Been a while
Date: Friday, 17th March,2023
Author: Greatwolfman
So many things have happened since the last time I wrote an article. I'm not even sure if I'm still able to conjure up a topic, perhaps this is just an effort to show my head to my friends here just to say - ***"hey, I'm still alive" .***
Writing used to be something I could do as easily as breathing, but recently I haven't been able to form words from the experiences that I've been facing. I'll do my best to give you an interesting articles on some of them (as much as I can process). I got winds of the word that **"R" is back**, here's to seeing if my page is still valid. I can't wait to start to catch up with old friends. Oh, it's been a while.
I can't help but feel nostalgic when I think about all the memories we made, the completion, ***the creative writing, the fantasies we created, the horror stories we made, the monthly plan we made, and the months we failed to meet up with them. I even miss the "beef" between co-writers***, in a way it was actually entertaining, the period of waiting for a reply. **Oh, it's been a while.**
I was going through all my past articles and I couldn't help but feel proud of myself, the hours and days spent in writing each of them, conjuring topics on moods and inspiration from other great writers. Writing was an hobby, a therapeutic endeavour to heal my mind and my wildest thoughts.
What happened to me? Sometimes I wonder how I went from writing daily to twice a week, and then to once a week, then to once a month and eventually once in years. I could think of a number of reasons but the predominant ones are as follows.
Rusty's absence.
The main inspiration behind everyone writing was the constant visit from our friend, financial freedom is a prey we all seek to hunt down, where our ability and consistency to write was our bow and arrow. I can imagine the early days where people quit after being frustrated by not getting a visit. My respect goes to every writer who maintained the consistency throughout the period.
Busy schedule
A story as old as time, going for classes, working at your daily jobs, preparing for an exams, maintaining your social life, creating time for your spouse, taking care of your children, among other engagement and commitments. Any one of this can make writing more difficult since you're probably exhausted after a long day and would just prefer to go to bed to reenergize for the next day.
Lack of inspiration
Writing is an art, and art comes from inspiration, when you lack this, you won't be able to come up with something creative to write on, it's the reason why not everyone is a song writer today. I'm trying to find mine right now, and I think I may have just found it.
While I was away, I developed other hobbies, the prominent of them being that **I learned how to play the guitar.** Music has always been an hobby of mine, I remember the first song I wrote, it was shortly after Micheal Jackson had died, and my friends and I were ready to become the new "Jackson 5" or start our version of "The Beatles", well, if there was record, then we probably went down as tbe fastest break up any band ever suffered, we didn't last a day before the fight and argument started.
I also found a new role model, Lin-manuel, you might know him as the man that starred in the **Hamilton musicals** as "Alexander Hamilton", which to me at this time of writing this article is my favourite musicals of all time, if you haven't seen it then I highly recommend that you do. The way he uses rhymes to tell a story in a very unique way with comedy and suspense is a gift I admire and hope to develop in the future.
`The day is just starting here, got a couple of jobs on my desk, but I'll be back to reconnect with my friends, here's to a better one....cheers`
Puting my pen to work again
*How long has it been, two years? I went on a break, a long one at that, a much needed moment of relaxation, just that I was exactly relaxing somewhere on a beach resort, taking in the cool sea breeze, wearing my sunglasses and sipping what might just be coconut juice (oh, how I wish I was doing just that), instead I was somewhere under the hot sun, learning and supervising building construction.*
**I got a job as an intern in a Quantity Surveying firm**, at first everything was looking so easy but just after the first week, work got serious. I would spend most of time working even when I wasn't on the building construction site or at the office, you would still find me with my laptop carrying out measurement. Eventually I had to stop writing to focus on work.
**I would write tomorrow, I would often say to myself, and then procrastination would set in and days would become weeks and weeks became months.** I haven't been gone for that long but that's what it feels like when you don't write for a long time. I'm not even sure I'm back, maybe this is just a test to see if my account is still functioning and if Rusty has broken up with me (I have a long epistle being prepared for her in case the latter proves to be true).
**This could also be that I'm trying to maximize my opportunities with Bitcoin Cash**, it is at a low right now and I just have a feeling this would be the perfect time to buy more and earn more.if there is something that is logically certain of the Crypto market (emphasis on "logically"), it is that the Crypto market is generally bullish in the long run, of course we can have moments such as this, it's not new to have bearish market. If the market go go bearish on us in less than 6 months, imagine what the next years would bring.
*Alright, enough chatting, I know I have a lot to catch up on, I've missed all my virtual friends, their wonderful stories and experiences especially those articles that involves getting acquainted with even more opportunities.*
**A lot things have been trending in the country (Nigeria) lately, the coming Presidential Elections, The ASUU strike (which means no school for me), and don't even get me started on the poor power grid or the fuel scarcity.**
**To get to work**, since I don't have a car yet, I have to enter public transport, and drop at two bus stops. This wouldn't be an issue if you didn't have to face the heavy traffic. Oh, even that isn't an issue, try getting a bus that would be willing to travel that distance when there is fuel scarcity, I don't blame them, everyone just wants to make profit even at the expense of other people, it's a selfish world after all. So I have to walk quite the distance to the next bus stop, at least 25 minutes walk, only to get there and there is a very long queue, everyone simply waiting on a bus that will take forever to come. After going through all of the stress, I still have some late coming scolding and work just sitting patiently waiting for me. **It's a real hassle.**
*That's just how my week goes, and the weekend just never seems to be enough. It's just like it's Friday today, by the time I close my eyes, it's Monday already. I will try to create a better working schedule, let's hope it works.*
*I miss taking out my frustrations with writing, it feels so good. We have to do this again. It's good to be back*
*Haha, look at that, just when I was complaining about the hassle to get to site, the rain just started, I wish it had rained earlier, I would have just stayed in, after all, who can argue with thr force of Nature eh. Aarrrghh. I miss my bed right now, a warm tea would even do the trick and probably a Netflix show (I don't even know what's trending but I have a feeling I would find the answer)*
**Lead image source from Unsplash free images**
Different type of teachers you'd meet
All my life, I have come across different types of teachers, some made me better, others worse but regardless they all had an impact on my life. They often say a good teacher should be judged by his students, well then, I shall be the judge in this matter and I'm pretty sure you'll agree with about 90% of my verdict.
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**The Active Teacher.**
We all have that teacher who is always ready to work, they wouldn't mind going to the far lengths of organizing field trips and practicals that aren't within the school syllabus just to ensure that the kids get what is being taught.
As a lazy student, I don't like such teachers unless of course it involves going on field trips, who wouldn't love that eh? The best teacher I would suggest that fits this description would be my geography teacher, our visit to "Olumo Rock" - a popular tourist site attraction here in Nigeria- it's just one of those few places you find love, you know? Oh and yes, learn more about Rock Formations.
The playful Teacher.
This is always our favorite, the teacher that doesn't take everything to head and jokes with the class as though we are all friends, of course, they can be serious when they want to but they make learning fun.
I like these types of teachers for one reason alone, they have a habit of missing their class period which means a good time to nap, and even when they send notes or materials to read on and it's time to mark our scripts during exams, they do their best to cover their negligence and reward our efforts. I don't need to give an example here, I'm sure it reminds you of someone already.
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The Strict Teacher.
We often associate discipline with being strict, this might be right because it would explain how a lazy boy like me became so good with Physics. My high school Physics teacher was like this.
There is always that teacher who commands a certain aura, when they walk into the class, no one dares make a sound unless asked to, the fear and terror that would last throughout the class is enough to keep you seated, focused, and of course wide awake throughout the whole duration, with your eyes actively watching the clock because you just can't wait for the terror to be over.
I didn't survive unscathed though, I had my fair share of beatings but boy am I happy that I went through that experience, the things I learned during those classes still help me to this day, the same goes for my Mathematics teacher (is it just mine or are all Mathematics teachers always strict? Let me hear your verdict on this one).
The determined Teacher.
This should be a goal for all teachers but it doesn't really help, they always come to class with a game plan to cover certain topics and when they can't, they start to fix classes at odd hours to try and make it up, and when that still isn't enough, you just wake up one morning to a couple of PDF notes to study against exams.
I personally despise such teachers, they seem to forget that it's not by how far they cover but by how well the students understand what is being taught.
The Learner.
