflection

Useful Concepts You Should Know (Part One)

PoiseSocial · 12 July 2022

Poise curates ten psychological and behavioural concepts—from the Gruen Effect to Permission Structures—drawn from social observation and co

Personal Growth & Reflection

Stop Looking for Reasons Not to Be Great

PoiseSocial · 8 July 2022 · Social Evolution

A reflection on how Cameroonians habitually manufacture excuses—infrastructural, political, social—to justify inaction, and how this collect

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Power of Small Acts: Tunde Onakoya and the Chess in Slums Movement

Wandji Wilfred · 8 July 2022 · Social Evolution

The writer celebrates Tunde Onakoya's Chess in Slums initiative in Lagos, which has transformed over 500 children from informal settlements

Personal Growth & Reflection

Karma Does Not Work the Way You Think

Wandji Wilfred · 6 July 2022 · Social Evolution

A reflection on why Cameroonian music perpetuates narratives of cosmic justice and redemption—where wrongdoers eventually face comeuppance a

Personal Growth & Reflection

Samuel Eto'o and the Power of Leverage

Wandji Wilfred · 30 June 2022 · Local Heroes & Figures

This essay examines Samuel Eto'o's ascent to the presidency of Cameroon's football federation and argues that his ability to resolve bureauc

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Discipline Behind the Craft: Mr Leo's Three-Year Education

Wandji Wilfred · 19 April 2022 · Local Heroes & Figures

The writer reflects on Mr Leo's disciplined practice of writing at least two songs daily over three years—not necessarily as literal fact, b

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Camera at Secondary School: Money, Aspiration, and the Entrepreneurial Awakening

Tino Foy · 18 March 2022 · Social Evolution

A writer recalls purchasing a camera on credit during secondary school and building a photography business to bridge the gap between his lim

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Strength of Weak Ties: Why Acquaintances Matter More Than We Admit

Sabina Nforba · 17 March 2022 · Social Evolution

This essay challenges the popular cultural tendency to cultivate only a tight circle of close friends, arguing instead that weak ties—acquai

Personal Growth & Reflection

Talent Is the Beginning, Not the Destination

Wandji Wilfred · 9 November 2021 · Local Heroes & Figures

The writer reflects on natural aptitude for writing and argues that while talent matters, it is discipline, focus, and sustained practice th

Personal Growth & Reflection

What a Singing Contest Can Offer You

Poise (Editorial) · 6 November 2021 · Social Evolution

Singing competitions have long been a pathway to musical visibility and career opportunity, from historical court auditions to contemporary

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Lion of Africa: Mr. Leo's Reinvention as Craft

Wandji Wilfred · 6 October 2021 · Local Heroes & Figures

A reflection on Mr. Leo's album *Lion of Africa* and the artistic shift it represents—from Cameroon's Afropop mainstream toward a more ambit

Personal Growth & Reflection

Valsero: The Lesson in Sacrifice That Many Refuse to Learn

Tino Foy · 19 September 2021 · Social Evolution

Following a sold-out concert in Paris, the writer reflects on what Valsero's success truly represents—not commercial triumph, but the fruit

Personal Growth & Reflection

Stop Fooling Yourself: Why Writing and Reading Still Matter More Than Viral Fame

Wandji Wilfred · 28 August 2021 · Social Evolution

The writer argues that despite the allure of TikTok success, Cameroonians—particularly young people—must prioritize foundational literacy, w

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Stories We Tell: Why Cameroon Needs Its Own Heroes

Tino Foy · 29 July 2021 · Local Heroes & Figures

The writer argues that identity and aspiration are shaped not by events themselves but by the narratives we construct around them. Cameroon'

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Danger of Unasked-For Help: Public Intervention and What People Really Need

Tino Foy · 24 July 2021 · Social Evolution

Poise examines the gap between what we assume people need and what they actually want, using two Cameroonian cases—a girl publicly gifted ma

Personal Growth & Reflection

On Credentials and Capability: Why the Resume Fails to Measure What Matters

Tino Foy · 16 June 2021

A reflection on the gap between formal credentials—degrees, badges, resume markers—and actual competence in creative work. The writer argues

Personal Growth & Reflection

On Stumbling Into Purpose: Why Passion Is Not a Plan

Tino Foy · 4 June 2021

Against the cult of passion-finding, this essay argues that passion is a fleeting feeling, not a fixed destination. The writer proposes inst

