Slave Trade, Colonialism and Europe's Disservice to Africa
Out of over 50 countries in Africa, only two are said to have never been colonised by the Europeans. The two countries include Ethiopia – for their strong resistance and Liberia – which was more of a land for freed slaves from America. You see I recently read a publication which cemented in my head that colonialism didn’t happen by chance, it was a well planned mission to squeeze out raw materials for the benefit of Europe and its people.
You see, before colonialists took root in Africa, slave trade had begun and ended, and the trading of humans to be used as slaves in America and Europe I can argue was one of the reasons industrial revolution came so early in the western world. To simplify this, slavery provided cheap/free labour for maximum work time, and most of these slaves had worked in farms producing food crops. Abundant food leads to increase in population and increase in population demands lots of manufactured goods, thus, to meet this demand, there was need for industrialisation, which marked the birth of industrial revolution in the 19th century.
You see the problem I think wasn’t expected was that industrialisation came with the end of slavery which marked a decrease in agricultural produce (food crops and cash crops). For a balance in production, there had to be a sustainable supply of raw materials for these industries and food for the growing population. And where best to get raw materials and food than in an underdeveloped continent endowed with abundant untapped natural resources, cheap guaranteed labour, and favourable weather conditions for cultivation of both cash crops such as cocoa, oil Palm, groundnut, cotton, rubber, etcetera and food crops.
Of course, at this point, slave trade had been abolished, and even if it wasn’t, it will be very difficult to enslave a man for nothing in his own home. So, what’s the best way to get what you want? Colonialism. At that time, Africa as a whole was what some will call a primitive economy was based on barter system. European nations shared what they could get among themselves and tapped resources they could. I suppose they couldn’t trust Africans to do the job, neither could they trust Africans to efficiently use the capital they hope to invest, hence, the need to colonise and impose:
Their language for ease of communication;
Their currency for ease of exchange.
The main reason for this was so they can get constant raw materials for industries in Europe, and also, Africa can serve as a market for their industrial products. But the primary objective was sustainable supply of raw materials. Colonialism was a necessary tool to impose their whims to fuel their selfish interests. The colonialists controlled price of locally produced raw materials and imported manufactured goods keeping the former cheap and the latter relatively expensive. This was also a masterstroke as taxation was also imposed and in ‘their’ currency, so as to force the people to work for money in their mines and plantations.
In Nigeria for example, during the colonial era, mined raw materials and agricultural produce (cash crops) were the major economic goods, just for the sake of industries in Europe. Tonnes of raw materials are shipped to America and Europe yearly via the Atlantic ocean. Up till this day, this has affected the Nigerian economy and the African economy as a whole. The continent is till decades behind on infrastructure and technology. And till this day, we still walk the path paved by the colonialists by playing the role forced upon us in terms of production of raw materials for the benefit of Europe, America and the world market.
Nigeria for instance is one of the largest producers of crude oil, yet, still imports products from refined crude oil. This is like owning a cattle farm, selling out your cow and buying milk and meat from those you’ve sold your cow to.
Although, colonialism arguably brought development in to Africa railway, the mining industry, as well as a stance in the international market, I must express my disappointment in Africa and its leaders. For some reason, we seem to still be caught in the western web that has made colonialists have their way with us in the past.
I remember reading a book, and I saw the following quote in it:
*“You see, they are not in the least like ourselves. They don’t need and can’t use the luxuries that you and I must have. They have the animal capacity to endure the pain of, shall we say, domestication.”*
I remember reading this from Anthills of the Savannah, a book by Chinua Achebe. He had mentioned that it was the words used by a white man describing the entire black race.
Looking past the vile racism in those words, you can see that the Europeans didn’t think much of Africans and all the luxury that we can have in our own continent, we do not need. They need it, so they should have it. I believe that pretty much sums up the colonialists view.
The colonialists in a selfish attempt of getting what it needed did a disservice to Africa. First of, transportation routes and infrastructural development were concentrated at convenient places. Encouraging production of export products led to the Africans abandoning the production of crops for local market and this lead to the import-export economy which is practically what the African economy is about.
Also, the colonialists never for once intended to industrialise Africa, as that would mean production of cheaper manufactured goods which will displace the expensive imported manufactured goods from Europe and America. And to ensure this was so, the colonialists education was centered around literary studies and not technology. Prior to colonialism, Africans were into craftsmanship, which was a slow but sure way of improving on their technological development. But, the imposed role of production of raw materials completely destabilized technological advancement in Africa.
Perhaps I will continue this later.
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
It is Either This or That
Hello beautiful people, I have been seeing this particular trend and that all over my notifications and I wanted to join in as it would help people get to know me better in terms of my preference. Let’s begin, shall we?
**TALLER or SHORTER**
I like choose shorter. I wonder why a guy would choose taller, unless of course the want to add tall Gene to the gene pool so as to give their offspring a chance.
**TALKATIVE or QUIET**
This is tricky. I prefer someone who knows when to be quiet and when to be a talkative. So, in general, a quiet talkative 😂😂😂
**OPPOSITE or SAME SEX**
Definitely opposite sex, no homophobic, even though it is illegal to be in my country as there is a steep penalty for it, not to mention the stern frown of the society on it. It is not easy be homosexual in my country, no one would even come out to eat that they are homosexual. They are all in the closet 😅. So, opposite sex it is.
**SHORT or LONG HAIR**
I really have no preference when it comes to this. But I must say that I really like long natural hair. But I don’t mind if you decide to cut yours, long as you are comfortable in it
**WESTERN or ASIAN**
Race doesn’t matter to me really, it all depends on the person. Love knows no bounds or race or tribe.
**SPORT or MUSIC**
I am a fan of both, so I really have no preference. But if I put it in perspective , I would rather be with someone who hates sport and love music rather than someone who hates music and love sports
**HOT or NERD**
I will always pick nerd as I am somewhat sapiosexual. But nerds tend to be socially awkward people, that’s one of the nerdy characteristics. So in my head, I take the question to be HOT or SMART. So yeah, someone smart over someone hot.
**OLDER or** YOUNGER
Though, I have had a thing with someone who was two years older than me, so I don’t mind really, long as she’s not much older than me (3 years max) but if I had to choose, I’d pick younger.
**GO OUT or STAY IN**
I will pick someone that goes out, just so she can make me go out more. I also don’t mind staying in and us having quality fun time indoors too. After all, I can just order for the food to be delivered to us.
**MOVIES or KARAOKE**
I am a terrible singer, and just so I don’t damage people’s eardrum with my voice, let’s just stick to watching movies 😂😂😂
**LOOKS or PERSONALITY**
Why would anyone pick looks over personality? 🤔 Perhaps because you can change people’s personality for the better but not looks eh? Beauty they say is in eye of the beholder. I’d pick personality. Looks fade over time, personality doesn’t.
**WEAR GLASSES or NOT**
This might come as a surprise, but every girl I like(d) actually use glasses. Some have called it a fetish, but it is merely a coincidence 😂😂😂
**SHY or OUTGOING**
I like a mix of both. But I also like me a girl with a mind of her own. And she’s only shy when it comes to mushy stuffs. 😁☺️
**EARLY BIRD or NIGHT OWL**
I am in between these two. But tilting more to being an early bird. I would prefer one who can be either when we want to be.
**TEXT or CALL**
Depends on the situation really. If u want to have long conversations, I prefer calls. As it is easier to talk and not get bored, and something about the spontaneous response to what I say, and listening to the message hidden in your tone and reactions. Texting is slow and I only prefer it for emergency.
**FLIRT or BE FLIRTED**
Well, I have been called a flirt, but it so happens that I am a smooth guy with words. And you know, maybe one two flirtations in between. But I also like when someone flirts with me. I think I prefer that in fact. Since flirting comes natural for me. 😅
**HUG or KISS**
I would pick hugs. Since it’s easier to hug people than kiss them. Plus, there is something particularly soothing and calming about hugs. So yeah, hugs it is!
**POLITE or FUNNY**
I have a great sense of humour, so I would prefer FUNNY. Not to say polite is bad, but I’ll pick funny over polite.
**DRINK or NOPE**
Not really a fan of alcohol, but it wasn’t specified though. I like to drink tea and water. But not alcohol. Only alcohol I dig is red wine, and it is more of an acquired taste.
**COLD or ROMANTIC**
Definitely romantic, why would anyone pick a cold person 😂😂
**EX or SOMEONE NEW**
Well, this is tricky, as it is usually difficult for me to start building relationships from scratch. Talking and getting to know each other can take a long time, and as a lazy person who also loses interest in things quite easily, I’d pick an ex, simply because I don’t have to go through all the introduction phase all over again. But the decision greatly depends on the reason we broke up in the first place.
**SOMEONE YOU LOVE or LOVES YOU**
This is a very difficult question, and I couldn’t think of a better question to end this with. You see, this is a classical case of your heart being in one place and your mind being in another. And oftentimes, the heart ends up triumphant. I have been in such this situation where I had to pick between the two. And two times I have had to make the choice, I made two different choices on both occasions. When I chose who loves me, it didn’t go well, as I couldn’t bring myself to love her back. And the right thing to do was to let her go. The time I chose who I love, would seem to be the best choice since the feeling became mutual. But things could have gone the other way around, so there really isn’t a better choice when it comes to this.
That would be all for this and that, I had deliberately answered all the questions and look how long it turned out to be.
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
Thanks to @BCH-lover for the sponsorship renewal, I appreciate your support 🤗🤗
A Realist Who Became an Optimist
It is the start of a new week. Yes, I am one of those who believes the week starts from Sundays, so I think it shouldn’t be included as part of the weekend. After service in church, I went out to visit one of my aunts, and it’s always a pleasure to visit her. Actually, she is my favourite aunt.
During my time there, we engaged in off and on random questions and answers mixed with what some would call conversations. Well, I got to find out that a burial ceremony I had thought I’d likely attend because I will likely have the time to, although I have been caught between going and not going because it will likely involve me being busy with work and all we the youngest person in the 'gang'.
Although, nothing is certain yet, and there is a chance I’ll probably go, I have decided not to force anything to play out how I want it to. Lately, random events that I would have termed a misfortune are proving to be blessings in disguise. Because school is not in session, every day is now more or less the same to me. Stay at home and do what you can do as it comes. Nothing substantial whatsoever to take me out of the house daily unless of course errands or a conscious decision by me to do so.
The good side to this is that; I get a lot of time on my hands to do what I want to do, but the problem with this is that all the things I want to do require me having a phone. As I have said in previous articles, I am currently without a phone and this great misfortune has enabled me catch up on a lot of sleep and given me enough time to indulge in actual one-on-one conversations with people as well as think deeply. I like to think, only if it wouldn’t be weird to say thinking was one of my hobbies. Although it is considered bad for one’s health, I can’t think about just shutting off my mind from wandering streams and chains of thoughts with the most unusual connections.
I have found myself being optimistic these days, and that is a far cry from my usual self: who is a realist – A hybrid of a optimist and a pessimist – or so I like to think. But it is easy for people to tag people like me a pessimist. Wait! I feel like I am drifting off into something else. Could this be the side effect of l your mind having so much time to roam different dimensions of thoughts?