These Teachers are usually the new ones or recent graduates who just like the students are trying to understand what is being taught. In college, they could also be Lecturers assigned to teach an area that is beyond their scope, so they try to study it, play around it, and try to teach it as well but when that serious student who always wears glasses and sits in front asks the tough questions, it becomes an assignment for everyone.
I don't enjoy such classes because especially when it involves mathematical calculations because it only leaves one worse off than he was before the class commenced.
The Wise Teacher (Guru Sensei).
They are usually Characterized by their age, usually with some gray hair and big glasses. I once lost my cool to such a teacher on multiple occasions. Imagine this, you are trying to learn something and instead of giving you a solution, they make you work hard for it, and even when they see you doing the wrong thing, they prefer to wait for hours for you to finish the whole work than pointing out that part you did wrong.
True story, I once came back from school and had to attend this extra lesson, he gave me a question to solve without even explaining how to go about it, and when I had a question he referred me to go back to the text and figure it out by thinking about it deeply. Long story short, I spent the whole day trying to solve that particular question, which made me lash out because it felt like I just taught myself.
Although, in a way it was very effective because the following day in class that question was a test question and because I had gone through a lot to figure out to solve it on my own, it was easier to answer.
It wasn't a good way to learn but it was effective, I still don't like such teachers but such lessons last long in my memory.
***Well, these are the ones that come to mind at this time, if you have more, feel free to suggest some, and let's have a good laugh about them, have a wonderful day my friends.***
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A little love and appreciation
Last night, as I was going through some articles, I stumbled upon one written by @Jumper-01 - **Reality Check**- and a quote got to me. We all know this to be true but somehow we don't do anything about it. We know we have to appreciate what we have now but somehow we don't until you lose it. https://read.cash/@Jumper-01/reality-check-1163615b
On my way to work this morning, I needed to make a withdrawal so I went to a POS stand, the man who attended to me had only one hand, the other must have been amputated for one reason or the other yet he didn't let that disturb him as he continues forging ahead, my hands are complete but I didn't realize how important it was until I saw someone without one.
We need to start showing appreciation, however little for all of these blessings that we have.
**Show a little appreciation for your body**
This is a lesson that keeps escaping once I feel better. The last time I was not feeling too well, I remember laying on my bed just wishing I had enough strength to get up and get a cup of water or at least get-up. I saw my brother and sister moving about and I got jealous, I can recall I made a silent wish that I needed to get better so I can continue my semi-active life again.
I had put too much stress on my body and it took its toll. When I first saw the signs, I should have started treatment but I kept on postponing it until it became too much for my body to handle and it knocked me down. I kept on beating myself up mentally -"if only I had just taken my treatment medications early"
What would you do if a part of your body stops functioning the way it's supposed to because of an action you could have avoided if only you had given a little care to your body? Exactly, Don't wait for it to get to that level.
Love your neighbor
If you interpreted this wrongly, may God heal your mind and body. I once lived in a neighborhood where everyone in there is fighting with the other, as the new resident I was forced to choose sides, a box I didn't want to be found in, why partake in someone else's feud when it didn't affect me.
It got so bad that one night, one of the neighbors got robbed (by the way, only her apartment) and no one came out to help or at least alert security(if they weren't in on it too), fortunately for me, I wasn't around because I went to school to study for an exam overnight.
When I heard the story, I suspected it was a direct hit since nothing happened to the other residents, about a week later a similar occurrence happened, this time the other resident was the only one affected. In a neighborhood where there is no love but malice, of course, I had to move out.
Love is essential to co-exist with other people, it's also healthy, when there is love, there is cooperation and peace Imagine if they had lived in love and peace
Give a little back
I was browsing through YouTube yesterday and I saw a video by Shaq where he said every time he goes to the mall, he must buy something for a random person there as a way of giving back.
Nothing puts a smile on one's face like an unexpected gift, I'm sure we can all agree on that, if rusty visits you right now with about $1000, wouldn't you jump for joy and even remain happy for the rest of the month?
You don't have to make millions to be able to do this, even if it's just paying for someone's cab to a particular place or helping out with a task, it's all part of giving back, but you have to do this from the bottom of your heart, of your own volition, not because you read it in my article.
**Every act of love and appreciation is like sowing seeds, seeds grow and bear fruits hence multiplying. Plant a good seed today, one smile on a face at a time. This is all we need to make the world a better place to thrive and grow.**
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Nick-shows I'm glad I saw - Part 1
***For a young kid who is often overtaken by his thought, a good form of distraction would do the trick, Nickelodeon did that for me. To little kids, Cartoons or basically - "TV time" - is the ultimate gold.***
[**Image Source**] https://www.nickelodeonafrica.com/
***"If you want to watch TV, first do your homework" - does that sounds familiar to you? If it does, congratulations, this article is about you too.***
***Before I proceed any further, I think it's very important for parents to monitor the type of movies their kids watch, a lot of things are going on these days, things that shouldn't happen, so we all need to take the necessary precautions.***
***Do you realize how weird it is to walk into a house and see a grown man watching "Spongebob Squarepants"? Yes, that grown man is me, don't judge me, I have a rational explanation for this.***
***Growing up as a kid, I was never allowed to watch TV, my Dad organized an after-school lesson for me because my teachers said I wasn't smart enough and I had poor handwriting (in case you are wondering, I still do).***
***Power was a thing of Joy, I once witnessed power bring Joy back to the home of a couple, there was an intense argument going on, and all of a sudden, the power came up and they both shouted: " Up Nepa" - a phrase that means the power is back on, hurray- right after that, they both started smiling as they walked back into their apartment. Yes, it's that good but in a bad way.***
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Icarly
[**Image Source**] http://www.nick.co.uk/shows/icarly/ex7xov
This was the very first Nickelodeon show I ever saw, it's a story about a Teenage Girl, Carly who with the help of her friend, started a kid's show, it's like watching a show in a show. This kid's show is surrounded by a lot of hilarious scenes with the two main assistant characters being Freddy and Sam, Freddy was the geek/lover boy, a character I would love to associate myself with, and Sam, the brute, she had this none caring street smart personality and somehow everything just works out for her, the perfect Trio, the big twist evolved when the love Triangle started. It's definitely a show you would want to see if you are down and in need of a laugh.
Sam and Cat
[**Image Source**] https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2487090/
Another exciting show which serves as a sequel to Icarly, Sam, the street smart girl paired up with a long-time crush of mine, Cat (Ariana Grande) - "I have a soft spot for girls with dimples". Oh, her adorable smile, she had to act like the dumb one in this movie but this only made me admire her even more (I mean her awesome acting skills). It was the perfect way to pass the time.
Nicky Ricky Dicky and Dawn
[**Image Source**] https://m.imdb.com/title/tt3596176/
This show features a Quadruplet made up of 3 boys and a girl, a true gift right? If only they behaved themselves, being a parent to 4 troublesome kids who are always up to some mischief is enough trouble as it is, I feel even worse for the girl having to contend with 3 other boys right from their mother's womb. If you are a parent or hope to be one someday, you could take a few pointers from Mr. and Mrs. Harper.
Henry Danger
[**Image Source**] https://m.imdb.com/title/tt3596176/
This might be one of my all-time favorites as I saw my favorite characters grow up in the movie, a teenage boy (Henry Hart) somehow became a sidekick to a superhero but must now try to keep this secret from his friends, yeah, how did that work out eh? I made another crush, Charlotte (yes, the black beauty in the image above), she's smart and pretty, pretty strong too (I'm blushing right now). I didn't like how Piper, Henry's little sister started to become nice, I prefer the small version of the character any time of the day, I also like the dumb Jasper. I guess that's what growth is all about, it brings notable changes in one's character.
***This is only the first part, there are more shows that I will cover in the next article, sadly only Nick fans would be able to relate, if you can't, then I'm sorry you grew up to fast, fortunately, it's not too late, just pretend to hate it while your kids watch it, then sit with them pretending to sleep, I hope that helps.***
`All references are made from Nickelodeon`
Lead Image Source: **Twitter** https://mobile.twitter.com/nickelodeon/status/1212237035941089281
Heartbreaks and Moving on
I'm currently at work, just finished a really long meeting with a contractor tendering for a project, it was quite the battlefield, negotiations can be fun...sometimes.