Personal Growth & Reflection

On Celebrity Events and the Illusion of Networking

Brenda Chuinkam · 28 May 2021 · Social Evolution

The writer examines the June 2021 visit of Cameroonian celebrity Dencia and guest Blac Chyna, questioning whether the high-ticket event trul

Personal Growth & Reflection

On Women's Complicity: A Call to Reckoning

Trina Mensah · 2 April 2021 · Social Evolution

The writer argues that women bear significant responsibility for their own social circumstances, not only men, pointing to how mothers have

Personal Growth & Reflection

A Well of Greatness: One Woman's Journey from Body Shame to Self-Love

PoiseSocial · 28 March 2021 · Social Evolution

Enang Karen recounts her experience with body shaming from adolescence through university—the isolation, failed weight-loss attempts, and ps

Personal Growth & Reflection

Rise Up, Authentic Woman

PoiseSocial · 21 March 2021

A reflection on authentic womanhood as modeled by Joyce Meyer and biblical figures, arguing that Christian women today must shed the masks o

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Strength of Weak Ties: Why Acquaintances Often Matter More Than Close Friends

Sabina Nforba · 16 March 2021 · Social Evolution

This essay challenges the cultural valorization of tight-knit friend groups by examining the sociological concept of weak ties—casual relati

Personal Growth & Reflection

Is It Wrong If No One Gets Harmed?

Delight Alombah · 9 March 2021

The writer examines a common modern moral principle—that an action is wrong only if it causes harm—and questions whether this framework is a

Personal Growth & Reflection

Should a Gospel Artist Perform at Nightclubs?

PoiseSocial · 7 March 2021

The writer examines a persistent ethical question in Christian circles by moving beyond simple yes-or-no answers. Through biblical reasoning

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Cost of Winning: A Lesson in Business Ethics

PoiseSocial · 24 February 2021

The writer recalls a team-building exercise at a BMW Foundation conference where her team strategically broke rules to win faster, only to d

Personal Growth & Reflection

Multi-Dating as Honest Negotiation: Rethinking Modern Romance

Bella Charis · 17 February 2021 · Social Evolution

The writer proposes open multi-dating—simultaneously dating multiple partners with full consent and transparency—as a corrective to the seri

Personal Growth & Reflection

Diane Audrey Ngako: The Art of Doing More with Less

Wandji Wilfred · 10 December 2020 · Local Heroes & Figures

A portrait of how Diane Audrey Ngako launched her podcast

Personal Growth & Reflection

From Procrastination to Purpose: Mr Oreo's Poultry Farm in Bamenda

Mr Oreo · 25 November 2020 · Local Heroes & Figures

A young farmer in Bamenda overcame procrastination and financial constraints to build a 500-capacity poultry farm on his grandmother's land,

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Art of Doing Much with a Little

Wandji Wilfred · 22 October 2020 · Local Heroes & Figures

A reflection on perfectionism and its costs, contrasted with Tino Foy's pragmatic willingness to create with limited resources. The writer e

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Present as the Measure: Why Cameroonians Must Stop Living in Yesterday

Tino Foy · 7 September 2020 · Social Evolution

The writer argues that Cameroonians—and Africans broadly—are chronically oriented toward either a mythologized past (independence-era prospe

Personal Growth & Reflection

Nobody Wants You to Be Like Nigerians

Tino Foy · 3 August 2020 · Social Evolution

The writer reflects on why Cameroonians often look to Nigeria as a model while resisting accountability at home. Drawing on examples from ev

Personal Growth & Reflection

100% Jeune, 100% Accolades Merited

Wandji Wilfred · 3 August 2020 · Social Evolution

A reflection on the role of 100% Jeune magazine in shaping sexual health literacy for a generation of Cameroonians, contrasted against the s

Personal Growth & Reflection

Blueprint Hakeem: The Textbook Rapper

PoiseSocial · 27 July 2020 · Local Heroes & Figures

A profile of Cameroonian rapper Tse Nebangu (Blueprint Hakeem), celebrated for his consistency, honesty, and craft-focused approach to hip-h

Personal Growth & Reflection

Rap as Existential Confession: On Listening for the Demons

Wandji Wilfred · 9 July 2020

A reflection on why rap music, at its best, resonates so deeply with those who love language—not for technical virtuosity alone, but for its

Personal Growth & Reflection

A Black Man Between Victim and Perpetrator

Tino Foy · 17 June 2020

The writer reflects on the contradictory position of being a Black man in a world that casts him simultaneously as vulnerable to systemic vi