Not like I particularly had something in mind to write about when I started this particular article, although, there are many other pending articles I had initially planned to write, and wanted to use this night as my article night to write as many articles I had thought of writing during the day. The weird thing about this one I am writing right now is that it had initially started normal and Midway became a challenge to see how many words I can type in a space of four minutes. Could I type a four minutes read article in four minutes? Which do you think is easier to do, Writing or Reading?
Wait, I drifted out of the line again. Pardon me. Okay I was talking about the benefits of being without a phone for over a week now. Asides better sleep and better conversation with people physically, I think I have actively been tilting towards my optimistic side. I am seeing the positive side of everything and even when I don’t see the positive side, I just believe there is one and move on. I won’t deny that it has been a much easier way to live, as there is something less burdening about it.
Whatever the case may be, I look forward to the rewards of my optimism and maybe it is optimistic of me to think there is a reward for optimism. If there is no future reward, at least there is an instant benefit of being free and feeling light. Oh, allow me to drift one last time, I just want to say that I haven’t been on Twitter for over a week, and I feel like I have lost my connection to the world. Hehehe.
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
Religion and Tradition: The Pillars of Society
Buenas noches beautiful people. I know I have been away for about a day now, many factors came into play to ensure that was possible. But on the bright side, my Field Practical Training has officially ended yesterday. I was feeling nostalgic leaving the hotel that I had lived in for the past four weeks, and even more so as I watched my classmates drive off, as they journey back to the state my school is located.
I couldn’t go back with them because academic staff of universities in my country are currently on strike, and it was extended by another 8 weeks just last Monday. Coupled with the fact that I currently don’t have a phone and would be bored out of my mind if I had gone back to my lodge in school which will most likely be deserted because of the strike.
It is easier to go back home to my family, since I can use my sister’s phone when she’s at home. In fact, I wrote this article using her phone. Also, I hope coming home would hasten the process of solving my phone issues, so it was a convenient as it was optimistic decision to stay back, and not return back with my classmates.
Moving on to the main topic of today, I was in the bathroom yesterday, preparing for departure when I heard my classmates having general prayer. I couldn’t help but think about how the role of religion in the society. Only a few things really bring people together despite their differences. And I say this because of the bickering that had ensued among my classmates the day before.
It brings to mind a quote from a book I had read years ago (Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe)
*“Does the white man understand our custom about land?”*
*“How can he when he does not even speak our tongue? But he says that our customs are bad; and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us? The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.”*
Here, Achebe had pointed out the power of religion, because it has the power to cut through custom and tradition which binds a community together, and gives them a sense of brotherhood.
Although, some have argued that Christianity was the strategy used by colonialists to fight against whatever resistance they may encounter, but this article is not for the purpose of debating that. Besides, Islam was one of the prominent religion in the country at that time, and it was brought into the country, because it didn’t originate here too.
More to my point, as I was walking on the road yesterday, I observed many people moving towards a location, only to look up and see that it was Muslim faithful, hurriedly going to a prayer (Jumat). I stood a while and looked at so many people, together for the sole purpose of praying for a better life. I must say it was aesthetically pleasing to my eyes. Watching them move in unison, up and down, like everything had been rehearsed to perfection had always pleased me.
I remember a time as a child, I was passing by a mosque, and seeing them pray, I observed and saw people outside washing their head, hands and feet before going into the building. I decided to follow the trend. The way I hurriedly washed myself, it was obvious I wasn’t one of them, and just because I stepped into the building, someone held me back and asked what I was doing. I remember saying that I wanted to join the people inside. Little did I know I wasn’t qualified if nothing, at least, I wasn’t a Muslim.
**CONCLUSION**
Somehow, religion and tradition has come to be the two pillars that hold the society together. People do not take tradition and religion lightly. Only sport I would say can bring people together as much as these two. There are the very thread that hold the fabric of society together, and I am sure if Achebe was alive today, he would agree with me.
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
Sometimes, I Try
I have spent most of the last two days assessing things. A lot of things randomly fall under '*things*' but this is a routine assessment exercise I indulge in every now and then. It helps me evaluate things in general such as my personal relationships and how much has changed since the last time.
Today, I am writing about an event that happened on Monday. One of my classmates had called out every member of the class to a party. It was her birthday before, and she hadn't been around, so she decided to do a little celebration with the class. It was time, and virtually all of us came out to the gathering, we had started with some introduction, for the sake of the party, and then started playing party games.
It was fun I must admit. Even for me who is not exactly a fan of parties and public gathering. You see, even with all those jokes and fun going around it got to a point it seemed I have had my fair share of fun and just sat down watching everything and everyone do their thing. I was reading a post by @HappyBoy titled Anti-social or not, and I could relate to a lot of what he wrote. My friends will often find it unusual when I am calm and quiet. https://read.cash/@HappyBoy/anti-social-or-not-896fb125
In my freshman year, I was basically all by myself, and had just one person as a friend. I usually spend most of my time in the library reading books. And I must admit that had a lot of impact in my life. It's sad that my reading has drastically dwindled over the years. I guess the point I am trying to make is that I was an introvert then.
I only started having friends in the university in my sophomore year. I had told myself that the first year had been to observe and study those I'd like to befriend. Well, anything to make you not think you're antisocial or introverted. I created a circle of friends, needless to say a small circle, but time has a way of turning circles to trapezium and trapezium to triangle.
I have always been the kind of friend who will visit you ten out of ten times we hang out. I like to go all out in relationships. But this comes with a flaw rooted on the foundation of expectation of balance. As I fan of homeostasis, I very much crave balance in every system,and even in the system of friendship. Oh well, this is me digressing and skating into the zone of free writing.
As I was saying, shuffling between School when we it is in session and home when we are on holidays really puts into perspective how I am not the same person. At home, I am usually more quiet and rarely initiate conversations. In school. I have my friends around and it is usually all laugh and jokes. My dad would often say he doesn't understand how I can be in a dark room all day; because I like to drop the curtains and switch the light off. I always prefer the room dark and it is mostly because my eyes are very sensitive to light.
Aside the fact that I don't like going out to public places, most of the people I grew up with at home are usually not around when I am holidays. Surely, everyone is up and about with their lives, for one reason or the other. That is not to say that I don't go out sometimes. I can be fun when I want to be. But I usually just stay home watching a show on my phone or surfing the internet reading random things. This is fun too.
It is not like I am suffering from schizophrenia, thus, why I am two persons at home in school. I will say there is similarities between both behavior, the only difference is that home lacks the friend factor I have in school, which can act as environmental stimulus to trigger a certain response from me.
Wait, I feel like I just wrote everything and nothing. Turned out I dived back into free writing. Hahaha. Well, sometimes, I try.
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
Confidence vs Pride
Hola beautiful people, I trust everything is going smoothly, if not, believe it will soon. Keep the optimism and everything will turn out fine. Today, I have been home lazying around and since my group finished our field practical training earlier than expected. I have till Thursday to rest before we leave on Friday. In between resting and doing nothing, my mind has wandered around and I caught myself between a two words which are often mistaken for one another.
Oftentimes, **confidence** or more specifically self-confidence is usually mistaken for **pride**. They are two different words, and by no means synonymous. Truth is that, people’s perception is often magnified by the glass through which they see you. Thus, why one can easily mistake your confidence for pride and ego. Now, let’s get down to the business of today.
**MEANING**
According to Oxford English Dictionary, Confidence is the feeling that you can trust, believe in and be sure about the abilities or good qualities of somebody or something.
While pride is a feeling of pleasure or satisfaction that you get when you or people who are connected with you have done something well or own something that other people admire.
**SIMILARITIES**
From the definitions above, it is clear to understand that confidence and pride have two different meanings, they do have similarities, in that they are feelings associated with one's self or feeling in someone else or something. And one can see why one can be mistaken for another. As the similarity is evident.
Usually, it is easy for others to mistake your confidence in something or your ability when they don't share the same feeling as you. Sometimes, it could stem from envy or inferiority complex, and the only way for them to feel better about their ill feeling is to brand your confidence as pride.
**DIFFERENCES**
Confidence involves feeling certain about one's ability, or someone else's abilities or on something such as a machine. The advantage of confidence is that it can be infectious and have a good effect on other people. For instance, if I believe in the abilities of a friend and I assured them of the confidence I have in them, it can be a confidence booster for said friend too. Also, having confidence can help one deal with anxiety, as it is a thing and a serious one that can have negative effects.
Pride on the other hand has to do with pleasure gotten from admiration of one's ability or possession or someone else's whom we are familiar with. Pride often puts people off and repel them from us. Pride can be imaginative and ill conceived, as it stems from one's self. A person may have the false impression that their ability or possession is admired or envied by others, then they have false pride in that.
**CONCLUSION**
Pride and confidence are two different terms and feeling, and I must admit that it can be difficult to know the difference between both, as there is a thin line between them. That is not to say they are two sides of a coin and having pride in someone else isn't necessarily bad. I can be proud of someone I know because of what they have done or accomplished and this is me having pride in them. I guess the pride I am talking about is the one in one's self. In other words, **Narcissism**. That should have been the word instead, and since it is my lazy day, I am unwilling to make the necessary changes to the article. So, I'll leave you with a few inspirational quotes.
*"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained."*
***— MARIE CURIE***
*"When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things."*
***—JOE NAMATH***
*"Pride is an admission of weakness; it secretly fears all competition and dreads all rivals."*
***— FULTON J. SHEEN***
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
My Drunken Story
This a me writing for a prompt initiated by @meitanteikudo . Came across it when I was reading his post Drunkeness and a Leg Fetish. So, here goes: https://read.cash/@meitanteikudo/drunkeness-and-a-leg-fetish-660c3a2a
**When and what was your first alcoholic drink?**
I honestly do not remember when, neither do I remember what drink it was as there were times I started with one or two sips from cups. But I do remember the first time I bought alcohol to drink out of curiosity, and it was Bullet. I was curious to know what it tasted like, so I bought and drank it before I got home.
**When was the first time you got drunk?**
I remember vividly it was January 1st 2017. 5 years ago. That was the first time I got drunk on alcohol. I had gone to a friend’s house for felicitation. And as young adult males, we bought alcohol to drink. I remember him telling me he threw up in his toilet. Unfortunately, I had to walk home and my friend had to endure all the gibberish sleepy me was saying all through.
**When was the last time you got hammered?**
The last time I got drunk is the same day I got drunk for the first time. That experience made me promise myself never again. 🤣
**What’s the most stupid or craziest thing you did under the influence?**
I think that would be talking a lot. U have only been drunk once and the major effect alcohol has on me is that it makes me dizzy. So, I really have nothing embarrassing to say here.