Anyway, this topic has been on my mind for some days now and I think it's about time to publish it. Heartbreak is something practically everyone can relate to, which is why I chose this topic.
How often have you had your heart broken, or hurt by another person?
how did you cope with this pain?
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**Heartbreaks**
How can such a beautiful thing as love turn into so much pain? The mere concept of love even feels like torture these days, everyone is so scared to love that they end up causing pain to others who decided to give love a chance.
I still recall that feeling, you know? The one where the new girl walks into the room and all of a sudden you just know deep down that she's the one you've been waiting for all your life. I still remember hearing the sound of my heart beating out loud when she called my name. Oh love, what a beautiful thing, what a beautiful lie.
Not all love stories end just they do in Fairytales, not like Snow White meeting her Prince Charming, or Belle finding the beast, certainly not like Cinderella losing a show only for that single act to lead her to her "Happily ever after", yet we chase this beautiful illusion.
***How do we calculate love, can two people love each other equally?***
***How do we try to balance it off in case there is an imbalance?***
***Is there a special formula to this thing called love?***
**Moving on**
This is just a very good example of one-sided love.
Imagine giving your all, 100% to someone only to get nothing but pain and misery in return, and after years of trying to endure this pain, you eventually conclude that it's time to let go of such feelings and move on.
***How then do you move on?***
I stumbled upon a post on Twitter last night on how some people coped during their heartbreak period, it can sound funny to read especially when it's not happening to you but it can assure you that there's nothing funny about it.
It's like being addicted to a drug, and now being forced to quit such a habit because it has become a threat to your life, a task easier said than done. Is there a Rehab for those trying to get over this drug called love or are people just simply unleashed into the street to bring more broken-hearted people to the fold?
It's hard to move on especially when almost every part of your life has been circled about someone else's life, every little detail reminds you of that part that is missing, it's like someone you cared about just died only that they are not exactly dead and are somewhere happy in someone else's arms while you are just down there sulking, crying and wishing for things that will never be.
No amount of tears can heal a broken heart, no amount of "I'm sorry's" can mend a broken bond. Even when we claim to have moved on, a certain part of our heart will forever remain scared, a painful reminder of that which we once had.
The most ridiculous lie you hear is that everything will get better with time but does it though? Why do people have to go through pain just to know what love feels like? How does anyone really move on after getting hurt?
A wise lady once told me, you have to fake it to make it, in this case, you need to keep lying to yourself that you are just hurt until you believe you aren't, this might work or only make it worse.
**Writers note:**
**Love itself is a risk, if ever you find someone willing to take that risk with you, I say give love a chance, the past is in the past for a reason, not to hold you back to urge you to move forward. Nothing good ever comes easy, remember that.**
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Is Free will an Illusion?
***I was watching a movie, and this question was asked in class, and since then it has been on my mind.***
***Where do you stand on this argument, is free will indeed only an illusion? I will leave this article as a prompt if you wish to challenge yourself and your perspective of the world.***
***For this article, I'll be supporting the motion that Free will is just an illusion, a lie we tell ourselves just to justify a means to an end.***
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**What is Free will**?
According to **Cambridge Dictionary** https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/free-will
**the ability to decide what to do independently of any outside influences.**
As humans, we pride ourselves on being **the only living creature with Free will** but is that a fact or purely an illusion.
Ask yourself, is there truly a decision you have ever made that is not influenced by any external force? No matter how I look at it, there just isn't any.
**Let's take some examples:**
We go to **school** to learn, why? Because society says we should if we wish for a better future.
We wear **clothes**, why? Because society says it's wrong to walk through the streets naked
Even **saying the truth or lying** is defined by what society deems to be right or wrong. Our very basis or instinct to survive, a characteristic we share with wild animals in the jungle is not guided by free will either.
The real question we should be asking is "***Why do we choose to believe in free will?***"
To this I think I have an answer, it could just be human nature, the will to always feel like you are in control, the reason why a lot of bodies have been buried today, the sole cause of Wars that has ravaged our history.
I once stumbled upon an article, I can't remember the source right now because it's been a while but it goes thus "God gave men free will to do as they please, to do what's right or what's wrong, and for every decision they make, they should be able to bear the consequences of their actions.
Then I ask myself, and I implore you to do the same, who determines what's right or wrong, better yet, who "influences" what is considered to be right or wrong. Whether the reason is known or not, it doesn't change the fact that we have no free will.
**Still not convinced? Alright then,**
I was traveling the other day, from my window, I saw a variety of people going about their daily lives, little kids right on major roads trying to sell off their goods to probably get something to eat for the day, businessmen, despite the sun rushing trying to make it to an appointment despite the heavy traffic on the road. Some people just sitting on any point they could find, perhaps just thinking.
I tried to put myself in their shows trying to imagine just what a day in their lives would feel like, what challenges they must be going through, what would make things better for them, even the wealthy often have problems too. If they had the free will to be where they want or get what they wish to achieve, don't you think they would?
Since the beginning of the day, what decision have you made for yourself that has not been in any way influenced by a force either within your control or not? Waking up perhaps, definitely not by your will alone, eating? Your body demanded that from you, even reading this article, the title probably caught your attention.
***This is merely my opinion on the matter, if your thoughts differ, please, by all means, share in the comments or simply write an article to prove your point, I would really love to read your article on the matter.***
***It's been a while since I wrote an article on such matters but I had fun doing it, I hope you did too, thanks for your visits.***
****Image Source****:
All images have been sourced from **Unsplash** free images
My Alma mater
***Today (12th of April, 2022) happened to be a very adventurous and exciting one for me, a lot of things happened that I can't help but be proud of my Alma Matter, my High School. I'm exhausted from my trip so I'll probably complete this early tomorrow morning.***
**Alright, as promised, I'm going to complete this article.**
**13th of April 2022**
I had my eyes set on an internship in a popular firm here in Lagos, Nigeria, but the chances of getting in are always difficult but I gave it a shot. A few days ago I got an email that I should come for the interview, I was excited, I got the only cooperate wear I process (I'm not a big fan of such clothes, I prefer my all my black on black wears).
You already know how the trip was from my last article, Have you thanked Him today, you can check it if you wish. I settled in and prepared for the journey.
The problem was getting to the place early seeing as I have never been to that part of town, I consulted my dear friend -Good Maps, and a little assistance from a local map (Lara.ng) and soon I was on my way, I didn't escape the traffic but I still arrived there about 45 minutes early, the appointment was supposed to start as early as 10 am but something happened.
The manager was caught up in an unplanned meeting that lasted from 10 am to around 3 pm, I didn't eat on my way to the Firm because I had planned to eat when I got back, I reckoned the interview wouldn't exceed 2 hours, I was wrong.
I could hear my stomach growl as I waited patiently, just then, I started a conversation with one of the Workers in the firm and learned that he finished from my University, he started telling me about some few things about the manager, I learned he was the Former President of the Governing body that controls my Profession (Quantity Surveying) in Nigeria, normally I was supposed to have looked him up before going for the interview, so in a way, the waiting paid off.
To my utmost surprise, as I was reading his biography online, I saw that he went to the same High School as I did, I was taken aback, what a coincidence, I even checked the biography of the current President of NIQS and realized that he too is an old student of my High school. It was too good to be true.
While I marveled at this wonderful coincidence, the Manager sent for me, even though I was already tired and weary at this time, I tried to straighten up a little to look smart as I was escorted into his office. He asked me to take a seat and I did.
He seemed really nice and calm, I was asked a couple of professional questions which I answered, then he mentioned that he saw my CV and realized that we went to the same High school which was one of the reasons I was asked to come in for the interview, of course, I pretended to be shocked at this news as he went on to discuss his time in high school.
Soon after a couple of questions and answers, he started telling me the rules of working at his firm one of which being I would have to wear a shirt and tie each day, my one weakness, I tried it in the past and I looked really weird on it but the rules are rules, the terms of payment were discussed as my document was signed and I was offered the internship, of course, I accepted it, who wouldn't.
The journey back took longer because that was when it started raining heavily which made it harder to transport back home, inside my head, I started wishing I had a car, I wouldn't have to undergo so much stress. After about 3 hours, I got back to the apartment. Of course, I was exhausted but I was happy.