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Art of Restraint: Ngoma and the Case for Quality in Cameroonian Music

Tino Foy · 20 May 2020 · Local Heroes & Figures

This analytical piece examines the artistic brand-building strategy of Ngoma, a Cameroonian rapper who has built recognition through discipl

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Culture Comfort of a Classic Album

Tino Foy · 8 May 2020 · Social Evolution

The writer reflects on how Kanye West's *Late Registration* became a formative anchor during a transformative period of early adulthood in A

Personal Growth & Reflection

Consistency Alone Is Not Enough: What Burna Boy's Rise Teaches Us About Growth

Wandji Wilfred · 7 May 2020 · Local Heroes & Figures

The writer traces Burna Boy's musical trajectory from 2011 to 2019, arguing that his breakthrough was not simply the result of releasing mus

Personal Growth & Reflection

Beyond Money: The Architecture of Cultural Capital

PoiseSocial · 23 April 2020

The writer examines Pierre Bourdieu's theory of capital—economic, social, cultural, and symbolic—to argue that cultural capital (valued know

Personal Growth & Reflection

Thirty Going Twenty, or Eighty Five: Purpose as the Measure of a Life

The Girl Who Could Fly · 27 March 2020 · Social Evolution

A reflective essay on the gap between societal timelines for marriage and the deeper question of personal purpose. The writer traces her own

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Untold Realities of Back-to-Back Child Delivery

PoiseSocial · 26 March 2020 · Social Evolution

A candid exploration of the physical, emotional, financial, and mental toll of bearing children fewer than 18 months apart—a common practice

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Luxury I Could Not Afford: Depression and Single Motherhood

Angwere Miranda · 25 March 2020 · Social Evolution

A single mother recounts her battle with depression and post-natal grief following a friend's suicide, and how the responsibility of caring

Personal Growth & Reflection

Woman, Choose Yourself First

Ndisii Mildred · 16 March 2020 · Social Evolution

A Cameroonian woman interrogates the gendered conditioning that teaches girls to perform femininity and domestic competence for male approva

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Invisible Strength: Single Motherhood in Contemporary Cameroon

Batupe Josey Shefa · 15 March 2020 · Social Evolution

A frank, unflinching account of the realities of single motherhood—the abandonment, the financial strain, the social stigma—and a quiet insi

Personal Growth & Reflection

Understanding Anorexia Nervosa: Causes, Signs, and a Path to Recovery

Christiana Ifeoma · 14 March 2020

This essay examines anorexia nervosa in detail—its psychological and social causes, the constellation of physical and mental symptoms suffer

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Mummy-Nanny Compact: Professionalism, Boundaries, and Care

Ewenye Mbesa Moffah · 8 March 2020 · Social Evolution

A reflection on the fraught emotional terrain of the employer-caregiver relationship in the home, arguing that professionalism—clear contrac

Personal Growth & Reflection

At War with Our Bodies

Ameaka Fatima · 7 March 2020 · Social Evolution

A personal reckoning with lifelong body shame—from a childhood defined by weight and an unfortunate name to the discovery that self-worth ca

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Work-Life Balance for a Single Woman

Hananeel Niba · 3 March 2020 · Social Evolution

A young professional in Yaounde reflects on her deliberate choice to leave the office at 3 p.m. each day to pursue studies, choir practice,

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Trap of Perpetual Beauty Standards

Bella Charis · 17 February 2020 · Social Evolution

A personal reckoning with the impossibility of keeping pace with shifting beauty ideals—from childhood messaging about 'correct' features, t

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Technology Paradox: Why Better Tools Haven't Made Better Art

Tino Foy · 10 February 2020 · Social Evolution

Reflecting on The Sound of Music's enduring artistry despite its 1965 production constraints, the writer asks why contemporary filmmakers wi

Personal Growth & Reflection

Feminism and Proof: On Building Beyond Gatekeepers

Tino Foy · 6 February 2020 · Social Evolution

The writer reflects on his experience facing racial dismissal from a U.S. sociology professor, using it to critique what he calls 'feminism

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Art of Starting Over

Tino Foy · 4 February 2020 · Social Evolution

The writer reflects on returning to Cameroon five years prior with minimal resources and the psychological barriers to reinvention. Drawing

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Art of Starting Over

Tino Foy · 4 February 2020 · Social Evolution

The writer reflects on multiple restarts across his life, most significantly a return to Cameroon five years prior with minimal resources. H

Personal Growth & Reflection

Will Ewube Be Reborn Under Stevens Music?