**If there’s someone here on the platform you would like to get drunk with, who is it? Why?**
Hehe. Don’t think I want to get drunk again. But perhaps I can sit and have a cup of tea with some people here. There are a lot of them though, and I don’t think I can tag all of them. Why I’d want us to meet is simply because I admire them a lot, plus they are beautiful people too. Maybe have a cup of tea with Fantagira, a cup of coffee with PVM, Tomi-Ajax, Jane, Ruffa, HappyBoy, Lucifer, Bloghound among others
**What’s your poison of choice?**
I prefer wine, and more specifically Red wine. Asides the health benefits, I like the taste I get from it. My only problem with it is that it stains the teeth, and usually comes with bottle covers that doesn’t encourage you closing and keeping the bottle for later after you’ve opened it.
**What’s that brand or kind of alcohol beverage that you won’t like to drink again?**
I don’t think I’ll ever take vodka, tried it once and I didn’t like the strong taste and smell it has.
**Have you ever cried drunk?**
Nah, I have never cried drunk. Alcohol really makes me quiet and calmer. And I honk those who cry when drunk are those that drink for emotional reasons, like when they are sad.
In conclusion, the truth is that I am not much of a fan of alcohol. I have never had a taste for it and pretty much my alcohol-drinking experience has been out of curiosity. They say you can’t really tell whether or not you like something until you’ve tried it and see. Also, I like the idea of being in control of my actions and words, and not being under the influence of alcohol.
Also, would want to challenge the likes of @fantagira @Ruffa @Lucifer01 @Mictorrani and @Tomi-Ajax and as many others who feel like sharing their drunken story to partake in this challenge.
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
Want to use this opportunity to thank @Theblackdoll and@Tomi-Ajax for the sponsorship renewals. I appreciate the continued faith you have in me.
online Personality Test of a Thinker
I had initially done an online personality test and commented the result in the article How Creative Are You by @fantagira, but decided to write about the WHYs after reading her article Creative Types Why am I a Dreamer. You can take the personality test here to see what result you will get. https://read.cash/@fantagira/how-creative-are-you-3d091fc9 https://read.cash/@fantagira/creative-types-why-am-i-a-dreamer-61a8784b
**When traveling you always need a Destination or Direction –** ***Destination***
I don’t think I’ll ever leave my house for a spontaneous journey without any direction in mind. By nature, I am a planner, and I like to have everything ready beforehand to avoid being anxious or panic. So, yeah. Destination determines my direction.
**My brain spends more time In the Zone or Zoning out –** ***Zoning Out***
Although, I do both, I mostly spend a lot of time zoning out. This happens a lot when I am having conversations with someone or in class. They might say something that triggers a thought in my head and that is just what I need to zone out. And I believe the fact that I am easily distracted make this more easier to do.
**I tend to see life through the lens of Systems or Stories –** ***System***
This was tricky, but the stark difference in the two options made it easier to pick system, as I believe everything follows a particular pattern that depends on or determine another pattern. All these series of events to me makes up a systematic operation of every thing on earth.
**Are you a Ruler or a Scribble –** ***Ruler***
Like I said, I am a planner by nature, and this makes me quite uncomfortable with scribbling, as I like my things organized and in a certain kind of way.
**I’d rather be in a Cocoon or Beehive –** ***Cocoon***
Definitely! That is not to say I am an introvert, that is vaguely true, and the fact that is prefer a cocoon is simply based on the fact that I don’t enjoy being among so many people at a time. Also, being in a cocoon leaves me in a spot where I am on my own, and doing my thing without any disturbance or interference.
**Dive in head first or dip your toes -** ***Dive***
I will definitely extend my dip my toes first on most occasions as I like to be prepared. I really am not a spontaneous person. And if you see me doing anything spontaneously, be surprise
**My door is Wide open or Closed –** ***Closed***
Yes, my door is closed. I am not really the most social person, and I usually don’t let people in unless I am comfortable with you, and this takes time and a certain level of familiarity too.
**Updates are ready to install - Restart now or Remind me tomorrow -** ***Remind me later***
Hehehe. I particularly found this question funny because they usually pop up when I am busy with my phone. And I always ask for a reminder until my phone forgets to remind me 🤣🤣🤣.
If you have read this, and you haven’t taken the test, I would like you to, as I am curious to find an **Adventurer**.
What the site had to say about a Thinker after the test, and I couldn't agree more:
*For the Thinker, the examined life is truly the only one worth living. Ever the perpetual student, you experience the world as an endless opportunity for learning, discovery, and truth-seeking.*
*Driven by an insatiable intellectual curiosity, the THINKER makes the quest for knowledge and truth a lifelong pursuit. With all those big questions and abstract thinking, you’ve got some serious electrical activity going on in that brain of yours! Few things satisfy your inquisitive mind more than a well-formulated question or an elegant solution, and you’re content to spend much of your time alone, studying topics that fascinate you and engaging with your inner world of ideas.*
*Your greatest gifts are your sense of wonder and depth of perception. You can see the big picture and the deeper meaning of almost any situation in a way that few others can. Your biggest challenges? Getting out of your head and learning to balance theory with practice. Try not to get too caught up in concepts and abstractions, dear THINKER. Great ideas are meant to be brought to life.*
*Seek out the company of ADVENTURER types, who provide the perfect counterbalance to your introspective and analytical nature. The infectious energy and playful spirit of the ADVENTURER remind you to embrace the joys of creation—and to not be afraid to get your hands a little dirty in the process*.
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
More Than Bitcoin Cash (Re-written)
I was going through my old articles and decided to publish a better rendition of my second article More Than Bitcoin Cash. It was my 3rd article and as I read through, I decided to re-write it. In this article, I will highlight points and areas where our beloved read.cash is Bitcoin Cash and more. https://read.cash/@Aimure/more-than-bitcoin-cash-a80976ff
I will be three months old on read.cash in less than two weeks, and in this time, I have got to learn and see a lot through different articles from different users here. And like name READ suggests, I have read a lot of articles and there will be many more to read, as the publishing of articles isn’t ending anytime soon.
The following ways are some of the ways I believe read.cash is not just a place for Bitcoin Cash but an all in one platform:
**A COMMUNITY**
You would agree with me that here has been a city for all from all over the world. Everyone is welcome to this online community, and there is no discrimination irrespective of your race or where you are from, it is accessible to all from any part of the world. I have seen users from different parts of the world grow fond of one another just by interacting and learning more about each other on this platform. You would agree with me that the more articles you read, the more you get to know things about the writer. This is a place everyone is free to express themselves and share their thoughts and experiences through words.
**CITADEL FOR LEARNING**
What more can I say? Who would argue that they have learnt nothing since they have been on this platform? Every day, there are posts made, and they come in different forms. Some are educative, and other fictional. People write about their real life experiences and opinions on certain issues too, which can be very insightful. The easy way to learn is from people’s experiences, and not from yours, that is the hard way. Not to mention the many knowledge you gain from reading about articles of the cryptoverse. There is a lot to learn from here.
**PERSONAL GROWTH**
This is quite personal to me, as I must admit that before I joined this platform, I had become quite lazy when it comes to reading. But the will to read a lot of articles daily had improved that significantly. I believe this platform has reshaped me back into the reader I used to be and it couldn’t have been more perfect as I prepare to start my final year in the university. With a lot of reading to do then, and also research to prepare for my project, I believe I am gaining the momentum I need to scale through that last hurdle(s). Also, I was impressed to read an article by @Lucifer01 where he mentioned he had started learning Philipino so he can interact better with users from The Philippines in their local language.
**GATEWAY TO OPPORTUNITIES**
You would agree with me that this has been a means many had come across opportunities that paid off, especially in the cryptoverse and smartBCH in particular. There has been a lot of investments people have taken advantage of only because they came across it from someone's article on this platform. Personally, I got to know about sBCH when I joined here, and although I have not exactly dived into it yet, I am Keen to do so in the near future.
**FUN**
Oh how I so love the tingle I get from the fun this place provides me. I remember December was a month of many events, some of which I participated in and was lucky thanks to members of Club1BCH and some other users. I was surprised at how much fun all that brought, and it was particularly fun when I participated in the treasure hunt organized by @Jane too bad I forgot the deadline for the clue of the last seedphrase. When I remembered and came online, I learnt @Giddyboy was the lucky one. I just admit that it was a fun filled December. All the challenge and prompt that had happened since then have been fun too. Thank you all for it. Hehehe.
**CONCLUSION**
One way or another, we have all been part of the reason all these are true, and I must appreciate everyone who has made this journey an amazing one. Since I started using this platform, my time on all social media platforms had reduced drastically, and the truth of the matter is that I don’t miss it. This is encompasses all the good and none of the bad. Except for the fact that it can be addictive 🤣🤣. But what isn’t?
***If anyone who reads this have a thing or two to contribute to this, kindly leave a comment, I’d very much appreciate it.***
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
A Day to Remember
It is funny how one single act can ruin your whole day just like that the day had started on a note I wouldn't say was bad, but at a point I got frustrated from charging phone for hours and the battery life not going up. I had said before that my phone was having issues charging, so I had to endure charging it for hours today only for the battery to move from 0 to 7% and that was the percentage it got stuck at. That was 6
I didn't have the budget and had not planned for what it would cost to fix the charger port, but I had gotten to my little of what I can tolerate, so I had to sort for some money from a friend to fix the charger port for now. So, on my way home. Kushyzee and I went to the shop together and then the icing on the cake was added. As my phone was dismantled and the charger port changed, it was time to couple it back and test what had been fixed.
As the technician turned the phone over, I saw a crack on my screen that wasn't there before,and it dawned on me that something had gone wrong. As he plugged in his charger yo test it, the display had blacked out, showing no image at all. It had gone black.
In trying to solve a problem, the technician had created a greater one. I looked at him and could see that he was not settled. I took my time to think about the situation and what the best line of action was. It was a two-way choice, ask him to pay for the damages , or let him go. I asked Kushyzee what he thought, and even though he thought it was an awkward situation, he had said that I should either go with peace and let it go or go with violence and demand compensation, the choice was mine really.
I took my time thinking about the situation, and the facts were that he had not intended for the screen to get damaged, neither was his countenance unapologetic. He had left the ball in my court to decide even though it seemed like he was praying for the easy way out. I asked him how much it would cost to fix the screen, he called someone to ask him and told me it would cost $27. I sighed. Then I thought about the chances of him having a family, and if I were to ask for compensation, it would probably cost him his whole day's work. Should he go home with nothing simply for trying to work for money?
I remembered a time @Danika and I had an encounter with a man who had done us a favour in his own terms, and as thanked him for it, he said we shouldn't, that all he asks is that we do for another what he has done for us. Perhaps this was my opportunity to do to another what was done to me. I told him to give my phone back to me so I can go, and asked if I should pay him for the charger port he had fixed. He said that he couldn't take it from me even if I gave him,and thanked us gratefully.
It was mixed feelings for me, as I was sad about the phone but happy that the technician will probably remember this someday and do to another what was done to him. Maybe I should have said that to him before I left.
In conclusion, I have decided to buy a new phone, and I honestly do not know when that will be, but until then, I'll try using other people's phone to stay active when I can, so pardon me if you don't see me around often. The quest for a new phone could take months, but I hope to have access to phone when I need one so as to read the insightful and educative articles you guys publish daily. The decision to buy a new phone instead of fixing the current one is predicted on the fact that I had only repaired the screen last January and this would be the second time the screen would get broken in three months. It is economically wide to just opt for a new one. I was joking with my friends earlier about starting a fundraiser for me so I can buy a phone as soon as possible. So @Kushyzee get to work 😂.