It's indeed a small world, you never know who knows you so it would be better if you are of good character because then opportunity might just present itself, it came to me in the form of my Alma mater, a school that shaped my very life after spending 6 years in there.
I can only thank God for the opportunity but I know I will have to work hard to be deserving of such an opportunity, it's a new day, a free day for me because the other firm I currently work in gave me the week off, till next week so I'll use today to rest and start planning on how I would make use of the easter break.
This could just be the start of something great, and it's all thanks to my Alma Mater.
Lead Image Source: **Linkedin.com** https://ng.linkedin.com/school/federal-government-college-odogbolu-odogbolu/
Have you thanked him today?
*Sighs... What a world we live in.*
What a country we live in, the price of everything is up, the weather is hot, jobs are limited, the hustle is real, yet every day we survive.
Have you noticed how hot the days are? Almost as if we are trapped in an oven, well this may not be too far from the truth, some say it's part of the effect of global warming, others say it's the result of the Earth advancing towards the sun, maybe it's not too late to start thinking of going to Mars (Just kidding...or not).
Today happens to be the day I travel to a different city for work, the mandatory school strike has forced us to sit at home, gradually turning us into slaves, I had to run before it got out of hand, on this trip I witnessed something.
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I don't even know where to start but I have to pass on this information. Please note that this doesn't have to deal with any religion but our disposition as Humans. Today I saw something I wish I didn't but I guess it happened for a reason.
**Reader's discretion is advised***
*I had to travel to a different city today, during the journey, I observed that there was traffic, I figured it must be one of the many useless things that could be causing the hold-up, that is until I saw it for myself.*
*Right in front was a dead man, his cold lifeless body still on the hot floors of the street, blood flowing everywhere, as usual, people were gathered sharing their thought on how unfortunate his death was.*
*The people on the bus I was on also shared their condolences on this incident, we didn't wait around for the story behind it but from what I saw, I concluded it must have been an accident.*
*He was alive yesterday like you and I, probably complained about the hot weather, watch the football match (hopefully he was a Chelsea fan), he probably even shared comments on what the epic match between Liverpool and Man City would be (by the way, it was one of the best matches I've ever seen). He went to bed after eating and woke up this morning not even realizing it would be his last day.*
*This experience made me question everything, death is the one thing we know deep down is inevitable yet we are ever so shocked when it happens. The fact that you're reading this right now means you are alive and that's something to be grateful for.*
*The difference between life and death is a second, hence we should make every second count because we never know when it would be our last. Take a second of your time to just thank God, thank him for the fact that you are still alive.*
*I once read a quote that said we only thank God or pray when we are in trouble or need help, but I think we should also do this every other day.*
*I don't know if there is life after death or if it's judgment but wherever he is, may his soul find peace.*
I believe it was William Shakespeare, one of the notable writers of all times that wrote in his book "Julius Caesar" which said and I quote "A Coward dies many times before his death, a Valiant never thinks of it at all but once".
If you were given a choice, would you rather live like a Coward or die as a Valiant? this is a question that has kept me puzzled for a while now. What would your answer be?
It wouldn't matter, because eventually, our time in the sun comes to an end. It's the legacy we live that continues to grow. Instead of living your life I'm fear, try to live free but with causation, leave a memory even time can't erase, a positive one.
**Well, it's a new week, let us get things done!!!**
It appears to be a busy one for me, there will be some more traveling among other tasks that needs completion, I can already see everything taking shape. I just hope and pray everything works according to plan.
By the way, have you observed how BCH has been fluctuating between 300 to 390 margin? I'm patiently waiting for it to break the $1500 ATH again, by the way, I read some articles from some amazing writers on new opportunities in the Smart BCH network like Panda (if you are a gamer like me), Pay, play and earn as we having fun, don't forget to carry out your research. Let us all continue to be hopeful as we continue to make our BCH community greater.
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I was taken to the Psychiatric hospital
***Okay, before we start jumping to conclusions, this article is purely fictional.***
I stumbled upon a post a twitter some days back and got inspired to write an article on it.
***"How would you prove you are not mentally afflicted If by any chance you are taken to a Psychiatric Hospital?"***
The probable answer here is probably to run some test, but then again this requires money, would you want to pay for a test you know deep down you don't need? What they do here is that they keep you locked up until someone comes to claim you, no one likes to have a nuisance on the street, right?
`Just before the story begins, I would like to apologize to all my friends if I haven't been active for a while, I've been dealing with some things which have taken a lot from my time, I also want to give a big thank you to my sponsors for the continuous support.`
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So, it begins
Bad peer group influence has been a major cause of various disasters, would this be mine. It was Friday night and the boys and I went out to have some fun. This pursuit led us to a club, I was reluctant to dance at first but the mood changed after a drank what I believed to be a juice with low-level alcohol content.
Now, I'm drunk and completely wasted, I don't remember much but I believe I must have taken a hard drug because soon after, I blacked out. From what I learned, "We" were brought to the hospital, by "We", I'm referring to genuine lunatics who were picked up from the street because they were becoming a nuisance, I supposedly being one of them.
But I had no mental condition, how do I convince them that my intellectual capabilities were well on par with any average sane person. I tried to get up and was rushed with a strong wave of headache which probably didn't help me portray my point because I looked like someone who had lived on the street their whole life.
"*Ma'am*" - I said in the most respectful way that I possibly could, "*I am not Mad*". In case you are wondering, " Mad" here does not refer to being angry rather it means "Lunatic or mentally deranged" in my culture due to translations from our cultural language to English.
"That's what they all say" - she told her colleague in broken English, I tried to raise my voice to try and convince her that I really wasn't sick but this prompted the guards to pounce on me, tie me up, and put me in a jumpsuit to keep me restrained.
Why hasn't anyone called for me, I wondered as I remain locked up, crying for help, that was when I noticed the other inmates were doing the same thing and also claiming not to be sick.
In there lies the puzzle, what can I do or say to convince the guards I was okay.
If I remained quiet, it would only prove their point that I was indeed insane, and if I spoke out, it would be taken as a sign of violent behavior, a characteristic that I'm just realizing though quite common among lunatics is not allowed within this block.
A guard walked by and I begged him to call my... Oh, d*mn, I must not let either of my parents know what happened, they would be really disappointed in me. What about my friends, perhaps I should inform them.
After much pleading, the guard dialed my friend's number but there was no response on the first few trials, and when he did, he acted like he didn't even know who I was, he completely denied knowing me. So, this is what it feels like to be stabbed in the back...metaphorically speaking.
That was when It hit me, if my blood got tested, they would realize that I had been on hard drugs, this might rule me out as mentally deranged but then I would be heading out of the mental clinic straight into the prison because such drugs are illegal. I'm pretty sure I would even make the local school news headline (just kidding).
So, I had to think of a plan that would get me safely out of here and back to the real world, while I sat down to make these plans, I burst out into tears as I whispered under my breathe never to engage in taking hard drugs again, just then the female nurse I had approached earlier to declare that I wasn't mentally afflicted passed by and laughed.
"Is it not you that said you were not Mad, yet you are talking to yourself, I know your type"
Oops, this might be harder than I thought.
**This article is a means to create awareness on how bad things can get when you indulge in hard drugs, the negative impact it has on health is high and research has it that people who indulge in hard drugs might not live long.**
**On the other hand, it also serves as a means of entertainment, I'm referring to the article, not the drug, so, help me solve this riddle, *how do I prove that I'm not insane?**
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Mothers and their superpowers
*I started suspecting a long time ago but couldn't quite put my finger on it, but now, I think I do and I'm sure you'll agree with me on this too.*
*Please note that even though I'll be talking about "Mothers", the courtesy extends to every parent doing the most for the little ones (However big they may have grown).*
*From my research, these powers get activated the moment they become a parent (biologically or adopted, it doesn't matter). It's almost like a dormant power that just gets activated once the need arises.*
*By need, you probably know how naughty kids can be, just take a look at yourself and trace it back to when you were just a little kid. It's funny how in other foreign countries, Parents aren't allowed to instill discipline using corporal punishment, I'm not going to argue if it's a bad practice or not because to be sincere I never liked such punishment, both at home and in school but in a way, I think it turned out for the better for me, for others, it may have turned out differently.*
*Let me not deviate from the topic, the article is simply about appreciating mothers, even those who are no longer with us, they will always live on in our hearts and memories.*
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Finding that which could never have been found.