Wandji Wilfred · 3 February 2020 · Local Heroes & Figures

A critical reassessment of Cameroon-based artist Ewube's musical reinvention, which the writer views as a necessary departure from ragga-dan

Personal Growth & Reflection

Accountability and the Cost of Ambition

Tino Foy · 31 January 2020 · Social Evolution

The writer reflects on Kobe Bryant's death and what stood out most about his character: a refusal to accept hollow commitments or vague aspi

Personal Growth & Reflection

Revaluing What Matters: Beyond Intelligence and Beauty

Bella Charis · 30 January 2020 · Social Evolution

The writer reflects on abandoning sapiosexuality—the attraction to intelligence above all—after recognizing that brilliance without kindness

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Price of Public Speech: On Talent, Communication, and Accountability

Wandji Wilfred · 28 January 2020 · Social Evolution

A reflection on the young Cameroonian musician Fhish's struggle with public communication despite evident talent. The writer argues that his

Personal Growth & Reflection

Leaving the Comfort Zone: On Refusing the Prescribed Life

Bella Charis · 23 January 2020

The writer reflects on a painful lesson in music—being exploited by a foreign artist—that forced her to release an album hastily, only to di

Personal Growth & Reflection

Twelve Ways Men Have Become Soft: A Polemic on Masculine Decline

Mr Mafiaso · 20 January 2020

The writer catalogs perceived failures of modern masculinity—quitting easily, sensitivity to criticism, emotional expression, grooming habit

Personal Growth & Reflection

Pepper as Medicine: A User's Guide to Capsaicin and Health

Dr. Ndifor Judethaddeus · 18 January 2020

This piece surveys the health benefits of pepper—from pain relief and metabolism boost to safer pregnancy outcomes—grounded in the compound

Personal Growth & Reflection

Consistency Alone Is Not Enough: The Lesson of Burna Boy's Breakout

Wandji Wilfred · 17 January 2020 · Local Heroes & Figures

This essay traces Burna Boy's rise from underground artist to global phenomenon, arguing that his success was not simply the result of consi

Personal Growth & Reflection

Speaking Up: Beyond the Myth of Suffering in Silence

Bella Charis · 10 January 2020 · Social Evolution

This essay challenges the cultural valorization of silence and emotional restraint, arguing that suppressing pain and grievance damages ment

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Renaissance of Ewube: On Musical Reinvention and the Courage to Change Course

Wandji Wilfred · 9 January 2020 · Local Heroes & Figures

A critical assessment of Cameroonian artist Ewube's stylistic departure from ragga-dancehall into more mainstream-accessible territory, mark

Personal Growth & Reflection

Vision Boards and the Work They Represent

Wandji Wilfred · 7 January 2020

A practical argument for making a vision board in 2020—not as magical thinking, but as a tool for reflection, visualization, and accountabil

Personal Growth & Reflection

Your Emotions Are More Important Than You Think

Bella Charis · 16 December 2019 · Social Evolution

This reflective essay argues that emotional awareness and expression are essential to human flourishing, not signs of weakness. Through pers

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Physics and Perils of Penile Fracture: A Clinical Note

Dr. Ndifor Judethaddeus · 15 December 2019

A straightforward medical explainer on penile fracture—a real urological injury caused by blunt force to an erect penis—covering its anatomy

Personal Growth & Reflection

Swollen Feet in Pregnancy: When Normal Changes Warrant Medical Attention

PoiseSocial · 7 December 2019

Pedal edema—swelling of the feet and lower legs—is common in pregnancy, caused primarily by increased blood volume and gravitational pooling

Personal Growth & Reflection

Sexual Education in the Pentecostal Household: Eleven Seconds and a Magazine

Wandji Wilfred · 4 December 2019 · Social Evolution

A writer reflects on the poverty of sex education in his own upbringing—a breathless eleven-second warning from his mother—and credits the m

Personal Growth & Reflection

Dear Mama: There's More to Your Daughter Than Meets the Male Gaze

Ucheoma Onwutuebe · 26 November 2019 · Social Evolution

A letter from daughter to mother reflecting on the care and intention behind maternal guidance, while questioning the limiting framework tha

Personal Growth & Reflection

Stanley Enow's Reckoning: From Breakthrough to Reinvention

Wandji Wilfred · 22 November 2019 · Local Heroes & Figures

Nearly a decade after his breakthrough with 'Hein Pere,' Stanley Enow faced a critical juncture: a shift from musician to brand had diluted

