I’ve always been the kid who asked “why” one too many times.
“Why does the moon follow me?”
“Why do we wear uniforms?”
“Why do I have to go to school?”
Growing up in Nigeria, where both spoken and unspoken rules press down like Lagos heat, I learned early that “why” can be dangerous. But here’s the truth: asking “why” is the first act of freedom.
In societies like ours, children are shaped to fit into neat boxes. You’re told to speak a certain way, dress a certain way, and dream within limits. Step outside that, and suddenly you're “disrespectful” or “too stubborn.”
Take respect, for example. It’s treated as something owed by age, not earned by character. You’re expected to kneel, to greet, to obey, whether or not the person on the other end is kind, honest, or worthy.
That never sat right with me, just like a lot of other things they said we had to accept.
The Ungovernable Journals is me choosing not to shrink. Just sharing, thinking out loud, questioning everything.
Being ungovernable is not about breaking rules for the sake of it. It’s about refusing to shrink into society’s idea of “normal.”
It’s me, a 23-year-old navigating the chaos of the world, asking questions that don’t have easy answers. Like, how do you chase dreams when the economy feels like a trap? How do you stay true when everyone’s shouting what “true” should be?
It’s searching for truth that feels like mine, not the one handed down in whispers and warnings.
I’m still trying to figure things out. Some days I get it right. Other days, I just make oats at 2 a.m. and wonder what the hell I’m doing. This journal is for all of it. The clarity, the mess, the wonder. This journal is where I’ll share my wins, my doubts, and the moments that make me feel alive.
If you’ve ever felt like you don’t fit in, maybe you’re not supposed to.
So, what’s your “why”?
What makes you unapologetically your best self? What makes you ungovernable?
P.S: The cover image is from Marcus Walinder's “In the Blink of an Eye” art series. His work is beautiful. Feel free to check him out on Instagram.
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Alexander
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Back with the 38th edition of Paragraph Picks, spotlighting some great writing over the past week or so. There's so much great writing on Paragraph these days — it's been awesome to experience the growing difficulty of choosing only six posts! Onto this week's picks ⤵️
@naaate explains how onchain infrastructure is laying the groundwork for a new kind of business, one that operates natively on the internet & is governed by code rather than institutions. "Far from being cold or robotic, removing bureaucratic layers can enhance our capacity for human connection." https://paragraph.com/@nate/internet-business
@raulonastool explores how the current financial framing of blockchain limits its potential, arguing that only by shifting its context (from speculation to participation) can we unlock true creative and cultural power. "We’ve built vending machines for speculation, not playgrounds for participation." https://paragraph.com/@raulonastool/the-interface-is-stuck
@the-cynic reflects on growing up questioning societal norms in Nigeria and introduces his journal as a space for radical self-inquiry, personal truth, and the messy search for freedom. "But here’s the truth: asking “why” is the first act of freedom." https://paragraph.com/@stay-ungovernable/the-ungovernable-journals-an-intro
like these picks a lot! 👍
one day im gonna make your list: challenge accepted ✅
today i spent 30 minutes writing a stream of consciousness vomiting anything that came out without judging it and without trying to give it any direction. it just happened and i allowed it to happen. most of the time i was actually judging myself and what was coming out. but i allowed that to be and actually wrote about that. it felt like an ongoing and eternal rant that could have gone on and on. it has been going on and on and on. every time that i write like that. it keeps going. but something new that i have been doing is sending it to an ai to have it help me make sense of my nonsense. what’s the actual value of that process? what am i not seeing? what is hiding behind my tendency to judge myself? and what came back was actually super helpful. healing. it opened a door for actually wanting to do it more. as @tokenizedhuman told me a few hours ago, writing is a skill. the more you do it, the more you recognize yourself as you are doing it the more your voice manifests through the nonsense of “you”
this is really insightful. what i do is record myself ranting and then listen at a later time to take apart and digest my thought process before putting pen to paper. can i ask what prompt you gave the AI?
you could 100% transcribe that and send it to an ai. it helps a lot. this is the prompt that im using these days: https://gist.github.com/jpfraneto/23e0f91e8809c41ed38839d4622f5652 it was stolen from here. recommended app https://x.com/FarzaTV/status/1910789505722036357
oh. thank you so much. i'll check it out.
I did it! I published my first post on @paragraph Please give it a read and let me know what you think, guys.