Time and time again I see this happen, I'm sure you must have noticed it too, whenever I misplace an item and start looking for it, no matter how hard and long I search for it, I won't find it, but with just a little bit of effort from Mother, it would suddenly reappear, almost as if the missing item had a voice wine was calling out to them.
The look on their face when they finally find what you've been searching for ages, the pride in their eyes when they boast of their searching prowess, you won't even be too affected by this because you'll be most overjoyed after the item which you've been searching for had been found.
Wielding the Slippers
This has to be one of the most powerful tools to ever exist which surprisingly can only be wielded by Mothers, and also with great precision. Give them a bow and arrow to shoot a target they might not even get close to it, give them slippers and they will never miss.
When I was little, I was quite naughty, my little brother and I would often get into a lot of trouble so we were conversant with the feel of slippers as they came in contact with my body. It was effective at close range and even more at a distance.
As little kids, the one thing we have to our advantage to escape a crime was agility, we knew if we ran, mom would never be able to catch us but no matter how fast we did, there was no escaping the swing of the slippers.
Reading minds
Do you know that you can't look directly into your mother's eyes and lie, they will know? They say the eyes are the gateway to one's heart, so the next time you wish to lie and get away with it, try to avoid every eye contact with your mother, even at a distance.
There was a night, I went to the kitchen to drink a cup of water and I slipped and fell and all of a sudden the pot of soup opened carefully and the meat fell into my mouth, so I ate it because it would be gross to return it. At least that was the lie I planned to tell Mom, but the moment she looked me in the eye, I couldn't, she could smell the guilt, maybe even see it (the stains of oil on my shirt), or perhaps I just wasn't a good liar or I was intimidated by (Mr. Do-good- that was the name she gave to her cane, the one that makes us do good).
The weird thing about Mr. Do good is that no matter how many times we killed him, he kept on reincarnation in another body until we finally gave up.
Mothers can also tell when you are troubled or sad and they know exactly how to make you feel better. This is very close to "Psychic Abilities", this is why you shouldn't take their warnings for granted as well as their dreams, they hold great powers, I'm sure you'll agree with me on this.
***Oh, I could go on and on about these powers but I'll leave that to you to discuss them.***
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What I plan to do during the break
*The governing body of all Teaching staff in Public Universities decided to go on a break because the government still owes them some amount of money.* ***Remember what they say about the battle between the Elephants and the grass?****. The students are the ones to suffer.*
*This might selfish, I'm partly happy about this break seeing that I wasn't done with my project with more work to be done. It's still unfair seeing as this will spoil the academic calendar and add unnecessary delays to graduation, but no matter, we still have to make the best of this situation.*
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*It can be very absurd to realize that the main reason you go to school is to learn a skill so you can get a good job to survive in this hard world but you can also learn this without going to school, so why do we still have to pay so much money on time to get this formal education only to be kicked out and forced to learn other skills.*
*"****School is just one big scam, we go there to learn how to work for other people****"- People often say. Why don't they teach people how to make money? Imagine if they included "****Forex Trading****" or "****Crypto Trading****" as a course, wouldn't it be fun to know that you are spending your school fees to learn a skill that will constantly help you make a lot of money? Think about that for a minute.*
*Well, to pass the time, I decided to just sacrifice the time and money to work on myself, looking for the positives in the midst of all of this confusion, luckily, I may have just found the best way to pass the time.*
****Software Training****
At the first sign of this "situation", an opportunity presented itself, a tutor proposed to us (Quantity Surveying Students) an opportunity to learn how to make use of Software to carry out building measurement easily for a token. I seized this opportunity to learn this and it paid off because as soon as the strike began, I had learned how to use the software and so began the next phase.
****Teaching****
Knowledge is value, when you know something and people also want to learn what you know, they place value on what you know. This value can be in the form of money. Socialization can be a very good skill, through this I had made friends with other Quantity Surveying Students in other schools, one of them being the President of the Faculty, one day, he called me and ask if I could teach him how to use the software, of course, I agreed but not for free, but why take only home when I teach even more, and so it began. With the Permission of the President of the department in both my school and his, the plan was set into motion.
****Trading the Forex market****.
Most people find this aspect challenging but I say bring it on, I'm more comfortable trading Synthetic Indices as compared with the Forex market so I decided to give it a chance, you never know why you love or hate until you try it. To reduce the fear of losing money, I deposited $1000.
You are probably saying right now, wow, that is a big sum to risk as equity, well, not quite. I created a cent account to sorta ease into this market. $1 is actually 100 cents, so $10 would be 1000 cents, regardless, it would still be represented as $1000. This was introduced to help beginners who are new to the market minimize the risk as they learn and adapt to trading the market.
*Will all of these set, the rodeo began, even though there is strike, I still find myself keeping busy every now and then which I take is a good thing because the devil makes work for idle hands.*
*It's not all work, work, work though, I still have the time to play games like Call of Duty and watch trendy movies, the too being "****Peaky Blinders****", there is something deadly about* ***Thomas Shelby*** *that I find interesting, I pity anyone who would dare cross his path, especially the dumb one,* ***Michael****.*
*If you have any better suggestions for me on how best to make use of this unwanted break to an advantage, do let me know.*
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Did she meet an Angel?
***Do you believe we all have a special guardian that we might not be able to see directly but from time to time we feel their influences in our lives? Could it be that voice we hear in our head or that thought we get to just do something?***
***Well, I do believe we have that special being protecting us, unfortunately, not everyone is open to receiving or listening, it's just like praying and not listening or waiting for a response. Even when the response comes, we do not listen until it's too late.***
***Come on, we have all had such experiences, you just get that urge to do something and suddenly you realize that that decision you made may have just saved a life. We tag this under miracle, or the work of God in our lives, I prefer to see it as the work of God in my life through this special Guardian Angel.***
***This article is based on true life events, it happened to someone I know personally and I feel it would be nice to share this experience with other people***
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****Her P.O.V****
*I remember that day as though it happened yesterday, I was only 9 years old at the time. Growing up in the village, I spent most of my time on the farm, so it was only a matter of time before I would want to make use of this opportunity to make some amount of money by selling farm produce.*
*I didn't initiate this idea though, a couple of my friends in the village, I didn't know them personally but they were the big girls in the village, they lured me into going on this adventure by pitching to me the idea of getting fine slippers from the market. Which 9 year old wouldn't have fallen for this deal?*
*The goal was to go to sneak out in the night to the bush to pick "African Mango" known by its native name "Ogbono", very popular in making " Ogbono soup". The only thing about obtaining this seed was that the best time to obtain them was at night when the wind would be heavy to blow them from their trees to the ground where we would simply pick them up.*
*On this particular day, my mother had to for a way-keep because a friend of the family had just died. This program would usually last till well into the night or to the following morning. I decided to use this opportunity to sneak out with my friends, with the plans that I would be back before she gets home hopefully with a lot of "Ogbono" seeds that I could sell and make some amount of money to buy things from the market.*
*We set out that night, I took my kerosene lamp and the adventure began. Back in the days in the village, the lamps were quite expensive, my Elder brother had gotten the lamp for me as a gift so I could study. Being the only one with a lamp among the group, I was a key member of this adventure.*
*I didn't know the place but the big girls did, we walked on for a long time in the forest with the destination not in sight, literally. The night was getting cold and windy. A dangerous time to be walking about in the forest. After a long journey, we got to the place.*
*One of the girls asked for my lamp to search for some of the seeds in an area, I didn't know it was part of their plan to steal my lamp. As soon as I handed it to them, they took and ran off, they knew the road and I didn't so they were able to escape, in a bid to catch out with time, I eat my head on a three and fell to the ground, by the time I came to, I was left in the dark, in the middle of the forest with no light and no idea on how to get back home.*
*I started crying, no one knew I was sneaking out which meant if I died here, no one would find my body for days. At that moment I felt a hand on my shoulder, I turned to see an old woman holding a walking stick. She asked me "what's wrong?", I replied, " I want to go back home". I narrated how I came to be in the forest at that time and how the people I came with had run off with my lamp.*
*The old woman then used her walking stick to point to a heap of seeds for me to pack, which I did. Then she started walking with me back home, the journey that took hours only lasted a few minutes, she didn't talk much, the only noise that was heard was the sound of the steps our feet made with the dry leaves on the ground, just around the corner I saw my house.*
*I turned to tell the Old lady that I had gotten home but by the time I turned back, she was gone. I walked into the compound, dropped the load, went to the house and I slept.*
*By morning, my lips had swollen from the collision with the tree, the only evidence to show for what had transpired in the night. My mother came in to see this, I narrated my experience. She didn't want a conflict to transpire between our families, so she kept this on a low, the girls did come back to apologize and returned my lamp, to them, they were just having fun. Kids right?*
**What an Experience, I must say. Do we all have guardian angels, who was the old lady?**
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What were his last words?