Personal Growth & Reflection

A Joyce Babatunde a Day Keeps the Demons Away

Wandji Wilfred · 6 November 2019 · Local Heroes & Figures

A meditation on the artistry of Joyce Babatunde, an Afrosoul musician whose voice and lyricism operate as a form of spiritual balm. The writ

Personal Growth & Reflection

Cameroonians and the Subtle Art of Not Reading

Tino Foy · 5 November 2019 · Social Evolution

The writer argues that Cameroon's cultural resistance to reading—rationalized as preference for brevity or entertainment—amounts to self-imp

Personal Growth & Reflection

Body Shaming and the Work of Self-Knowledge

PoiseSocial · 4 November 2019 · Social Evolution

A personal account of being body-shamed from childhood through adulthood in Cameroon, and the slow, deliberate work of recovering confidence

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Trap of Beauty Standards and the Search for Authentic Self

Bella Charis · 18 October 2019 · Social Evolution

A personal account of growing up under rigid beauty ideals, only to recognize their constant, exhausting mutability. The writer traces her j

Personal Growth & Reflection

Choosing Your Battles: A Lesson in Protecting Your Vital Space

Emmanuel Asafor · 22 September 2019 · Social Evolution

A motorcycle fare dispute in Yaoundé becomes the occasion for reflection on when to engage conflict and when to let it pass. The writer argu

Personal Growth & Reflection

Aaron Sorkin: A Master Class in Dialogue for Cameroonian Screenwriters

Wandji Wilfred · 20 September 2019 · Social Evolution

The writer introduces Aaron Sorkin's body of work—particularly The West Wing, The Newsroom, and films like The Social Network and Moneyball—

Personal Growth & Reflection

Aspiring Musicians: From Problems to Practice

Bella Charis · 30 August 2019 · Social Evolution

This is the second part of a reflection on challenges facing emerging musicians in Cameroon. The writer moves past diagnosis to propose conc

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Chrysalis Trap: Why Cameroonian Aspiring Musicians Remain Unfinished

Bella Charis · 29 August 2019 · Social Evolution

A musician reflects on the structural and psychological obstacles preventing emerging artists in Cameroon from reaching professional success

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Generalist Advantage: Why Being a Jack of All Trades Matters Now

Poise (Editorial) · 27 August 2019

The writer challenges the dismissive reading of 'jack of all trades, master of none,' arguing that generalism—the ability to synthesize know

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Generalist's Advantage: On Mastering Many Things

Poise (Editorial) · 26 August 2019

The writer defends the path of the generalist against the persistent cultural advice to specialize in one domain. Drawing on the full origin

Personal Growth & Reflection

Mama Nguea and the Uncharted Path: What We Owe to Reflection

Wandji Wilfred · 20 August 2019 · Social Evolution

The writer reflects on the spectacle of aging Cameroonian musicians, particularly Mama Nguea, reduced to public appeals for medical aid—a cy

Personal Growth & Reflection

What Briana Lesley's Return Teaches Us About Honest Work

Wandji Wilfred · 7 August 2019 · Social Evolution

The writer reflects on the return of musician Briana Lesley to the music scene after a hiatus, anchoring the piece in her experience running

Personal Growth & Reflection

Moon Face and Pot Belly: Understanding Weight Distribution and Metabolism

PoiseSocial · 3 August 2019 · Social Evolution

This piece examines why adults—particularly men as they gain financial stability or marry—develop facial roundness and abdominal weight gain

Personal Growth & Reflection

Two Years of Poise: A Founding Reflection

Tino Foy · 18 July 2019

On PoiseSocial's second anniversary, the founder reflects on the platform's journey from a single post about makossa music to a sustained pr

Personal Growth & Reflection

When Tenor Speaks in Iambic Pentameter

Wandji Wilfred · 26 June 2019 · Local Heroes & Figures

A close reading of Cameroonian rapper Tenor's technical mastery of syllable stress and rhythm, drawing unexpected parallels to Eminem's prec

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Fundamentals of Weight Loss: Exercise, Diet, and Realistic Expectations

Dr. Ndifor Judethaddeus · 22 June 2019

A practical guide to weight loss grounded in the caloric deficit principle, outlining cardio and strength training protocols, dietary strate

Personal Growth & Reflection

Melissa Ndip's Letter to Her Unborn Daughter

Mom · 19 June 2019 · Social Evolution

Written for Poise's first writing challenge, this letter from Melissa Ndip—a early contributor who died of sickle cell complications days af

Personal Growth & Reflection

Is Technology Killing Our Creativity?