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
Law and Order
This would be the second time I am writing this article because I had lost the file containing the incomplete draft I had earlier. Well, I have the will, so I won’t be deterred as I had already made up my mind to post an article today.
I was reading an article by Foryoubtc09 Freedom to Commit Crime and the post made me think about earth without all the rules of law in it. https://read.cash/@foryoubtc09/freedom-to-commit-crime-8465ac56
To start with, **what are Laws?**
According to Oxford English dictionary, one of the definitions says that Law is the whole system of rules that everyone in a country or society must obey. In essence, laws are made to be obeyed.
Laws are one of the things that separates humans from animals. Now, imagine world without all the laws, **what kind of world do you see?**
Using animals still, cannibalistic species can kill one of their own and it would seem normal, no one would ask questions or flinch. I was watching a documentary on TV sometime ago about lions and learnt that if an adult male without a pride should challenge and defeat another adult male in a pride and wins, it kills all the cubs of make that was defeated.
Referencing that to humans, even though we do not categorically duel one another for family, there has been situations where a woman divorces her husband and marry another man. But, the man doesn’t go about killing her child(ren) because there are rules and laws that set a path we live by, and this is one of the things that distinctly separates us from animals.
Now, imagine a world without these laws setting a path for us to lead our lives, what kind of world do you see? Assuming there are no rules or laws we live by, and everyone lives how they see fit, take what they want when they want, long as they can overpower or outsmart whomever it was that owns what catches their fancy. After all, it is said that an immutable law of nature is that the strong always takes from the weak.
There is a chance that the world would be peaceful in this scenario, and there would only be chaos when there is need for it. Like for instance, one might be compelled to use force to defend themselves when another person is trying to take what is theirs from them.
On another hand, a lawless world might descend into a world that is strictly the survival of the strongest. As seen prominently in the animal kingdom, there are predators and there are preys, and most preys live their days avoiding predators because they are stronger or have the means to overpower them for nutrition. In human, this would be extra, as we have the tendency to take things to the extreme.
Even with all the law and order governing the current life we live, we still break them and will continue to do so as it is our nature and basic instinct. So, that is why the law itself seeks justice when broken. In the article above, Foryoubtc09 argued that there would be less crime rate if humans are allowed the freedom to commit crime. Perhaps, there is some truth in that unless for psychopaths who find gratification in doing harm to others. I had also asked: **if there was no punishment for crimes, would there be less crime or more?**
Perhaps lawlessness works in Charles Darwin’s favour and humans would have evolved into a more superior species as only the strongest and smartest will survive because of natural selection. And they will pass these traits to their offspring and on and on.
**CONCLUSION**
I am merely thinking out loud, and merely depicting a figment of my imagination in words. I would very much appreciate your comment and contribution to this, and perhaps there could be a counter-argument to it. However, do not misinterpret any of what I had written to be manifestations of primal instincts or brute nature.
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
***Special appreciation to my subscribers, sponsors, readers and upvoters. This blogging journey would not have been a smooth sail without you all and I very much appreciate all you’ve done so far. Thank you so much.***
Making an Impact
It’s another beautiful day, although my phone was off for most of it as I have a weak battery and there was no light to charge with and even the time as I was jumping from one lecture/practical to another all day. As we rode to the institute this morning for another day of what was an opportunity to learn new things, my mind goes back to what I had learnt or heard yesterday. Particularly when one of the research officers we had an encounter with preached making an impact on the life of people. And how that should be what everyone strives to be. The only goal in life.
I understood his point, and I dare say that I agree with him on that. He simply asked that if we died, what would we be remembered for? How I interpreted that was that: if you died, excluding your family members, friend and acquaintances, would anyone remember you for something you’ve done? Have you impacted the life of others in any way?
He went on to tell the story of a 21-year-old who had died recently, and how much he had impacted the life of motorists in his community. And how they had come to pay their respects when they heard of his untimely demise. Truth is that everyone; even people you don’t know come to pay their respects when you die. But I get his point was that because he’s done something to help them at such a young age, he will be remembered for something.
P.S: He didn’t say how exactly the young man had helped them.
He went on to advice that everyone needs to be oriented in the society and made an example of Iceland, where he had gone for a 6 months programme some years back and said that during his time there, he was told all of the BSc, MSc. and PhD thesis in Aquaculture and Fisheries had solved a problem in the field. He also went further to say that wealthy people ought to help the poor ones with their wealth.
Well, I suppose money earned can be spent how the earner sees fit to do and it is up to him or her to decide out of their own volition whether or not they want to help the poor masses. But the question is why would one who has amassed wealth that would last two generations keep all of such wealth and not use it to make the world a better place, at least for the less fortunate.
As we live daily, we should work towards making a change in life and that should be our goal. Strive to do something that would benefit others and make the world a better place for people. I was reading an article by Olasquare Don’t Mix Them Up yesterday, and I agree with the article, and the following are excerpts from the article. https://read.cash/@Olasquare/dont-mix-them-up-0d11705c
***‘… Most people love to go with the easier options in life but the real reward is in doing what everyone else isn’t doing. Most people only want to fight the fight they can win and not the fight they ought to fight. We can live with losing a good fight because we learn from it but we cannot live with not fighting that good fight. Stop fighting the right you think you can win being an easy option, rather fight the fight you ought to fight and have the mindset that either way, you would win-win in victory or win with the lessons to take from the defeat...’***
***‘… Whatever we have, we are to use it to enrich the world and this is how I think. There is nothing too big for me to give to anyone to help them, as long as it’s within the limits of common sense and my reach. Let’s face it, some people ask for ridiculous things which if the tables were turned, they would never even entertain. We are here to enrich the world and most people have been impoverished themselves because they forgot this simple thing…’***
I strongly recommend you read the article and really digest it. And as we do, we take what we can from it as well as from this and find a way to add value to the society any way we can for as long as we live so we are remembered for something positive in the society.
**HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY TO ALL THE WOMEN IN THE WORLD**
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
Matters Arising
Hola beautiful people. Firstly, I’ll like to start by apologising for being absent from your articles yesterday, it was largely due to the fact that my phone was off for most of the day. And there was no power supply to charge the phone and even the little power we got wasn’t enough to charge my phone up to 1%. I had plugged my phone thinking it would charge and I didn’t know my charger had started keeping malice with my phone.
It was such that my phone was showing charging, but not actually gaining any battery life even though it was plugged for over 30 minutes. You can understand why that would be frustrating. It wasn’t until in the night when I had to use a power bank which belongs to a friend to boost the battery a bit and just immediately I turned it on, the light came on again and I even had to borrow a charger from a friend to charge my phone.
As at the time of starting this article, I am charging the phone and because I have to go to bed early so I can be up as early as 3am to prepare for the journey (also when I plan to finish writing the article) to the headquarters of the institute I am currently doing my Field Practical Training. The next two weeks might be a tedious one, but I’ll try to at least maintain the level of consistency I have been showing on the platform.
Moving on from my Sunday story, it is finally Monday, the start of a business week for some, and work week for others. For my group members and I, it is the start of a new chapter of our field training. You see, we have spent the first two weeks of the four weeks training at a branch of the research institute and it is almost impossible for any of the researchers we encountered in that two weeks not to mention the Headquarters: which my group will start going to this Monday.
They had shaped our mind to have certain expectations of the place which had lead us to satisfy our curiosity by always asking the other group members questions about their experience at said headquarters while we were stationed at the branch. Like a child, we’d ask questions with our eyes wide open and these questions are often met with truth of the reality, which is often disappointing and sad. Well, in their (the institute) defence, researchers are on strike for reasons we do not know, so this had led to the shutdown of many operations that we would have marvelled at, or so I believe.
But I have come to realise that I have a stubborn mind and subconsciously, I have still held on to fabrics of hope that my expectations will be met, at least to a good extent. This is my mind’s way of subverting the feeling that I had not wasted four weeks learning anything significant and surely there was new a new experience for me in this. Whether or not I will be disappointed depends on how I utilise of interpret what I may be exposed to.
This has lead me to believe that disappointment is relative to different people, and what I might find disappointing might not be disappointing to others. This was further cemented by a conversation I had with one of my classmates Sunday afternoon. Before I proceed, let me give a quick breakdown of the grading system in most (if not all) tertiary institutions in my country:
**Grade A = Excellent. Score = 70–100/100**
**Grade B = Good. Score = 60–69/100**
**Grade C = Credit. Score = 50–59/100**
**Grade D = Pass. Score = 45–49/100**
**Grade F = Fail. Sore = 0–44/100**
*(This is the grade system for my institution)*
So, as my course mate and I talked about academics, he explicitly stated that long as he can avoid grade F, he’d be proud of himself. Some others might set a certain standard and I have seen situations where people are disappointed that they had Grade B, and even more so that they had Grade C (feeling guilty). And here is someone who’s contented and proud if he could have Grade C all through.
In essence, what I am saying is that we live in a world where every thing is relative from individual to individual and from place to place. And with the size of the earth and the population of people on it, wouldn’t it be strange and boring if every thing were monochromatic?
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
If Wishes Were Horses
At at the time of writing this article, the exact time is 2:55am, electricity had come one not quite long and it seems to be the coffee I needed to stay awake while I write, as that was the initial plan when I slept around 11pm: wake up in the middle of the night and write. Well, it is may be the hormonal rush that comes with expecting something then it finally comes that is keeping me awake. Whatever it is, I am happy to be up.
Many a time we’ve caught our self saying *“****if wishes were horses****”* I am sure if they were, that we’d ride them a lot, some may never come down. Let me use this opportunity to say that I like horses. I like their agility and strength and speed too. Pardon me as I digress, it has become one of my guilty pleasures, anecdotes some might find irrelevant, yet I say them anyway, in between conversations, storytelling and sometimes writing.
Many of us have wishes, some of these wish have transformed into goals and dreams making us genies as we grant our own wishes or the the wishes of others. Yes, I said it, you’re a genie when you make a wish come true. It could be the wish of a loved one or you personal wish that you’ve set into a goal or a dream you’re working towards.
I have caught myself wishing for things I could never have, especially when reading about the past inventions or historical books. Some of these wishes you might say are somewhat strange you see, and you’ll understand why I say that as you read on. I remember when I was reading a book **‘There Was a Country’** by Chinua Achebe. The book is about the civil war in my country Nigeria which was between 1967–1970. I remember wishing I was around in that time and maybe being a soldier fighting for either side or a just a Nigerian/Biafran.
(Image Source) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_Was_a_Country
This is weird because why would I want to experience a civil that was the bloodiest in the history of my country? I think it was the writers charm to paint. I remember the book had started by him painting a picture I so wi had experienced and that was before the civil war began. And as he slowly transcends into the civil war; along with its horrors, it was hard to let go of the first impression I had gotten or perhaps I was subconsciously holding on to the beauty my minds eye had seen initially.