***Why is there so much emphasis on last words, especially when one is close to passing on? I often wonder why this is. When an elderly man is passing on, or a soldier is wounded in battle, they try to make that last word count or mean something, there is so much emphasis to this.?***
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***I watched as he was tied to the stake, he had killed someone, by accident or not? I guess it doesn't matter, the judge had ruled against his favor and he was to be publicly executed. He tried to be strong for so long, you know, being brave in the face of death, the rule that as humans we try to live by - "don't let your enemy see your tears".***
***The whole citizens in the town came out to see the execution, children were forced inside while the adults stood by watching. I felt very sad about what was about to happen, is there no better way to carry out this punishment, what about a quick and painless poison?***
***That was when I looked to the side to see the family whose son he had killed, I wouldn't be so fast to call it murder, but in the eyes of the law, the dead person is always innocent. Being from a " less" wealthy home didn't help his case either, even though the majority of people claimed the fight was initiated by the man whose name I do not yet know and by now buried, the one alive is the one who had been found guilty. Then and there, I decided to be a judge when I grow up to try and save as many innocent lives as possible.***
***The brigadier of soldiers had formed a line and were marching into position for the execution, a lot of ceremonies to commit murder in the name of the "law". I seem to recall a movie I saw a while ago that said "An unjust law is no law at all". This could be no farther from the truth.***
***"For the crime of murder, you have been sentenced to death, do you have any last words?"***
***A man spoke, I suspect him to be the Captain judging from the salute he got from other military personnel on-site whose jobs were to control the crowd in case of riots.***
***That was when I noticed the man who stood strong throughout the whole execution process trying not to show any fear in the face of danger break down in tears***
***What is it about that final question that finally broke him? I've never seen a grown man cry, this was a first.***
***"I have a couple of requests if I may be granted them" - he pleaded.***
***"Your final wish is granted" - the captain replied.***
***The crowd grew silent, you could hear a pin drop.***
***If this was a movie, it is the scene where a group of vigilantes would appear from outside the crowd to save the innocent man and bring an end to this but this wasn't a movie, time to face reality, most times, the villains win.***
***Again, what is it with the final words?***
***With tears filled in his eyes, he said the exact words that would forge my career path as a law enforcer.***
This is a fictional story that has been in my head for a while now. Don't get so emotional, public execution ended about 2 decades ago but there are people who witnessed this and I figured out it must have felt this way for some.
Lately, I've been thinking, what last words would I want to be remembered saying? There is that belief that those words have power behind it, a curse or a blessing?
Well, the man to be executed could still count himself lucky, what about those who don't get to make that last statement, or at least make a reasonable one? The more I look at it, the more careful I want to be spewing out words. You don't know when it would be your last so you just have to treat each as your last and keep on spreading positivity.
Oh, if you were wondering what his last words were, I've given enough hints in this article, feel free to make guesses.
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War, Why?
"**If you want peace, be ready for war**" is a popular quote among fighters, is this true or not. I was playing around with my WhatsApp Status when I came across a particular post that grabbed my attention. No words were said but the pictures scream.
The source prefers to remain anonymous which means I can't add a reference link but the message they passed across a clear enough.
***Is "Peace" only an Illusion? Does peace even exist? if it does, what does it look like?***
These are questions I've asked myself and I've come to a conclusion that it's not real, what we perceive as "**Peace**" is only "**Compromise**".
***I will not attack you because you might be stronger than I am, since I can't defeat you without taking such a big risk, let us be friends pending such a time that I'm able to defeat you*** - read it again, that is what we call Peace.
It is just a War waiting to happen. You have seen the news, Ukraine, and Russia, good men, and women giving their lives to a belief they hold dear, for the good old course, for my country, for my freedom. Many have lost their lives, a lot of families are weeping for the loss of a son, a daughter, a mother, a father, or a relative.
If War is the only way to find Peace, I believe it defeats its purpose.
" ***War, what is it really good for, absolutely nothing***"
What I see is just men in power who to satisfy their ego and pride order people into battle, funny thing (No, it's not funny at all and I'm very furious) is that one day it will come to an end and these people in power will end up coming to a compromise, oh I'm sorry, Peace. How many lives would have been given to this war before that happens, that is the only question we ask ourselves, would their sacrifice be worth what comes after? the is what we hope for.
"***Imagine a king who fights his own battles, wouldn't that be a sight?***" - Achilles from the movie Troy
It got me thinking if every man had beef and settled it man to man, wouldn't that be a sight to see. I'm not in the army so I might be able to relate to their courage and bravery but I still think fighting another man's battle just to suit their pride is not smart.
"***Sometimes, war is a necessary evil***"
As much I disagree with war being a possible solution to peace it does offer some benefits that are definitely worth the sacrifice.
"**There is no greater reason to go to war than that led by love**"
Love for one's country, for one's nation, for one's family, that is the most honest kind of War, this I can understand, if anyone serves as a threat to my family, (by family I'm not just referring to people connected to by blood), yes, you'll find me on the battlefield.
I still dislike the concept of wars, why do we fight when we have the power to show comparison, love, and understanding towards another person of the Human species.
"**Are we our own worst enemy?**"
When I was much younger, I came about a theory, a very weird one but I think it might just be what we need, it's up to you to decide if the Advantages outnumber the Disadvantages.
"*****If we were stripped of our abilities to feel, we won't feel love, pain, anger, hate and another type of feelings", we won't have wars"*****
Maybe the end justifies the ends, to get rid of war maybe we have to lose our humanity, well just a thought. Enough of wars, I think we should just try and live in harmony because if this is what humanity is today, then it's a joke.
I've been away for a while but I'm back now, these days things just keep piling up for me to do that I barely have enough time for myself, it's a work in progress so wish me luck. I will renew all sponsorships soon too, I'm sorry it took so long.
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Do you remember Angela?
**The dark stairs,** that was the first memory I had of her, she was about to be the best thing to ever happen to me but what a weird way to get introduced. I had done something bad to get mother angry so I ran away and hid outside on the staircase. For a boy who is scared of the dark, it sure took a lot of courage.
**The moon wasn't bright**, but it was enough to cast a bit of light to give me the least comfort amid the darkness. That was when I saw her, she must have been running from somewhere too, when our eyes met, I froze in fear, but this feeling was mutual seeing as she ran off in fear. This was our first encounter but it wouldn't be the last.
**After hours of being stubborn**, I went back in to suffer the consequences of my action but relates my story to everyone but no one believed me.
***In case you are lost, Angela was the name of my first pet, a stray dog that became a member of the family.***
**Of course, as time went on we started seeing more of her footprints around the house** but she was too scared to come out in the happen but would bark all night to ward intruders off. The theft was really common but no one would dare step into the compound.
**We had to take precautions because we didn't know** if she had rabies but the fear ended one day when a couple of boys came to fight with us in the compound *over little street rivalry* (I would explain but you might not get it hahaha). They had stuck with them and we were threatening to use violence, just then Angela came out for the first time running towards them causing them to run shelter skelter to safety, it was the first time we saw Angela in the open, immediately they ran away, she ran off to the backyard to go and hide.
**She looked very lean which means she hadn't been eating well**, yet she was ever faithful. We quickly made something warm for her to eat, she didn't trust us so she waited for us to leave before she came out of hiding to eat it. From the window, I could see how happy she was eating something nice. That was the day we named her "Angela".
**We started giving her food every day, and soon she started to come out during the day but kept her distance**. I guess her former master wasn't so nice to her. It took her months to fully trust again, she kept on with her duty of providing security to the compound.