Tino Foy · 16 May 2019 · Social Evolution

The writer examines whether technological abundance—affordable drones, cameras, laptops—paradoxically weakens creative output, using Cameroo

Personal Growth & Reflection

Mental Health in the Age of Disconnection

Poise (Editorial) · 14 May 2019 · Social Evolution

On Mental Health Awareness Week, Poise observes that despite material progress, suicide rates exceed war deaths globally, while social media

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Timelessness of a Brief Life: What Bob Marley Teaches Us About Legacy

Emmanuel Asafor · 12 May 2019 · Social Evolution

The writer reflects on attending a Bob Marley commemoration festival in Douala and considers why a musician dead for nearly four decades rem

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Weight of Legacy: What Tywin Lannister Teaches Us About Living for Something

Wandji Wilfred · 14 April 2019 · Local Heroes & Figures

The writer reflects on Tywin Lannister's singular devotion to family legacy and generational power, seeing in this fictional character a mod

Personal Growth & Reflection

Fifteen Lessons from Game of Thrones: Power, Honour, and the Cost of Ambition

Wandji Wilfred · 11 April 2019

A close rereading of Game of Thrones' first seven seasons yields practical wisdom about leadership, relationships, and survival in corrupt s

Personal Growth & Reflection

Interesting Quotes from Game of Thrones

Wandji Wilfred · 10 April 2019

A curated collection of memorable quotations from Game of Thrones, drawn from the writer's re-watch of the series. The quotes span themes of

Personal Growth & Reflection

Pakgne: The Imperative of Focus

Wandji Wilfred · 22 March 2019 · Social Evolution

A reflection on the rise and creative decline of a Cameroonian webseries, examining how loss of focus—through celebrity collaboration, lifes

Personal Growth & Reflection

On Personal Brand and Commercial Compromise: A Question for Daphne

Wandji Wilfred · 26 February 2019 · Social Evolution

The writer observes a musician's endorsement deal with a flour brand and asks whether the partnership aligns with her carefully cultivated p

Personal Growth & Reflection

On Finding Your Passion: A Counter to the Passion Industry

Tino Foy · 14 January 2019

The writer challenges the popular notion that success requires discovering and building a career around a singular passion. Drawing on the o

Personal Growth & Reflection

Meet Saadat Hasan Manto

PoiseSocial · 9 January 2019

Poise introduces the Urdu writer Saadat Hasan Manto—celebrated for fearless, satirical treatment of social taboos in mid-twentieth-century I

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Art of Presenting Your Work: Why Self-Selling Matters

PoiseSocial · 24 November 2018 · Social Evolution

Poise reflects on a community exercise asking followers to showcase their side hustles, and discovers that most struggled to present themsel

Personal Growth & Reflection

Creativity as a Life Practice: On Permission and Persistence

Tino Foy · 16 November 2018

The writer argues that creativity—the capacity to make something distinctly one's own—is essential to living a meaningful life, and that mos

Personal Growth & Reflection

Felix Fomengia and Light Gate Solutions: Building Value in the Digital Age

Emmanuel Asafor · 7 November 2018 · Local Heroes & Figures

A profile of Felix Fomengia, a self-taught programmer from the University of Buea who has developed over fifteen apps addressing real proble

Personal Growth & Reflection

Anglophone Cameroonians and the Trap of the Superfluous

PoiseSocial · 6 November 2018 · Social Evolution

The writer examines a cultural tendency—particularly visible on social media—to prematurely celebrate and oversell cultural products before

Personal Growth & Reflection

On Reading With an Open Mind

Wandji Wilfred · 31 October 2018

The writer reflects on how reading shaped their thinking and writing, then argues that many people lack genuine reading comprehension—not be

Personal Growth & Reflection

Six Things You Need to Do to Make It in Cameroon

Tino Foy · 29 October 2018 · Social Evolution

A practical manifesto for individual agency in Cameroon, arguing that language competence, self-directed skill-building, continuous educatio

Personal Growth & Reflection

Stanley Enow's Reckoning: When Brand Overshadows Music

Wandji Wilfred · 24 October 2018 · Local Heroes & Figures

The writer examines Stanley Enow's trajectory from breakthrough artist to polarizing figure, arguing that his pivot toward brand-building an

Personal Growth & Reflection

The God Complex Approach to Reading

Tino Foy · 12 September 2018 · Social Evolution

Poise examines why Cameroonians resist deep reading and intellectual engagement, arguing that this aversion to sustained learning—not extern

Personal Growth & Reflection

Wax Dey vs Realm Squad: On Contracts, Ego, and the Limits of Public Opinion

Tino Foy · 4 September 2018 · Social Evolution

When a copyright takedown by LOLHIPHOP Records halted Realm Squad's career progression, public sentiment turned against label owner Wax Dey.