Moving on, I had seen a series titled **‘Genius’** and the first season was about the life of Einstein, I was blown away by this genius (pardon my wordplay). So, that made me wish I had got to know him or meet him or was one of his children. Hahaha. Weird right? 😅 Can’t blame me, we’re talking about one of the greatest minds in history and it is no coincidence his brain was preserved after his death to be studied by scientists.
Also saw a documentary about Leonardo Da Vinci swept me off my feet. He was a man of science through and through. I remember hearing in the documentary that he had incorporated geometry into his painting of '**The Last Supper**'. When science and art meet, you can expect nothing but perfection. How he managed to even sketch a design of an aircraft tells you he is a man way ahead of his generation. So, like Einstein, I wish I had met him in person and perhaps worked with him too.
(Image Source) https://www.godupdates.com/9-things-never-knew-the-last-supper/
**CONCLUSION**
These are some of the wishes I have and the common thing about all of them is that they are all in the past. If only wishes were horses. Or maybe the invention of a time machine so I can travel to the past would make all these wish come true. Never mind me anyway, this is just one of my late night ramblings and I thought why not make an article of this. Thus, the birth of this.
Perhaps my readers can indulge me. I’d like to hear about your weird/strange wishes, so don’t forget to leave a comment. And perhaps rejoice that wishes aren’t horses.
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
Special thanks appreciation to my newest sponsor @Talecharm Thank you for the sponsorship, I really appreciate it.
Differences in Opinions
Hello readers I hope you are well and healthy. Yesterday was sort of a day of little or no activity, but I had time to catch up on sleep and it was worth it. The best sleep I have had in two weeks. When I woke up, I had to go to the market with a friend to buy some things to cook dinner, and @Kushyzee decided to follow us just for sight seeing. I guess he was already tired of being in the hostel all day doing nothing at all.
At least we got to see the sea from the market, as it was so close to it and we wanted to go close for some pictures, but I told him we shouldn’t because it might be dangerous based on what we’ve been told. It was beautiful though. Looking at the sea stretched to the horizon. We got back to the institute and l had to get ready for a football match we had decided to have between the two groups of the class.
The other group players had started well though, stretching the field of play with diagonal passes and the breakthrough came when they got the first goal due to my misplaced pass. But we didn’t let that kill our morale as we kept pushing and later went on to win 7-2 in the end. Now that’s enough about how my day went. Wait, that’s pretty much all about my day.
I was reading through an article by @Freedom007 Expanding Your Thoughts and what stuck with me was the truth of how there are many ways to approach a situation. Or do I say many roads to a destination. https://read.cash/@Freedom007/expanding-your-thoughts-885c2469
Oftentimes, we hold on to our view or opinion or way of doing things, and while some accept that this is not the only way to go about it, others are so self conceited to accept that there are other ways or methods. Think of a situation where two people have to go to a market, and one decides to take the bus while the other decides to take the train. They both may not get to the market at the same time, but they’ll get there eventually. Even if another person decides to walk to the market, the person will still arrive there.
All three persons have gone to the market using three different means. This is merely an analogy for better understanding of what I am trying to say. And we should remember that even as we are stuck trying to get something done, we should always remember to think from another angle. Some will say think outside the box. This hypothetical box could be the box of your personal imagination.
There have also been common saying about thinking like a thief if you want to catch a thief. All these are are similar to thinking in a different way other than what you’re used to.
**CONCLUSION**
While your way or method may be correct, know that someone else’s can be too, and it your opinions might intersect at a point. You should learn to accommodate them and their perception. And even though you think your method is better, remember that you two have been exposed to different experiences in life and are two different people. All these put together are responsible for the individual perception of things. After all, we can both live in the same building and have different views of the environment or street.
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
The Bad in the Good
How are you beautiful people? I trust you are having/had a great day. Today was somewhat busy for me as we had work to do with some experimental fishes in the research institute I am currently doing my Field Practical Training. It wasn’t exactly a tedious work, but it was time consuming.
Today’s article is based on something one of the researchers who works in the institute told us yesterday just before he started teaching us. It was the first time we are having an encounter with him and I guess that was why he had started by telling us that being an aquaculturist entails telling some ***“professional lies”***.
Well, I understood the point he was trying to make as I am quite familiar with this sort of behaviour from people, especially when you’re paying them to do for you something you have no idea about, or you lack the technical knowhow to do. It is always an opportunity to squeeze out every money they can get.
It is funny how humans have the tendency to brand their wrong doings as *‘necessary evil’* simply because it serves their selfish interest. I wouldn’t be surprised if *‘professional lie’* is added to the Oxford English dictionary since *‘White lie’* has been included into it. I mean, why can’t a lie be a lie? Simply something that isn’t true. I mean isn’t that what a lie is? Why should it come in different variations and colours now?
This brought to mind how this give and take World we are in actually works. For instance, for one to receive, another has to give up. Now, I don’t mean this in the harsh sense of letting go of something you hold dear so some else can get. But that’s basically how it is. I think this is why some people believe in reincarnation of humans. One has to due for another to be born. But that’s outside the scope of this article, neither do I think believe in it, else for one, wouldn’t the human population on earth be constant?
Allow me to paint a picture of the point I am trying to make: if I have $200 and were to give out $50 from what I have to a friend, I would have $150 left for myself and that is $50 less than what I had initially. If my friend was to have no money at all until I gave him $50, that would mean he had gained $50 while I had loss $50 dollar. That is not to say I wasn’t happy giving him the money as it was out of my own volition and kindness. But I am merely analysing it as a third person, using at the basic maths formula of life.
To cute another example, let’s look at a cooperation where there is an hierarchy. If there is a department, and the boss of this department had to leave the job for another or was fired for going against the rules, someone new will have to come in to replace the outgoing boss or one of the workers is promoted to fill the vacant position. While one has lost a job or was demoted, another has been employed or promoted.
In conclusion, this goes to say that life is in all about give and take, and one person’s fortune might be as a result of another person’s misfortune. The good and the bad are part of life itself and there is always good in the bad, and bad in the good. We can employ this as a coping mechanism to go through our daily life, to make us not dwell on the negatives, but instead look forward to the positive things of life.
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
New Age
Today has been quite the day, it marked the start of a new month in the year, and also a new age for me. Although, I was awake at the stroke of midnight out of being cautious not to be caught off-guard by my classmates who had planned to pour me buckets of water on my bed at the midnight. This is a tradition in my parts of the world, and it is a common way of celebrating with someone who is a year older or had just graduated from the university.
You see, I had to be vigilant and every time the door to my room is opened, I would look closely to be sure it was one of my roommates who came in. I made sure I didn’t sleep until my other mates were tucked in on the bed for the night and went on to lock the door from behind. I slept peacefully thinking I had escaped and won’t have to experience the water-tradition. Little did I know that they had all slept off and that was my saving grace.
When I woke up, a friend had come into my room and I didn’t notice that she was holding a small container behind her. I had let my guard down and thought she came to wish me a happy birthday. As I saw her eyes moved, I got a splash of water on my face and I must confess that I never expected it. She went to call the rest of my classmates who had simply advised that I leave the room because of the beds and clothes, and so I don’t spend a lot of time cleaning up after they are done.
I willingly followed them outside and sat on the floor as the had their fun. I am usually not the type to indulge in such traditions but one had to loosen up once a while right? After the ritual, I had gone in to have a shower and prepare for the class we were supposed to have. After the class, we all went back to the hostel. A friend of mine started making food as a small gesture. I saw there was a lot of work to be done in slicing all the vegetables and I helped a little to ease the work load.
The day has been quite memorable and special, particularly because the surprise I got was overwhelming, and I never expected it from those that pulled it off. It a milestone of age for me as I have lived a quarter of a century. I am really grateful for being alive to experience it. I also hope I experience many more of years.
Although, I caught a break and reminded myself about taking life more seriously as I am not getting younger but older. I hope decisions I start making now are those that would make a better future for me. I also want to use this opportunity to thank users on this platform who had made a birthday wish for me. I appreciate you all, and thanks for everything.
**CONCLUSION**
It is a new month, and I am familiar with the monthly review tradition that usually happens on the first day of every month. Truth is that I had not taken note or record of certain things at the beginning of February, and I am feeling lazy about doing it the hard way. But to avoid errors, I’d just skip this one and start keeping track from today, so I can start April off with a review of March.
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Finding Balance
I believe nature has sustained itself for so long due to one key factor. A delicate balance that makes everything perfectly in tune. There is a natural synchronisation of practically every thing, making them work together. Natural phenomenon such as the water cycle, and oxygen cycle are all workings or balance and continuity. Even food chains and food webs in ecological system serve to create a balance in nature by controlling the population of one species by another species. The exponential growth of human have increased human activities drastically, thereby causing a significant change in the balance that has been maintained all this while. Humans are a key part of nature, and the effect we have on the ecosystem is quite great.
I believe that our failure to maintain balance in all we do is a major cause of a lot of problems for us. If we look closely, we’d see that even the human body is designed to strike a balance. For instance, when digestion happens, the body absorbs some of it and excretes what is left in form of feaces. Although, the extra work the body does during this process is to save some of the energy it has absorbed for when it will need to break it down. Personally, I think the human body is the epitome of perfection. Maybe some other time, I will write what makes me think so about it.
You would agree with me that it is possible to strike a balance in our body weight just by eating the right quantity of food we need depending on the kind of activities we indulge in daily. You see, the reason we gain weight is basically because we eat more than our body needs. When the body absorbs more energy (this can be in form of fat or carbohydrate) than it needs, it starts storing the excess in different parts of the body. The human body does a lot of regulating daily, and there are a lot of things to regulate, it is continuously working to maintain a balance.
As a student, and I believe a good number of us are or have been one at some point. My major problem has been striking a balance between studying, my social life and my personal life among other things. Looking closely at the 168 hours in a week, an average of 35 hours is spent receiving lectures while I am expected to sleep for about 49–56hours on average. That is about half of the time I have in a week spent on just sleep and lectures. The other half I am to divide between many other things such as studying. Perhaps when you look at 80 hours which is over 3 days in a week, it looks long enough to do all the other things you have to do. But you would agree with me that when you start using time, time seems to move faster.
We must learn to balance every thing we do: be it on a daily or weekly or monthly or yearly every this is synchronised to work in a balanced system, and a deficiency in one will affect other things in the system. We might find that using this method can make us live a happier, and more fulfilled life.
In essence, finding balance is the keynote for today’s article, I am merely using analogy in nature and citing some of the workings of the human body as a way of explaining why it is pertinent to maintain balance in life. As it is nature’s way of ensuring longevity and sustainability.
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Like vs Love
I had woken up on Saturday morning feeling better than when I slept the night before. But, I wasn't ready to take my chances because I had made up my mind about buying drugs as soon as I could yesterday. I did eventually and started taking the dosage yesterday afternoon.
Because I was restricting myself to the activities I should indulge in, I found myself with a group of my classmates. I had went to their room, and it so happens when I entered, all four occupants of the room were present. One thing led to another and we started having a conversation.