**Later, she got pregnant, I'm guessing for the first time, we were worried at first but after a while, we stopped seeing her around,** we thought she had left again and I was so sad. We didn't see her for almost 2-weeks until one day, I was home alone and I heard puppies crying. I thought I heard wrong and then I heard it again. I sneaked gently to see where it came from, I saw these amazing puppies.
**Close to the puppies was their mother, Angela**. Keeping watch over her puppies. I came out to have a clear view, the puppies came towards me but the mother didn't look upset about it. I quickly made something for her to eat, she didn't look afraid of me, that was when the trust between Angela and me got forged.
**My love for dogs started with her, I was very little then but I knew what love and loyalty felt like.** Angela was family until her last moments. It broke my heart to see her go, but such is life. We didn't keep any of the puppies, Mom complained that she didn't have enough money to feed all of them and I didn't have the financial capabilities to take care of them.
**The journey was an adventurous one,** how we move from being strangers to family, how could I ever forget her name, never. Now that you've met her, she now lives in your memories too. There are a lot of stays out there just like Angela, all they need is love and care. Dogs are very loyal, they are indeed our best friends.
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Embarrassing moments, am I right eh? - Part 1
*Just before I get right to it, I must apologize for my absence, we are currently on an unexpected and unwanted school break so I was trying to use this opportunity to acquire a skill that would help me when I go for my internship in the next few months. It would appear that life outside school is far more demanding but also less complicated than the stress they put is through here in college, good or bad, at this point, I don't have a definite answer, only that I need to learn and evolve to adapt to an ever-changing world filled with evolutionary trends. If you don't evolve, you are out.*
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*I'm going to be creative with the titles, if it doesn't make much sense, just read to the end, I guarantee you, it will.*
*We all have those moments that we wish we could just erase from our lives, you know? Have a clean slate? For me, I would first delete these embarrassing moments.*
*Note that not all of these experiences might involve me but they should be relatable to you.*
`You might not want to be eating while reading this`
**The muddy adversary**
**This happened in preschool,** it was during the rainy season so this was more or less expected. I left home that morning with clean uniforms, my mom made sure of that, I walked down to the bus stop with my mom just before she left for work. It was still drizzling outside but I needed to fresh breeze from the cold wind outside, who wouldn't? So I opened the bus windows.
After a while, I should have closed it but I didn't, **during one of thee bus's routes, a car drove by fast splashing rainy+sandy water that may have leaked off the gutter due to poor drainage right on the bus and my face.** I can still feel the disgusting chill it sent to my body as I write this article.
When we arrived at school, the rain got heavier so we had to run quickly to the classrooms, I saw this as an opportunity to make use of clean rainwater to wash off some of the germs that may have latched on to my skin, only for me to try and take a step, **without realizing it stepped on a slippery slope of mud and fell face flat ruining my whole uniform this time.**
I looked to the window and realized my crush was watching. I wanted to dig the mud and just bury myself there, my class teacher rushed to pick me up, and for some reason, I remember I was crying, but I seriously doubt that it was because of the pain, I think it was more of the Shame than pain.
**The horror wasn't over**, she took me to the school toilet, messy as ever but she managed to bath me, it was really odd having a lady who wasn't my mom bath me. I was young but is still knew what it felt like to be ashamed and self-conscious of my body. Thankfully they got me another uniform but the awful memory still lives rent-free in my head.
The sport crawler
A picture of this even was taken and mom uses it to taunt me to this day. Still, in preschool, **we had inter-house sports games**, an event that should be held once every year but we had it once in four years just like the Olympics.
**There is a game, each participant would be blindfolded, and asked to crawl on sand from one point of the lane to the other, the first person to reach the finish line wins.**
I was chosen to represent my house, a mistake that should have never happened. The whistle was blown and the race had begun.
**Okay, I didn't know what happened here, but my mom who also suffered the embarrassment from me gave a detailed description**.
I started crawling very well, ***but midway into the race, I lost my sense of direction and started advancing to the side where the dignitaries sat to enjoy the game***. All this while I didn't notice it, I did hear a big laugh from the crowd and the commentator must have said something but I still didn't realize it was directed at me, **all I wanted to do was to win the race and I did, just not on the track with the others, at least I got to the table first.**
*These were the least embarrassing, that's right, there was more but I'll save them for later. Have you suffered worse embarrassment? Can you relate to this?*
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Time or money?
***If you had to choose one, which would it be?***
*I recently discovered that you can't have the two of them, only one hence why you need to make a choice, time or money.*
*How often do wish to be as wealthy as Mr. Marc or Mr. Elon Musk, or other billionaires? Now, let's assume that wish becomes true, do you think you will still have time on your hands just as you do right now?*
[Image Source]
I was listening to a piece of music by Akon some days back and he mentioned how rich people have money and poor people have time. Come to think of it, it is not a coincidence that these people have secretaries, and in order for you to meet them, you would need to set up an appointment for a meeting that might never even be considered.
****Logical reasoning****
Should it not be the rich man who has more time and the poor man who is searching for money the one with the less time. I'm not sure about you, but if I had a lot of money right now, I probably wouldn't be stressing right now.
*I can imagine myself sitting on a beach right now (not getting tanned, what difference would that make to my skin), listening to one of the classics, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Lionel Richie, ABBA, you know, the days when music was nice to listen to. I would probably be there with my family just to relax. This relaxation would be well deserved because I would have worked really hard for it.*
Let me not get caught up in my world of make-believe, but is this the reality of the man who has money.
I've been trying to develop some skills during this break that would help further my career in the right direction and it seems I no longer have enough time on my hands.
***Does this mean in the pursuit of a good life, I would have to sacrifice my time? Why can't I have both, time and money? Who makes the rules?***
I was cruising around on Tiktok and came across a video that said Human beings are the only living things who pay money just to live on Earth and this got me thinking, why? Think about it for a moment.
[Image Source]
In the past, our survival instinct would be to hunt for prey to survive now, that is not even a priority, to survive in the cruel world, you need money. *So are you willing to do what it takes to get it? Are you ready to sacrifice that free time to better yourself?*
They say time is what both the rich and poor have but what differentiates one from the other is how well they use this time, I wish I remember the source from which I heard this quote, it's probably from a book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki maybe?
***How well would you say you use your time productively each day?***
****If it was a fair world****, those who work more should earn more right? after all they make the most sacrifice of their time but it isn't a fair world, you could work all day and still not earn as much as someone whose only job is to show up for a meeting, fact.
I wish I could be greedy and have both, I could try but balancing the two won't be an easy task, regardless, I'm willing to try. After all, the harder the battle, the sweeter the victory.
Sometimes, I wish I knew what I know now 10 years ago, not that it's too late now but it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a heads up on money-making opportunities, you know right? Maybe then I wouldn't have to work so hard and sacrifice so much time. **I guess that is what is being called working smart, applying little effort to achieve a maximum reward.**
Perhaps there is a way to actually have both time and money, and I just need to search deeper. Who knows, maybe one day I'll finally achieve this goal.
Every day, I keep wishing I joined read.cash early, it's so sad to see how much time is wasted these days on unproductive things, and it even feels normal. Looking back at the time I would spend the whole day watching TV, playing games, or hanging out with friends, I feel like taking a whip to the past and whoop my past self for being so lazy and "not" smart, but I can't.
This morning, I observed BCH value has fallen and almost reaching the $250 support level. I know most people would want to panic and sell but I see this as an opportunity to accumulate more. Perhaps there is hope for me yet, having both time and money could still be a possibility, until then, **I'll keep grinding and keep pushing myself to be better. Who said you can't have it all eh?**
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Could it be love?
**It was just like any other day, I woke up bright and early feeling so enthusiastic about what the day had in store for me**. It was the holidays so no classes to attend. I stepped into the living room and saw that my Aunt was still awake, she had come to visit, **she happens to be a big fan of the Zee-World series**, we knew when she was around, that's going to be the channel we would be seeing all day (unless the power cuts out or she goes to bed).
**We had a roaster for chores at home,** there were a lot of protests which led to voting spearheaded by my sister who used Dad's love as an advantage to cheat. That was how the roaster came to be, I didn't exactly like it since as the firstborn, I'd been doing the house chores single-handedly for a long time before these naughty siblings came to be.