Personal Growth & Reflection

Lessons from Virgil Abloh: The Polymath's Path Beyond Credentials

Tino Foy · 14 August 2018 · Social Evolution

A profile of Virgil Abloh's rise from screen-printing to artistic direction at Louis Vuitton, tracing his journey through mentorship with Ka

Personal Growth & Reflection

Pascal and the Art of Storytelling

Wandji Wilfred · 2 August 2018 · Local Heroes & Figures

A celebration of Pascal, an Anglophone Cameroonian rapper distinguished by his narrative craft in an industry often dominated by catchy but

Personal Growth & Reflection

How to Survive Seven Years of Transition

Tino Foy · 30 July 2018 · Political Culture

The writer argues that Cameroon faces a seven-year period of crisis before entering a transformative third republic, and proposes five pract

Personal Growth & Reflection

Artist Corner: Ndedi Asek and Seven Painting Styles

PoiseSocial · 22 June 2018 · Local Heroes & Figures

Poise celebrates the birthday of Ndedi Asek, a figuratively-oriented painter whose socially conscious work draws from African cultures and s

Personal Growth & Reflection

Why Rich People Don't Have Poor Friends

Jude Idada · 13 June 2018 · Social Evolution

A meditation on the fracture of friendship across economic lines, told through the story of two colleagues whose bond survives career loss b

Personal Growth & Reflection

The University of Buea and the Erosion of Institutional Purpose

Wandji Wilfred · 14 May 2018 · Social Evolution

The writer reflects on a visit to the University of Buea and asks whether the institution has cultivated a coherent identity or aspirational

Personal Growth & Reflection

Undereducated, Underemployed, Disoriented, and Under Control: The Plight of Cameroonian Youth

Tino Foy · 10 May 2018 · Social Evolution

The writer argues that Cameroon's education system, despite proliferating in physical presence, has fundamentally failed its young people. S

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Grayscale Remedy: A Simple Tool Against Smartphone Addiction

Wandji Wilfred · 27 March 2018

Smartphone addiction, now recognized by some psychologists as a genuine behavioral disorder tied to FOMO, stems partly from the deliberately

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Compromise of Craft: Image, Priority, and the Cameroon Arts

C.A · 20 March 2018 · Social Evolution

The writer examines the case of musician Awu and his apparent shift toward commercial appeal and sexual imagery, reading it as symptomatic o

Personal Growth & Reflection

Lessons from Cameroon's YouTube Queens

Wandji Wilfred · 14 March 2018 · Local Heroes & Figures

This essay examines the success of Pakgne, a French-language sketch comedy show by Muriel Blanche and Marcelle Chou, which accumulated over

Personal Growth & Reflection

A Disappointed Fan Confronts Artistic Inconsistency: Reniss After Dan la Sauce

PoiseSocial · 20 January 2018 · Local Heroes & Figures

A devoted listener critiques Cameroonian musician Reniss's release 'Doudou', arguing it falls short of her earlier landmark work 'Dan la Sau

Personal Growth & Reflection

Five Lessons From Dr. Martin Luther King

PoiseSocial · 16 January 2018

This reflective essay draws five practical lessons from Dr. King's life and leadership: the courage to ask "why not," the wisdom to adapt to

Personal Growth & Reflection

Young Holiday's Holiweek: A Philosophical Reading of Cameroon's Rap Future

Tino Foy · 26 November 2017 · Local Heroes & Figures

Poise offers a deep structural reading of Young Holiday's Holiweek EP as a seven-stage philosophical journey through life—from birth and amb

Personal Growth & Reflection

Gasha: Misunderstood or Arrived Way Ahead of Her Time?