It was the kind of conversation I wouldn’t have thought to have with all of them present, except maybe for one of them. And in the course of our conversation, which I found quite interesting and unusual at the same time. One of them said something that I found worth writing about.
She had said that **“IF YOU CAN THINK OF A REASON YOU LIKE SOMEONE, THEN THAT LIKENESS WOULD NOT LAST”**. The like she meant was not casually. But like enough to want to be in a romantic relationship with someone. Of course I can like someone casually because they are nice, or they are funny or because of their manner of speaking and even because of their smile. I can casually like someone for one or more reasons. But, what she meant was beyond casual and I went to bed thinking about what she said.
Is this why they say ***LOVE IS BLIND?*** It is not just the faults of the person you love that you are blind to, but also, the reason you actually love them. I have caught myself thinking about people I have been in relationships with and even my friends too. Surely, there must have been something that attracted me to them in the first place, and it was after I got close to them that feelings started developing and over time, those feelings grew into something.
Since her argument was predicated on the premise that because there is a reason you like that person, if that reason were to eliminated, you wouldn’t like that person anymore. So, there is no point in the first place. But I want to speak to her again about the matter. Since we haven’t exactly dwelled on the topic, I would like to revisit it. Since she had not categorically said Love, then I suppose she does have a fair argument.
I want to tell her that like and love are two different things. I have to like someone first before I can love them, and as I have said before, any thing can make you like someone. When you two get closer, that is when like starts to grow into love. And when what you feel is love, that is when logic is defied, there is no reason you love the person. You just do.
Even though a certain character or factor had attracted you to the person in the first place, that character is not the reason you had fallen in love, it is a whole lot of other things that matter more than the reason you liked them in the first place. A whole lot of reason that it is difficult to pinpoint which reason specifically, thus, making it so that there is no specific reason.
**CONCLUSION**
I suppose this article can serve as reference when one is not sure about their feelings. You can look within yourself to see if you can put your finger on one or two reasons you’re feeling that way towards whomever. And if there is a reason, perhaps you still like that person, and not in love with them yet. As they say, you don’t choose who you love. But that is not to say if you’re not in love with them yet, you can’t fall in love with them anymore. Love is patient, and it takes time. A lot of people go into relationships and even marriage without being in love with their partner at first, it is over time that the feelings grows into love.
That you feel strongly about someone doesn’t make it love, it doesn’t also mean you’ll fall in love with the person regardless. So take your time to understand yourself and what it is you feel. Love is simple as it is complex, love is sweet as it is bitter. Love is a paradox, love is much more than like.
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Rants: Experience With Vampire Insects
Friday was supposed to be a happy day, the start of the weekend where I don’t have to do anything major, rest and watch some football games. I had decided to nap a bit around 4:22pm only to wake up two hours later shivering with cold and with high body temperature. I suppose the weekend had something else in store for me.
I managed to drag myself to the kitchen to boil rice I’d have for dinner and it took me a relatively long time to walk such as short distance between my room and the kitchen, then it really hit me that I had falling ill while I was trying to give my body the rest it need.
As Nigerians, the most common illness for us is Malaria. Anytime we fall ill, it is the first thing that usually come to our mind. Can’t say I blame us, with the rampant mosquitoes feasting on our blood and at the same time injecting sporozites of plasmodium parasite into our bloodstream, it is easy to think that. While only the female anopheles mosquito can actually spread the pathogens that causes malaria, it is hard to know which species of mosquito is feasting on you, because they are hard to see with our naked eyes.
**FUN FACT**: *Only female mosquitoes feed on human blood, the males feed on nectar of plant.*
I remember on Monday when we got to our lodge, we knew the hostel would be infested with a lot of mosquitoes considering everything was right for them to breed and multiply easily. They flourish in places with stagnant water and bushes. And everything was right for them. I must say that these are one of the biggest mosquitoes I have seen.
(Image source) https://api.nationalgeographic.com/distribution/public/amp/animals/invertebrates/facts/mosquitoes
What is even disturbing was the fact that we used insecticide in the entire hostel three nights ago, but it would seem they are immune to its toxicity. We could still see them flying around in our room, looking for blood to feed on the same night we used the insecticide. I would have doubted the effectiveness of the insecticide itself and perhaps would have spent a lot of time resisting the urge to contact the company to log a complaint about the substandard product they have in the market. But I had seen some dead cockroaches in the room, and that made it easier for me to look the other way.
(Image source) https://www.ampest.com/blog/why-do-you-keep-finding-dead-cockroaches-in-your-house/
Again, I asked myself after I had fallen ill and suspected nothing but the effect of being bitten by mosquitoes. Why would one buy insecticide in this country if not majorly for mosquitoes? So, if you are making an insecticide, even if it doesn’t kill any insect, it should at least kill mosquitoes. Or you can just make different types and state categorically that this is for roaches, and this is for bloodsucking insects. I am still considering whether or not to call the company, let’s see how it goes. 😅😅
I woke up this morning felling a bit better than when I slept yesterday, but with my mouth sour, my head aching and my body temperature unusual. I have to go to the drugstore to get some drugs so I can feel better before Monday. But ideally, I am supposed to do tests first to know what exactly the problem is, because I also suspect it could be typhoid fever too. The only good thing about my current state is that it happened during the weekend.
Sadly for the mosquitoes, they have declared a war and I will see it through and through. I’ll get the two insecticide we bought and spray both in the room later. Let me see how they survive this time. Then again, it is their nature to suck blood and it is the only way they know how to survive.
In conclusion, there was a time I thought about companies producing an insecticide that would target only the female mosquitoes, thus, making them go extinct altogether. And I hope I haven’t bored you with my ranting.
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Expectations and Reality
I had woken up as early as 5am yesterday, so I could read some articles before I make food to eat and prepare for class which I had expected to start at 9am. It wasn’t until some minutes before 8am did news reach me that our class would be by 12noon.
I was glad to hear that, and decided to do other things and rest more before it is time for class. Then at 9:33am, there was another news that we would be having a class by 10am instead. I was taken aback because I had not had anything to eat then, neither have I even had my bath.
I knew going to class by 10am reduces the chances of getting a break for lunch, so I decided that I must eat first, before going for the class, and didn’t care if I got there late, long as food was in my belly. The swinging of what was between the spaces of expectations and reality had been the reason I am writing about this right now.
Oftentimes, our expectations and reality have no point of intersection, I must admit it is usually very exciting when they do. The joy of expecting something big, and it comes even if it is with delay. Having expectations is based on our hopeful and optimistic nature. I remember writing exams and expecting to fail because I know I did quite poorly. But, when results come out, I end up not failing. Having negative expectations and getting positive reality is really a good feeling.
On the other hand, having a positive expectations and getting a negative results can be quite devastating and demoralising. Imagine an exam you’d done so well in, and coming out of the examination hall, you were confident of passing brilliantly, but when results were out, you saw that you had failed the exam. That can be quite depressing.
Personally, I have always maintained a mindset of being prepared for the worst and hoping for the best when it comes to my expectations, especially when it comes to result of my action. When it comes to humans, I tend to have little or no expectations at all. The reason is simply that I have been disappointed many times because I had expectations of people. Now, I’d rather be impressed by your actions that I didn’t expect than be disappointed.
**CONCLUSION**
I am not categorically saying that people are not reliable, truth is that we are fickle by nature, but there are those who are very reliable, especially when it comes to us. They could be your family or friend or even an acquaintance. I am just saying that sometimes expectations and reality do not meet, and we as people should learn to accept that and move on whenever this happens, instead of dwelling on it for too long and being depressed from it. I do hope that for us, our expectations and reality meet at points we want them to.
I had started writing this article since last night, and couldn’t finish it because I was quite tired and sleepy too. Even though I woke up several times in the middle of the night to continue, I dozed off every time. I just decided to sleep and complete it this morning.
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Society And The Child(ren)
As a male, society has not been kind to my gender, especially in my part of the world, as it is where I have been since I was born, and I can only speak from this point of view. The society has modified the male child to be a certain way and do certain things simply because they are males.
This, I believe is mostly due to our culture and traditions which I daresay is patriarchal, and to a great degree misogynistic. Culture and tradition are important pillars that hold the society itself. And because of that, our society portrays what our culture and tradition stands for.
The male gender has always been favoured by part of these culture and traditions. In marriages, many culture permits the man to marry more than one wife. In fact, I can say every culture permitted that before Christianity was introduced to the country by the British. But what about the female gender? They are frowned upon by anything that can frown should they speak of polyandry not to mention practice it.
Still about marriage, tradition is that a man is to pay a bride price (dowry) which is determined by the family of the woman he intends to marry. Though, the price is not fixed, and varies from culture to culture, this tradition of paying has given a lot of men the impression that the woman they are marrying is their PROPERTY because they are paying for her, and they can do with her as they see fit. And should he be displeased with her services – childbearing, cooking, washing, among others – he can send her back to her father’s house, after all, he has paid her price tag, needless to say, in full. Not to mention the sense of entitlement that comes with this mentality. She is his wife, he is entitled to anything she has to offer, be it sexual or domestic or financial. Also, she can be his human punching bag whenever he so desires his knuckles to be exercised.
You might wonder how all these is not kind to the men, after all, everything has been designed to favour them. We are all products of our society one way or another, and society has done the males a great damage by raising them to think their masculinity is to be proven by certain acts and/or expectations, such as how males are expected to be less emotional. You’re not supposed to do things such as crying or whining about anything or being afraid. ***“BE A MAN”***. You can’t show any form of weaknesses. These have detrimental effects such as masking their true nature.
The man is supposed to provide for the family, and if he fails at this task, he has failed as a man even if he works hard at it. You go on a date with a girl, and you’re not allowed to let her pay a dime for anything, as it is wrong and an insult to your masculinity even to think of it. If she must pay, collect the cash from her and make the payment yourself. What do men have to prove with this? Superiority? If the superiority has to be proven in the first place, then it isn’t superiority, it’s a facade.
The real problem with this is, it is being taught to children at a very young age. A male child trip’s and falls, and he’s being told not to cry, that he’s a man, and men don’t cry. A female child shoves another male child as children often do when playing together, and she’s asked if she doesn’t know that he’s a male, is she supposed to see males as a gods and worship them every time they are around her?
Internalised misogyny runs deep in the body which is our society, and not enough is being done to change it. Actually, the change will take time, as the only way to go about it now is to raise children properly. It is okay to be a male, and being a male doesn’t make you a god, neither does it make you any less of a human. Humans have emotions, and emotions should be felt and expressed. It is also okay to be a female, and men are in no way superior. Maybe generally stronger physically but they are only different mainly in terms of their organs and hormones. One cannot exist without the other, and that makes them equally important, none better than the other.
*In conclusion, this article is merely an expression of my displeasure with the way a lot of us have grown up with the wrong notion and orientation. Males are raised a certain way, and females too are raised a certain way. I hope we can do better as parents and make things much better than we met it, your little + everyone else’s little changes can make a big difference.*
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Birthday Shenanigans
Beautiful people, the day had started with me in bed, unwilling to Stand up from the bed and do anything. Was going through WhatsApp and saw that today’s date is a special one thin 22/02/2022 or 22/2/22. Either way, I was forced to stand up, as we had to do a facility tour with a couple of staffs in the institute, what better way to start the training eh.
