- Sincerely, Jacob
- Posts
- Sincerely, Jacob
What is Malawi?
Of all the countries I told people I’d visit in my adventures through Africa, one of them consistently drew a blank as being a place more real than Narnia or Hogwarts - Malawi.
Since my fascination with geography blossomed in Mrs. Diallo’s Human Geography class back in high school, I’ve always severely overestimated others’ knowledge of the world.
Let me share with you what is “The Warm Heart of Africa”:
Malawi, a country of about 20 million people, straddles the regions of Southern and Eastern Africa. It is a small country relative to it’s neighbors, with the majority of the land following it’s namesake - Lake Malawi.
Cape Maclear
Once called Nyasaland under British rule, independence came to Malawi in 1964 by the good work of the nation’s founder, Kamuzu Banda.
Today, Malawi is a nation renowned for the kindness of its people. Attractions for visitors include Cape Maclear and Nkhata Bay on either end of the lake, national parks such as Liwonde and Majete, along with beloved natural settings in the Zomba Plateau and far reaches of Mulanje.
Malawi holds the unique distinction of never participating in armed conflict. Since I arrived here on September 2nd, I have not once felt a sense of unease or danger.
Peaceful, beautiful, and kind - this is a country I will bring people to in the future.
Doubt and Worry
Confident and steadfast as I am in what I consider to be my noble pursuits, I too am visited by the whispers of doubt and worry along my journey.
To the untrained mind, these whispers can unravel what is greatness in the making.
As with any challenge, the wisdom of those before us often brings valuable perspective.
When I doubt, I remind myself:
"Doubt is such a strange thing. There will be times when you succeed and times when you fail. Wasting time doubting whether you're going to be successful or not is pointless. You just put one foot in front of the other, control what you can control, and then you see what the outcome is. If you win, great, but you have to wake up the next day and do the journey over again. If you lose, it sucks, but you're still gonna have to wake up and do the journey over again anyway."
And when I worry, I recall:
“I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.”
When you realize your mind is a muscle to train like any other, you run out of excuses to fortify it.
Sincerely,
Jacob
P.S. My new existence is a never ending state of light sweating. AC… a distant memory.