@Canon

Things I had to let go Lead image: unsplash Back in those days, when I was still in school, I did somethings that were not really relevant to my life. What I mean is that they served as a stumbling block for me. I had a girlfriend then, Mary. Not that I really loved her but because my friends all had a girlfriend, I barely knew her though, but I got her contact at a party we both attended, we started chatting for a while and soon and I told her about my intentions towards her. And the next day she gave me a positive response that we should start dating. That's so fast I thought within me, as times goes on, we began to know each other more. No intimacy between us whatsoever and infact most times we talk on phones, we only meet for an occasion and we never cross paths on campus. One major thing is that we were not that close enough to be in a relationship, who knows whether she was in another relationship then, I am always the one calling her to ask about her wellbeing. She only calls if she needed an assistance maybe money or something else. Well, things like that didn't move me then because I had money and even if I don't have at that particular moment she needed me to give her, I will ask my friends for help. After we had dated for few months, I discovered I had been lagging behind in some things in my life, my studies, my other friends and coursemates and even church. I didn't know how it happened but it started when I started dating this girl in particular, well it's not bad to date but it's good to choose rightly, someone that will motivate and back you up positively. I told her we should break up and then she ask for the reason, I told her I wanted to have some kind of privacy in my life and that things are somehow difficult for me these days and I might not be able to meet her demands anymore, then she said okay and that was the end. I was not surprised because I knew she wasn't interested in me from the onset. I joined a football team in my second year in school, my three roomates are also in the team and they told me to join also which I did. We do go for trainings and practices a lot that it started affecting my studies, my dad's scolded me the last time for my grades asking if I am indulging in any thing that will make me lose concentration, I knew within myself where the problem is from but I told him nothing. Things got difficult while I was preparing for a test in my department and at that same time we were preparing for a match with another school, practices became regular that I hardly have time to read, I wanted to tell the coach that I won't be available for the match because I am preparing for a test but my friends told me not to. They told me I can still read at night that they would love me to play with them. After practice at night I barely read for one hour that I will discover that I am already feeling sleepy. Things continued like that and I wrote my test, when the result came out I had C, I was so disappointed in myself, my parents will be so furious. It was then I realized I had to let other things go too. I told my friends I'm out of the team, they asked me why then I told them nothing the next thing I did was go to my dad and pleaded to get another hostel for me, a private one which he did for me. Its okay to have friends, its okay to have fun too in school but make sure these things are not obstructing your primary duties either your studies, your work, your marriage or your finance. I had to let them go because I was influenced negatively and thank God I learnt my lesson soon. Thank you for taking your time to read. Don't forget to like and subscribe.

Life in the City! Lead Image: unsplash When Diba completed his secondary education, he had no choice but to relocate to the city. His uncle who had been responsible for his education threw in the towel. His Uncle's children were of age and getting ready for secondary education,so his uncle wouldn't be able to combine the expenses of Diba's education, with that of his biological children. This development led to his stay in the city for sometimes for the first time. Hitherto, he had lived all his life in the village. Now, many things he had been told verbally became a reality, he saw them with naked eyes. To have a panoramic view of the city, he moved from one place to another. One day, Diba visited the magnificent Liberty Stadium. He opened wide his mouth wondering how much was expended on the gigantic edifice. Should such a huge amount be spent on mere sports and not in human capital development. Back in the village, an ordinary school field was enough to play a football match and it was free unlike the city where the rich and the poor pay to watch a football match. Back home Diba had heard of window-shopping ,that is browsing the windows of shops with no intention of buying anything. He saw many items on display through the windows of the shops of some expatriates. He only had a good look at the items without any intention of buying and in fact the money was not there. Diba saw mannequins for the first time in his life used for displaying and fitting of clothes. He mistakenly wanted to shake hands with one of them thinking they were human beings. They were fascinating to him and many times he appreciated the ingenuity of these salesmen. While Diba was still wondering how life in the village could really make one look awkward in the city he visited a popular 5 star hotel and had the opportunity to use a lift or elevator which transported him vertically from the ground floors to the topmost ones in a split second; "this is magnificent",he said. Transport was free here because the operator did not ask for money. He felt the elevator was a good device for enjoying free ride. Surprisingly, he saw a swimming pool from the top floor. At home, they swam in rivers only during raining season and the quality of the water was appalling. Diba saw some europeans almost naked (with just pants and bra) jumping in and out of the swimming pool and some of them having a tan in the sun. He was amazed to see them darkening their skin by prolonged exposure to sunlight. In the village, no one dared exposed his or herself like this he imagined. Now here are women stripping themselves almost naked in the name of fun? "Hasn't civilization gone awry, aww that's bad.... The last straw that broke the camel's back happened unexpectedly. Diba had always watched a group of young ladies in front of some rooms along a particular street. "These ladies had no jobs?",he asked. They were always neatly dressed with their lips painted red and also having artificial nails comparable to the claws of their village dog called 'tiger'. Further enquiry about these amazing ladies shocked him. "They are commercial sex workers, that is their work place, they dress like this to attract their customers" a passer by told him. Whaoh! Such things are done in the secret and in the dark in the village. City dwellers seem shameless, he surmised. With this last encounter, Diba felt he should leave for home because other weird practices like smoking marijuana, drinking to stupor etc had already weakened his moral fibre. Before he gets entangled in the web of many social vices in the city,and be unable to extricate himself as a teenager, retracing his step back home was inevitable and a better option. This he did without wasting time.

Going home to die? I grew up in a foreign country with my parents and immediate elder sister. The most elderly siblings of mine had left for home, our native country some years earlier. When I grew up and as years passed by, I noticed I was a foreigner. Although, I spoke the native language of our host country it was later in life that I knew my foreign status. I started schooling there, so we played games together, we went a fishing sometimes, we played football even in the burning sun of West Africa no matter the temperature. I had things in common with the natives, I ate their food, dressed like them, greeted and acted like them on several occasions and spoke their language flawlessly. But it got to a stage when our parents noted that my elder sister was dating the natives. I also started disliking anything our home presented, our food, dressing, greeting because the totality of our tradition and culture were alien to me. Daddy, God bless his soul, after carefully assessing the situation announced to our hearing in unmistaken and unequivocally terms that he was preparing to go home. I was heartbroken, what will happen to my friends, education and ambition in life? Going home to us was like going to an unknown place. What would be our lifestyle there? Will they be friendly or hostile to us? How about settling down and learning a new way of life entirely. How long would it take? Shall we adapt easily to this new environment? As for our parents, they had overstayed in a foreign country and it was time to go back to their roots. Although, papa had made such failed promises in the past, he was not taken seriously. My elder sister took the statement with a pinch of salt. In my own case, in the inner recesses of my heart, I simply said, "tell it to the marines papa" Later when papa felt we were more relaxed and because he didn't see any preparation to leave, he threatened to leave us behind. So the fateful day came, we were bundled into a vehicle and came home. As I feared, home was harsh, difficult, unattractive and dull. To make the matters worse, Papa took ill on arrival. I knew him to be a strong, agile and healthy man. He was never sick or ill. He was hard-working and physically fit. The sickness grew worse. Within 3 months, papa kicked the bucket. We were thrown into prolonged grief. His death elicited many questions did he come home to die? Why didn't he stay longer? after all the people over there were not hostile. Was it because he came home to lay claim to some properties taken over by some miscreants? To me I faced a bleak future by my assessment. But the question haunting me till today is, did he come home to die? Thank you for reading. Kindly Like and Subscribe.