Overall, it was an educative one, as I got to see some facilities I have only heard of before, some fish species I had not seen before, and also a crocodile eating a fish for the first time. This is just day one, I am keeping an open mind and fingers crossed for more new experiences before the end of my duration here.
Also, I remembered it will be my birthday next Tuesday, March 1st. I’ll be a year older, not younger, older. It’s funny, because it feels like just last week, I was 16years older. Time moves quite fast. And even though you’ve seen it count to the last second, your mind is tricked to thinking it hasn’t been moving at all.
It would be a milestone for me, as I’ll be 25 years in a week’s time. Quarter a century. Two and a half decade. I didn’t just become who I am overnight, there has been a gradual formation of the person I am right now, personal experiences, people’s experiences, own mistakes, other’s mistakes; I have learnt from all these, slowly, but surely.
Weird thing is, in all my 25 years, for as long as I can remember (this stretches back to 17 years at least) I have never celebrated a birthday. At least not elaborately, I remember last year was the closest thing I have had to a birthday party because my friends had come together to celebrate in me in the way they could. I must say that there was something particularly nice about it and I hold that memory quite fondly.
I have always had an aversion to celebrating birthdays. I think the thing is: because I haven’t had any celebrations practically all my life, my mind has come to place and accept a logical reason it shouldn’t be celebrated in the first place: **WE ARE GETTING OLDER AND CLOSER TO THE END**. *‘the end’* here is basically the end of every thing good. My mind had come to accept this, perhaps, as a reason why birthday shouldn’t be celebrated. It is a sort of coping mechanisms. On the bright side, it made me not feel any desperation to do what I should have.
That’s two coping mechanisms I have devised with respect to celebrating birthdays. Firstly, why birthdays shouldn’t be celebrated, and secondly, why to think the first has its bright side.
Despite knowing and saying all these, I have no intention of doing any celebrations come next week, and even if I wanted to, I am not in the financial position to fund one. So, like many other birthdays before it, it is going to be just another day. I expect to wake up in the morning, have some breakfast, and be busy during the day with my field training.
Perhaps, the future holds a surprise, I really don’t know and can’t say. And I often try to have little or no expectations so I do not end up feeling disappointed.
In conclusion, I was supposed to post this article earlier, but I had not completed it yet, as I was feeling quite tired and sleepy, so I decided to rest my head a little and wake up later to complete what I had started. And these are mere rambles of a young adult who feels he’s getting older faster than he anticipated. I must appreciate you for your time in reading.
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Marriage; Why we do it
Hello beautiful people, I had written this article on the bus travelling with some of my classmates from school to the institute I am to do the second phase of our Field Practical Training. This phase is to last about a month, and to keep my self distracted from the car sickness I am experiencing, I had to keep my mind busy with something and I thought since I’ll likely be tired on arrival to our destination why not just use this opportunity to write an article instead.
I was reading an article by @Bilqees titled Womb- watchers earlier and got the motivation to write about marriage and why some people do it. There are many reasons different people get married and the purpose of this article is to highlight some of them which I am familiar with. They include: https://read.cash/@Bilqees/womb-watchers-f474edde
**TO START A FAMILY/SETTLE DOWN**
Though, this is the base reason most people get married as it is interwoven with the other reasons. Though, some just get married when they feel they are ready for it. It is usually done by males and not necessarily because they are in love. The routine is usually finding a girl they like, and marry her, and start a family. That is not to say they always treat the woman harshly, but with the courtesy one is expected to show the mother of their child(ren), especially in my parts of the world, where internalised misogyny and toxic masculinity runs deep in the society. Men have the tendency to feel like the woman they had paid her bride price for is theirs, like a property. And because the supposed lawlessness wills it, they can do with her as they see fit. Even when they are perpetrators of domestic violence, it is their right as they have paid her price. Usually, in this type of marriage, having children is not the only goal, but having a specific gender especially. Male children are usually the preference, and if the female gender is the product especially on more than one occasion, the woman is to blame and no one else.
**FAMILY PRESSURE**
This is quite common in my country, it gets to a certain age your parents and or family members think you are ready to have a child and to do that, you must first tie the knot. Sometimes, these parents simply pressure their children out of their own selfish desire to be grandparents simply because people their age group are grandparents already. Other times, the family think time is running out for their kinsman (Like there is a age one shouldn’t reach being single) – this is specifically for the female child, because she is a woman, and menopause isn’t far away, she should be making babies so we can be grandparents, uncles and aunties. Some parents even go as far as arranging a marriage – usually with someone from their tribe – for their children. (Arranged marriage is another topic for another time). As the parents have become a stakeholder in the marriage because they found you a wife, they are constantly putting pressure on the couple to start a family and birth children. This usually causes rift between the husband, his mother and the wife.
**LOVE**
One of the most common and usual reason for marriage as it is often used to disguise other reasons. Done with the hopes of happily ever after, and living out your days with your other half, it is supposed to be the foundation on which every marriage is based *“… to LOVE and to cherish…”*. Although, I don’t think there could be anything more beautiful than spending the rest of your life with your other half. In this type of marriage, the couple is not under pressure to make babies, and if they are ready to start a family, they decide to together and birth children as a product of their love.
CONCLUSION
I have decided to limit this article to two major reasons, and they are reasons I am familiar with because they are common in my parts of the world. While the first two reasons tend not to be a happy marriage as there are pressure to procreate and even more pressure when it is not happening, it is best to stick with the best reason to indulge in marriages, which is the last reason stated above **LOVE**.
It is worth saying that I didn’t end up writing the article in the bus, but instead finished when I arrived at our destination.
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Philosophy of Classifications
Yesterday was a lazy day for me, and it was partly due to the fact that I didn’t have enough sleep the night before and that I had to go play football as early as 8am yesterday. Two hours later, after the exhaustion , I come to my room and had a bath. And thus began the laziness that lasted most of the day.
Thing is I was supposed to be packing up and getting ready for the second phase of our Field Practical Training which will be in a research institute in Lagos, and would last a month. My university is located in Edo state, so we have to travel down to Lagos state as early as 8am on Monday morning. And this time, the entire class is travelling together.
Unlike for some of my classmates that this will be a new experience for, as it is the first time they are travelling to the state (I hope they enjoy the experience), I am not new to Lagos, it is the state I was born and grew up in. Lagos is basically divided into two parts – The island and the mainland – and trust humans to use this geographical classification as an opportunity to stratify even the social classes into the different locations.
What I mean is: in Lagos, the division doesn’t just end with geology, but also with the various social class. The island is popular known to be where the rich people are. And of course, with this comes a high standard of living. The mainland on the other hand is for the middle and the lower classes, that is not to say that you won’t find rich people on the mainland, of course you would.
But I actually realised from reading a book that the segregation is merely a continuation of what was in the colonial era. The Brits have particularly inhabited mainly the island in Lagos, I suppose their (the Brits) time on the island must have had an effect on the area in terms of infrastructure and development and when Nigeria finally gained independence, the prominent Nigerians fancied the living in this exclusive place, and that has been mostly the case ever since. It is safe to say that practically every thing is under one form of classification or the other.
Firstly, there is the general forms of classifications which can include: living things and non living things, good and bad, among others. Further classifications led to the classification of living things by taxonomists among other things. It is an action that has been consistently done be it consciously or unconsciously.
It is our uncanny habit to create hierarchies, as seen in the workplace, in countries and even when it comes to our wants and need. I suppose the question is without these hierarchies, what would be? What would exist?
`This is my attempt at trying to be philosophical with my thoughts and try to make an article of it, I had started writing this article yesterday, but dozed off before I could complete writing it. Today will be a busy day for me as I have a lot of packing to do for tomorrow’s travel, we would all agree that travelling can be tedious.`
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The Perfect Dream
Hello beautiful people, today has been quite a boring one as I have had do dive in and out of slumber more times than I can count. This has mainly been due to the fact that my phone has been down since last night. And there has been very little power supply for me to charge it enough.
The unstable supply of power has majorly been due to the fact that it rained yesterday, and it was windy too. I always wondered why this state I am currently in has always been cautious with electricity after or during a downpour. In the state I was born and grew up in, I am used to availability of electric power even when it is raining.
I did try to read a book relating to my field of study. For some reason, the book seems to be the anaesthesia needed to fall asleep. As I remember dosing off more than once on the book. Though, I suspect it is because it I was reading about things I already know. But then again, one needs to refresh the things you know time and again… Look at me already diving into something entirely different from what I intend writing about today.
Well, the day gave me time to reflect on a very important part of being human: Emotions; more specifically LOVE. The intent of this article was to write a love story, hopefully, I stay on that track as I write on. The result of having no work to do, and your phone being down is time to reflect on the past or play fantasies. Today, my mind decided to do the latter.
I had thought about a circumstance which I fell in love, I thought about how the relationship had started. I had not gained admission into the university at that time, and was working in a textile mill. I remember knowing her on a Facebook group I was in, and after weeks of having long conversations on WhatsApp and Facebook, I finally met her in person at a get-together that had been organised by some persons in the group, of which I was part of the organisers.
I had asked her personally to show up for the party so that we could see each other for the first time and get to know each other better. She agreed to come but specifically said she’d be coming late to the party as she had an appointment with some of her customers. I didn’t mind, long as she showed up.
She finally came, and I remember how she looked the first time I saw her, she was glorious, with her queenly gait, time was her slave, and every second ticked with each step she took. Her skin was like creamy coffee. She was a beauty, and surely not the kind of beauty I had hoped to see.
I admit, I was mesmerised, but that was vaguely it for me. I had complimented her, even though I thought she must have heard enough compliments to last a lifetime. Because I had to ensure things ran smoothly, and everyone was comfortable, I didn’t really have the time to sit and converse with her. Plus, she told me that she had to leave early so she can beat traffic.
And thus was a summary of our first meeting. It didn’t end there though, I texted her when I got home about how happy I was when I saw her, and thanked her for coming to the party despite her busy schedule. She said it was a pleasure to have finally met me. We arranged to meet again, this time, just the two of us. It was arranged, and we finally met.
In retrospect, that would be our first date, even though it was before we started dating officially. But I suppose a date with someone doesn’t necessarily mean we must be together. This was when I asked her to be my girlfriend. We have been talking for months, and even though we had grown quite fond of each other, I just couldn’t ask her the question through the Internet, it had to be in person.
After asking the question, she replied positively, and also confessed that she had been waiting for me to ask the question for a while now. As though we were movie stars shooting a movie scene we had rehearsed time and again, we sealed it with a kiss and as we locked each others lips in our mouth, the world stood still. It was a happy day, I went home beaming with joy and like a warrior who had conquered a city everyone said he couldn’t conquer, I was beaming with joy and pride.
This was when I heard @Kushyzee call out my name from the door, and I came out of the dreamland I was in.
I hope I you had enjoyed the story born of a figment of my imagination.