Wandji Wilfred · 22 November 2017 · Local Heroes & Figures

A listener and music enthusiast argues that Gasha possesses world-class artistic potential comparable to artists like Asa, Ayo, and Nneka, b

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Unrealised Potential of Gasha

Wandji Wilfred · 22 November 2017 · Local Heroes & Figures

A passionate essay tracing the distinctive artistry of the Cameroonian singer Gasha through her early work, and making the case that she pos

Personal Growth & Reflection

For Self or for the Cause: On Ethics, Attention, and Editorial Principle

Tino Foy · 9 November 2017 · Social Evolution

The writer reflects on a lapse in judgment—reviewing a film obtained improperly before its official release—and uses it as a platform to exa

Personal Growth & Reflection

Troubled Tilla: A Study in Creative Discord

PoiseSocial · 25 September 2017 · Local Heroes & Figures

A reflection on the Cameroonian rapper and singer Tilla's trajectory from a focused artist under BBoy Entertainment to someone fragmented ac

Personal Growth & Reflection

A Letter to My Daughter: On Beauty, Integrity, and Unexploited Potential

Mom · 24 September 2017 · Social Evolution

A mother writes to her daughter from an unpaid internship, offering five hard-won lessons about finding life's beauty in struggle, holding f

Personal Growth & Reflection

Askia at Alpha Better Records: The Cost of Compromise

PoiseSocial · 18 September 2017 · Local Heroes & Figures

A critical assessment of Cameroonian rapper Askia's move to Alpha Better Records, arguing that joining a label built around role models like

Personal Growth & Reflection

A Letter to My Child: On Happiness, Self-Knowledge, and the Weight of Becoming

PoiseSocial · 16 September 2017 · Social Evolution

Glen Amungwa writes to his child with counsel on what truly matters in life: not technology or external validation, but self-knowledge, genu

Personal Growth & Reflection

On Stanley Enow and the Weight of Early Promise

Wandji Wilfred · 12 September 2017 · Local Heroes & Figures

The writer argues that Stanley Enow, despite his breakthrough hit "Hein Pere," has failed to sustain artistic momentum through subsequent re

Personal Growth & Reflection

A Mother's Letter on Beauty, Education, and Becoming Yourself

Mom · 10 September 2017 · Social Evolution

In a letter to her daughter, a Cameroonian mother articulates a vision of beauty rooted in inner virtue rather than appearance, urges schola

Personal Growth & Reflection

Letter to My Daughter: On Beauty, Integrity, and Unexploited Potential

Mom · 26 August 2017 · Social Evolution

A mother writes an intimate letter to her daughter, offering five lessons drawn from her own life: that life's beauty lies in its challenges

Personal Growth & Reflection

Does Pascal Have a Future Without Jovi?

Tino Foy · 24 August 2017 · Local Heroes & Figures

A critical assessment of rapper Pascal's departure from New Bell Music to join Strange Kings, questioning whether his move away from mentor

Personal Growth & Reflection

A Letter to My Son: On Love, Mistakes, and Becoming Yourself

Tino Foy · 23 August 2017

Written as an open letter, the writer distills hard-won wisdom for his son—advice on self-love, the necessity of mistakes, the courage to sp

Personal Growth & Reflection

A Programmer's Gift: Building Access to Technology for Young Women in Cameroon

PoiseSocial · 21 August 2017 · Social Evolution

An engineer reflects on founding a computer programming club at her former secondary school, motivated by her own lack of early exposure to

Personal Growth & Reflection

Must Change Occur with Violence?

PoiseSocial · 11 August 2017 · Social Evolution

The writer argues against the prevalent narrative that systemic change requires violence, contending instead that history's greatest transfo

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Depreciation of Education: When Schooling Replaces Learning

Tino Foy · 7 August 2017 · Social Evolution

The writer examines Cameroon's paradox: rapid expansion of schools alongside a collapsing education system that prioritizes exam performance

Personal Growth & Reflection

The Stories Fathers Never Tell

PoiseSocial · 3 August 2017 · Social Evolution

A reflection on the hierarchical, high-context nature of parent-child relationships in Cameroon, where emotional distance and one-way commun

Personal Growth & Reflection

On Quotation and the Wilde Wit

PoiseSocial · 2 August 2017

Poise presents a curated selection of Oscar Wilde's most memorable aphorisms—sharp observations on human nature, morality, and social preten

Personal Growth & Reflection

Brain Drain or Brain Waste: On Leaving and Returning

PoiseSocial · 1 August 2017 · Social Evolution

The post reflects on six Burundian robotics students who disappeared in the US during a competition, using their choice as a lens to examine