I have a confession to make, I have been withholding a big part of my story ever since I decided to pursue journalism while I was in the midst of homelessness nearly six years ago. Though I made no secret of how I went from working at Booz Allen Hamilton to living in rescue missions, I held back from recounting significant parts of that story. My omission was not rooted in maliciousness; a big reason as to why I decided to hold back from telling the full scope of my journey is because I decided to give to God the most sublime part of my two-year odyssey through privation.
Once I realized that the hardships I was enduring had a purpose and that tribulation actually led me away from a life of debauchery as a shisha lounge owner, it was an easy call to stop seeking vindication and instead find gratitude in the midst of poverty. It was because I made a decision to stop being bitter that God saw it fit for me to do better. I know for a fact that I would still be in Colorado working minimum wage jobs and living a life of destitution had I remained steadfast in exacting revenge and proving that an injustice was committed against me.
However, in all honesty, there is another reason I made the choice to self-censor is because there are parts of my experience that are too incredible to believe. Though I don’t necessarily believe that Jonah in the Bible was eaten by an actual whale—I think his ordeal was more of a parable, as in the whales of depression, anxiety or even homelessness can come for us if we disregard the voice within God that speaks to us—if I stipulate it was an actual living whale that swallowed him up, imagine what his life becomes once he gets out of the belly of the beast.
Imagine that Jonah is walking back to his village after the great escape and he runs into his boys. When they ask “hey Jonah, where have you been homey”, how does he respond? How will he be judged if he tells them that he was swallowed up by a whale for three days? Would they believe him or would they judge him as being crazy? I think the answer is evident. There are certain things that happen to all of us that are so out of the norm and fantastical that it’s better to remain mum than try to convince others about what we have been through.
Well, let’s just say I have a whale of a story to tell about how I became homeless in 2015. Consider this article a preview, I am still in prayer hoping that I convey that story not for the sake of my ego but for a greater purpose. I feel compelled to recount my experiences six years after the fact because of the insanity of current events taking place before us. Considering what our government is proposing and the lengths they are going to strip away our rights and our liberties, what happened to me in 2015 is no longer far-fetched.
I’m going to convey my story through the prism of self-reflection, observations rooted in faith and a deconstruction of the veiled agendas that are being implemented in plain sight while too many of us are distracted by our differences. I am going to lean on my lineage to my forefather Atse Tewodros II nee Kassa Haile who was one of Ethiopia’s greatest kings. I don’t mention this fact to brag, I learned the hard way through a nearly one-year bout of depression when I stopped writing last year, the dangers of using the gift that God gives all of us to stroke one’s ego. I bring up my lineage not to boast but to make a point about true servants who give to the people and serpents who use their status to bleed humanity.
Consider this article a preview of a broader article that I will be published in the next 48 hours. I’m going to take my time with this because the message I’m trying to convey is too important for me to rush through it. In the meantime, below is a rough draft of sorts—a brainstorming tweet of sorts—where I kind of had a stream of thought about what I untimely want to write about.
THREAD
Revelations 2:9 and Servants vs Serpents??
The next article I’m going to write, to be published within 48 hours, is one that I’ve been contemplating and praying about. I have to make sure, beyond all doubt, that I write it not from a place of ego but
— Teodrose Fikremariam (@Teodrose_Fikre) August 11, 2021
Let me just state this given a question that someone asked me on Twitter because he was concerned about me given that I am writing about topics that can upset off a lot of powerful people who commit atrocities as a hobby. For the record, even though I lost my mom last year to Covid-19 and the stresses of living through a pandemic are at times unbearable, I am nonetheless blessed and grateful. After enduring nearly two years of destitution, I am gainfully employed, married and have a son who is the light of our world.
Though I get censored all the time, though I at times get anxious about losing my job because of my outspokenness, what I will not do is remain silent out of fear of what others will do to me. I am the son of an Ethiopian naval officer who apparently had a lot more to his story than he ever told me. Both of my grandfathers fought against Mussolini during WWII as military officers and so did my maternal grandmother. I too could have followed my family’s legacy of warriors had I not committed foolish mistakes that prevented me from attending West Point.
Where I did not serve with soldiers whom it would have been an honor to call brothers and sisters, I nonetheless served military personnel in both a professional and an impoverished capacity. I learned more from veterans over the years, especially when I was sleeping on donated mattresses and occasionally concrete pillows, far exceed the indoctrination I received while pursuing an MBA at Johns Hopkins University. I am forever in awe of men and women who put on the uniform, where I cannot salute you out of respect, I will forever admire your grit and tenacity in service of a cause greater than yourselves. This dispatch is dedicated to you, I trust you know what to do with it.
My forefather Atse Tewodros II stood up to the British crown and refused to cower at the might of their military. These colors do not run; I do not fear Biden nor the globalist snakes he salutes. There are some who get so drunk off power that they start committing irrational acts that can lite a fuse and lead to drastic actions. We are witnessing their irrationality now as they push people into corners, they keep bullying the suffering masses at their peril. Just like Paris during the French Revolution, one second the aristocracy are comfortable, the next they became basket cases.
Like my birthland #Ethiopia, humanity is nearing a point of no return. If we do not wake up soon from this in social and mainstream media induces comas, we too will know the pains of Ethiopians who have been crying for 50 years. Click To TweetLet me end this preview article of sorts with a note of encouragement for everyone, these people whom we think are all-powerful are cowards. The same way that Romania’s once depot Nicolae Ceauşescu turned into a spineless jellyfish the minute the people united against him, these public serpents we worship will be reduced to sniveling dogs the minute we get over our differences.
To be continued…
- A Personal Reflection, an Observation about Revelations 2:9 and an Urgent Clarion Call for Action - Preview - August 11, 2021
- Delta Farce: the Variant Propaganda Dismantled Root to Stem and Biden’s “Shielding Approach” Exposed - August 10, 2021
- A Note to the Unjabbed: Stand Your Ground, Don’t Risk Your Life for Restaurants, Movies or Paychecks - August 9, 2021