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
Special thanks to @gertu13 my newest sponsor. Thank you for the support you’ve always shown me ma’am, I really appreciate it.
A Writer Inspired
The fact that you are on this platform means you write articles. And because you write articles irrespective of the frequency at which you do it, you are a writer. Everyone here would agree to the fact that writing is no easy task, thinking about ***WHAT*** to write about something, ***HOW*** to write about it so it attracts the attention of other readers and even having a good title for what you have written can be daunting and mentally challenging.
Oftentimes, as I read through articles written by other people, I can’t help but think about what could have inspired them to write what it is they wrote about. While some writers don’t usually talk about it, some others like myself usually write what ticked the writer in us. And as I read through articles, it is not unusual to see writers talk about writers block.
Looking back at the past three weeks or so, and all the articles I had written, it is strange to think about the places or things that had inspired me to write some of them. I remember my article Freedom had been inspired by a layer bird that was out of her cage when I was in the hall picking eggs on crates. Not to mention The Money Equilibrium that was inspired by the building I had seen the day my classmates and I arrived at our apartment of residence during the course of our Field Practical Training. I have not even talked about articles that were I was inspired to write by random conversations I had with my classmates at random times. https://read.cash/@Aimure/freedom-c535357f https://read.cash/@Aimure/the-money-equillibrium-ba68df0d
I must admit that it is one thing to be inspired, and another to find all the words that are enough to relay the intended message to your readers in the most attractive way. What I am saying in essence is that as a writer, there are a lot of brainwork involved in the art of writing. This is why I can’t help but feel great admiration for people who are consistently writing and posting articles on daily basis.
I stumbled on a quote that agrees with this article, and I remember citing it on one of my older articles. For those who might have missed it, I will cite it here again. It goes:
*“One of the most interesting parts of writing is that you can think about it all of the time. Writers get their ideas all day and all night long, not just when they sit at their writing tables. No one will see your thoughts, but inside you head you can always wonder and ponder. “Hmmm…that’s strange.” Or, “I might write about that later.” When you write, you notice things that other people do not. Artists and scientists do this too. To create, one must observe”*
**– Edgardo H. Pangilinan**
I believe we agree with every of the above words in italics. And there are even times I’ll pick up my phone to write and I am just blank, with nothing. But I see that when I go out to watch things, indulge people in conversations, you get inspired. Sometimes, I get more than one topics to write about, and because I had not written it down when it came, I end up forgetting what it was.
That’s one of what I had always found amusing: getting a topic to write about, and in my head a l the words are there to put down (at least 600 words) and I think about how to write it and the message to pass across to other readers, but if I don’t write down the topic at that moment, I end up forgetting everything, even all the points I want to write about. But, if I do write the topic down, I don’t forget anything isn’t it? That only speaks about how volatile inspirations can be.
In conclusion, observe every thing you can, as you never know when the inspiration might come, and in what form. But, unlike me, don’t forget to write it or save the topic somewhere, so you don’t forget it like me. And to every writer reading this, may your pen never run dry and the inspiration never cease to flow.
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
My Experience With an Elderly Man
Last Sunday, as I was at the gas station, waiting to fill my gas cylinder, I watched a woman in a fruit stand just across the road slip, and one of her legs got inside the gutter just in front of her stand. The road wasn’t so busy at the time, and the was scanty with people as Sundays usually are in my part of the world.
As she slipped, I spontaneously muffled “oh my”, at least loud enough for the elderly man beside me to hear and look in that direction. He made quite a comment, and I sat and wondered how that incident might have led him to the comments he made. To roughly translate his comment for better understanding, he said:
***“This is someone’s mother, and I am sure she has children, children that has forgotten they have a mother. May God not let us birth children that will forget us in our old age, it is better we have no children than give birth to children that won’t remember us”***
Because I was the only person sitting within talking distance with the man, and he couldn’t have been talking to anyone else at that time just so I do not respond to his comment about the matter, as his breath reeked of alcohol. I simply assumed he unintentionally thought out loud, and that wasn’t supposed to come out.
I was tempted to say that was just an incident no one intended for it to happen and it could have happened to anyone anywhere, even if the woman was in her house. I suppose it was an opportunity for the elderly man to probably strike a conversation. And like most elderly people in my country especially when they are talking to younger people, a conversation is always an opportunity to chip in one or two advice or ring a bell about what society should be like and what it shouldn’t.
But the fact that I wasn’t in the mood for a conversation dampened my opportunity to see the world through his eyes. Though, that didn’t stop me from thinking about the supposed expectations that the man had for another person’s children, and how he had casually made that statement.
I was forced to think that perhaps he knew something about her personal life that I didn’t, because that was the only way his comment would have been justified. The plausibility of that thought was predicated on the fact that the man emerged from a house close by and it is usual to know more about people around you.
Let me digress to the second part of this article. Which is about children, and their responsibilities towards their parents. A lot of people actually have different opinions when it comes to this. And while some people feel their parents are their responsibility whether or not they played a role in their life, the very fact that they gave life to them is already a debt to be paid for as long as they live. While others hold a different view and only care about parents who had cared for them.
I have heard an argument about the children caring for their parents, someone said during the argument that children have no responsibility towards their parents especially caring for them, that it was a conscious decision of the parents to have a child, and therefore the child will always be their responsibility and no point in time should the table of responsibility turn the other way.
The premise of his argument was that the child too will have his own responsibilities, such as a new family of his or her own, and will have to care for their children too the same way the parents have cared for them. But, should a child decide to take care of their parent, it should be out of their own volition, and not because they owe their parents.
I wondered why he would have such mindset. Perhaps he wanted to be on a different side of the argument, because what’s an argument if there are no sides because why would you expect your old parents to still continue to fend for themselves, and shockingly about you too. Shouldn’t a parents responsibility entails caring for a child until they are old enough to take care of themselves, all the while inculcating good morals and values into said child.
Well, there are no boundaries to opinions, and people are entitled to their opinions irrespective of how you feel about it.
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
Humans on Mars
Many are familiar with **SpaceX’s Mars program** by Elon Musk to aid not just the first human-landing on Mars, but also the colonisation of the planet by humans. I recently imagined what would happen if humans had to urgently evacuate earth to another planet such as Mars. But the problem was that only a limited number of people could leave, say 1000, and these set of people are to repopulate the new planet with humans and ensure the posterity of the human race on a new planet.
Surely, that is a major problem, and I wondered if there would be a criteria for picking the limited number of people, and whether it is the world leaders that would make the selection. And who would pick who? There are many possible criterion to pick from or all of which can be combined to make a criteria for the selection itself. Some of the criterion I think could include:
****Gender****
Surely this is the most important, and the ratio of male to female could be 1:1 – that is 500 males and 500 females – or 2:3 that is 400 males and 600 females. Some would wonder why there are more females, it is simply because they want to emulate the natural order of gender ratio on earth, and it is no news that there are more females in the world than there are men. And I suppose there is a reason for that. Of course, it could be decided to go against that and actually have more male than female in the ratio of 3:2 – 600 males and 400 females. Any ratio could work, long as there are both genders represented by at least 35%.
****Health Condition****
I believe this would also be a criterion for selection, and only people with no health condition or disease will be selected. Also, people that would be selected would be those who have no issue with reproduction, blood group and genotype too will be considered and as well as phenotypic characteristics.
****Profession****
Surely, people from all walks of life will be represented, just not sure what percentage they would represent. Doctors, Engineers, Teachers, Nurses, agriculturists, Physicists, among others. All profession will be represented and maybe in both gender too. I presume religious leaders too will be represented, for every religion there are, because really, what are hams without their faith?
****Age Group****
I imagine this would be a tedious criterion when being considered. Would it be a mix of old and young alike? Would all age group be represented or only the young will qualify for the journey? I suppose that is up to the committee in charge of setting the standard to decide.
****Intelligence Quotient****
I suppose intelligence would be a criterion for selection. It is easy to stumble upon a lot of IQ test on the Internet, but there has been talks about the accuracy of results and if one’s IQ can be accurately measured. Perhaps a standard measurement would be created. I would expect the chosen ones should be people with high intellect.
**CONCLUSION**
I suppose some criterion mentioned above will take presidency over others, and there will be an hierarchy that would be followed. I had thought about adding religion, country and race. But that might be insensitive and I thought it inappropriate to mention those.
Anyway, that is what I think, and if you think I missed something important, please feel free to leave a comment let me hear what you have to say about the article.
Disclaimer: this is merely fictional and just a figment of my imagination, and by no means an attempt to demean, disrespect or attack any one. It shouldn’t be misinterpreted to be what it isn’t.
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
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Personality Cube
Much as I am happy about the completion of the first part of our Field Practical Training that lasted for three weeks, I was also feeling nostalgic about leaving the farm itself late afternoon on Friday. It had been three weeks I will remember for a long time, and I actually have to, if I want to write a proper report which will be graded. So, it is not like I have much of a choice.
Myself and my other classmates had left the apartment we rented yesterday morning, and Inspire of the fact that I had to endure the nauseating feeling that comes with car sickness, I also had to wait a while at our faculty because we had a class meeting.
Before the journey to the outpost, I had challenged myself to see if I will come back after three weeks a better man, and after self evaluation the evening of yesterday, I can say that I am a better person. Excluding what I have learnt in the farm with respect to my field and agriculture, I have also learnt from people’s experience. And I have had the liberty to think about things from new perspectives.
One of the things I experienced that is worthy of mention was what happened at a get-together organized by some persons in the class. For the entire group on Thursday evening. We sat in a circle, and there was enough drink and pepper soup made with goat meat for all.
The celebrations had started with everyone giving a one minute speech about their experience over the last three weeks. And as it moved in clockwise direction in the circle from person to person, one of my classmates said she got to see the *‘laughing side’* of me. Just before I could process that, it got to another of my classmate who said she was surprised at how everyone had comported themselves and worked together, she also mentioned that although, she doesn’t know if some persons were pretending. And there was the final link in my chain of thought.
Firstly, I thought about whether or not I have been a different person in the three weeks or I have been a different person before the three weeks. I am sure those closer to me would not have said that or at least, not that they are just seeing the *‘laughing side’* of me.
Truth is: **WE ARE DIFFERENT PERSONS TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE**. Much as there is a base persona everyone has, and that is their basic character which they will show to everyone irrespective whether they are familiar with them or not, there are sides of us we show to people depending on that too.
There are jokes I would consistently tell my group of friends and every time, that could set the mood to a jovial one. But with a stranger, the conversation is mainly on a need-to-know basis. And until the two of you are familiar with each other, there are things you can’t tell them about your life or joke with them about it.
For friends, it is a different case, you can always pick up conversations from where you left them and make reference to funny things more often, and that would make the two of you laugh and be comfortable with each other. Unlike with strangers, sometimes you make a joke during conversations and it becomes awkward when the person isn’t laughing at the joke.
In conclusion, like a cube, we can be one person but with many sides depending on where the person is standing in our lives. And the more conversations you have with a stranger, the more familiar you two become with each other. And on the process of familiarising, they go around the cube and see all its sides.
`Thank You For Reading 🖤🖤`
@Aimure
