Prof. Monda: Self Care Is Not Selfish-It Is Survival

I am at that point in life where retirement is not a distant thought anymore. Some days, I imagine a quiet life in Kenya, warm mornings, familiar streets, neighbors who have  known me since I was young.

Other days, I think about staying in America where the systems work better but the air feels heavier.

I have not decided yet. Maybe I never fully will.

My name is David Monda. Some call me Prof. Monday and I am a professor of political science at  City University of New York

I have lived long enough to know that America and Europe are complicated places. There is beauty-yes-but also shadows. I have seen xenophobia, racism, and the quiet ways people make you feel like an outsider.

And yet, I have also seen how a game of football can dissolve all of that for ninety minutes. I am a Liverpool fan. In the roar of the crowd, no one asks where you are  from. Sport has that magic. It reminds me that connection is still possible.

I was born in Nairobi, in Lang’ata. Our house sat right in the flight path from Wilson Airport.

I would stand outside and watch the planes pass overhead, wondering where they were going and who they were carrying. Those moments made the world feel big and full of possibility.

My first job taught me something I still live by: Kill the ego. Don’t take life too seriously. Learn the difference between what you can change, what you can’t, and how to tell them apart. It is harder than it sounds, but it is the only way to keep your peace.

If I could talk to my younger self, I would keep it simple: Live in the moment. Time runs faster than you think. And don’t chase a crowd-have a few true friends, and guard them well.

These days, my values are the compass I use when the road gets messy.

Love: because it’s the only thing that can cut through hate.

Hope: because life can be brutal, but there’s always a better day coming.

Honesty: because it keeps you real, and sets the boundaries that protect your peace. Life has too many fakers already.

Here is the truth?

I am still carrying rocks I need to put down. Family drama is one of them-it drains you, pulls you into storms you did not start.

But I have learned: self-care is not selfish. It is survival.

May the day Break!