*You know how annoying it can be when you are about to do something, let's say wash the plates and then you hear mom say - "Great, go and wash the plates"? At that moment you would not want to do that chore again, yep, I can see you're smiling, you can relate.*
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Anyway, I decided to do my chores to avoid such drama. When I was done, **I got a call from my friend that there was a party going down and we should go together.** Well, you guessed it, I agreed to go, why wouldn't I? I felt like if I had to stay one more day with my aunt screaming and insulting the Zee-World movies characters, I would lose it.
So, I fed my dogs and went to freshen up, wore my nicest shirt and jeans and I was out. Most people might find this weird but **I think Black is the best color**, hence why I mostly use black wears.
We got to the venue of the party, there were a lot of people my age there, every time I felt like I had the perfect conversation starter, I lost it again, so I just sat down in a corner, going through some funny Tiktok videos. **Then I heard a voice behind my head laughing at one of them, I turned around and that was when I saw this beautiful lady.**
"***Can I sit***" - she said with a voice so gentle, it made my heart settle, "***by all means, please do***" - I say to try and sound cool so she wouldn't notice just how nervous I was. Suddenly making conversations wasn't so difficult anymore, we joked and laughed around. It felt so free, ***could she be the one? Is this what they portray in movies as love at first sight? Is this love?***
We didn't spend the day just staring at the phone, she forced me out of the corner to dance, **we danced and we danced,** it was very beautiful, a part of me didn't even want the party to end. I didn't even get her name, where are my manners.
"***May I know your name***" - I asked, "***Elizabeth, but you can call me Lizzy***", "**my name is Great, but you can call me Great**", this made her laugh out loud, oh those dimples, I later joined in. We exchanged numbers as we parted way that evening, **a day to remember if you ask me.**
**You can imagine my disappointment** when I was sharing this experience with my friend later that night and he told me she had a boyfriend. It felt like my heart had been shattered into tiny little pieces.
That would mean she was just being friendly with me and I on the other hand assumed something else. ***How do you go one being just friends with someone you love eh?***
*Would you say I fell in love too quickly, would you call that love? I still don't have an answer to this. The line that separates love from just being nice is so thin. Boys like myself can easily misread this as love. I think we should normalize being nice to one another (if that's even possible), there is no love in the street they say.*
*Thinking back on it, I would say it wasn't love, after all, how could you even love someone you barely know, I might be wrong as Disney is so rightfully portrayed in children's cartoons and fairy tales but what do I know?*
**This article was merely a work of fiction with a pinch of reality to portray a very serious issue that is spreading through society like a plague. It's not uncommon for a guy to even take a complete lack of attention from a girl as an indirect love message these days, it's so bad that it's alarming, you can share your thoughts on the matter.**
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An eventful Friday
***Where shall I begin? a lot of things happened all at once that I just couldn't keep track of everything. In order for me to explain it to you, I'll divide the story into two parts. The Plan, and the Outcome.***
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**The Plan**
**Yesterday was the final matchday of Infamous "HOD Games"** that was held in my school hosted by my department. As I said in my previous article, my boys were out of the competition but our girls were very much in the game, and more importantly, they were in the finals.
**To make it more interesting, we also or to the volleyball final,** a game I'm very familiar with and knew we could easily claim the Victory. It was indeed a day to claim all of these victories.
**This same day, I got a message (a call actually) that I had won a scholarship examination**. During the holidays, I registered for a scholarship exam just to kill the boredom, I went for the exams with little hope of the outcome but I ended up winning. I was also going to make use of the opportunity of going back home to pick some little things from home and play with **my little dogs.** Oh, how much I've missed the two girls.
**I had to go back home**, a 2-hour journey provided there is no heavy traffic. The competition was set for the evening, 3 pm for Volleyball and 4 pm for the football final. I checked my time, it was 8 am. That was when I made the plan.
***The plan was, if I left by 8 am, then by 11 am I would have gotten home, Freshen up and perhaps eat one of mom's dishes. By noon go to the award ceremony and by 12:30 pm I would be off to the garage, by 2:30 pm or 3 pm I should be back in school just in time for the games.***
***I was going to get the scholarship, see our girls win the football Trophy, and win the volleyball Trophy. It was a good plan but not everything goes according to plan.***
**The Outcome**
*Wait, why are you laughing?*
As you all know, **I don't have a car or a Jet...yet**, my best means of transportation is going public. After the hustle and bustle of trying to reach the garage, the last one got filled up so I had to wait for the next one. This process took almost 45 mins, **apparently due to fuel scarcity**, the cost of transportation has risen so not many people are willing to travel these days.
The journey started, and there was less traffic which was a good sign but just midway into the journey, **the vehicle broke down.** I was already behind schedule and now this? It took a while but it got fixed and finally, I got home. Everyone was happy to see me, especially my dogs, it was a good feeling but I couldn't stay long.
**I was able to taste one of mom's dishes (Thank God).** I hurried to the ceremony, I was given a check, I had no idea people still did that when they could just send it to my BCH wallet and save me the trouble of going to the bank just to redeem it, and I went to the wrong bank resulting in more loss of time.
*I don't know what it is with banks, they have a way of making a 5 minutes process drag on for hours. All she had to do was to confirm the check but she kept saying "please give me two minutes" but she ended up stealing another 45 minutes from my time. This was not an exaggeration, I timed it.*
**At last, I was done, so I headed to the garage**, this time it got filled up just in time but I knew I was going to be late. No amount of miracle would have teleported me to school at that instant, I told a friend to get in for me but was disappointed, thank God @HappyBoy was there to help cover the shame. We didn't win but I heard it was a good game.
The bus, **once again, broke down** and it took longer to fix. I was already tired and frustrated at this point I just wanted to get to school as soon as possible. In my mind, I kept on wishing for the invention of a transportation device but it didn't come through.
I'm afraid not much of it can be said about the girl's match because they were unfairly treated. I suspect the referee was bribed to make the referee give them an advantage (By "them", I'm referring to the final year students we were playing against. **A lot of fouls in our favor were ignored and the only lone girl was a foul kick,** a wrong corner kick and it was allowed. **Where is the fairness in there?**
**I got to school late though, what started as a good plan just ended up differently**. The girls may not have won the final but they are winners, to me, they won, no team played better than we did. The joy in their eyes when they were given their medals was fulfilling. In the end, it was a great day. **We even won the 4 by 1 relay race (yes, the girls again). They are just awesome people.**
*I couldn't write yesterday because I suffer from motion sickness so I had to get a good night's rest to recover, which I did. It's Saturday, I have to do some washing today, and also try and cover-up on some of the things I need to do. Later friends.*
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Sometimes the only way forward is go backwards.
*I chose this topic carefully to explain how I'm currently feeling. I had to make a decision to step back from the team as the head coach in hopes that a better coach would bring better success.*
Oh, if you are getting confused, I am the head coach of my departmental team, or **at least I was** until yesterday after we suffered an humiliating defeat in a competition. The failure of a team is the coach's responsibility and not the players, the boys played really well but the other side were better. It was not a happy day for me.
[Image Source]
**Back in my high school days**, I was feared as one of the dangerous defenders the school had to offer, I was given the power to choose my defensive team and groom them to my taste so that they can perform at maximum level, we went a maximum of 9 matches without concerning any goals because of this and now **I shall return to play for the team as a defender.**
Even better, the new head coach has decided to implement the same tactic that gave me the power to manage the defensive part of the game and I'm really looking forward to whoop those lazy boys back to shape.
The title of the article is both metaphorical and literal in the sense that I'm actually going "**back**" to play as a defender for the team to succeed.
Now, **this might just be a game if football to you but it's more than that, it applies to real life too**. I mentioned yesterday how a plan is only as good as it gets until the game begins, remember? There is no amount of practice that could ever prepare us for this game called life, what works for A might not work for B.
**There is so much emphasis on individuality and the need to be independent that we forget that living and surviving in this world is not a one man's game**, there are other people involved who will carry out specific roles during the course of your life. The goal of every game **is to win,** same with living. We all want to be successful in our endeavours that we are willing to put in the time, work and effort to see this plan fall through, just like any game, they will be mistakes that would need correcting, plans that would fail and lessons to be learned, but that's just life.
**You won't win all the time and that's okay**, as long as you don't give up, pick up the pieces and fix them, the road to success involves a lot of consistency.
**I'm not sure if this article is just another therapy session after what happened yesterday**, but whatever reason it is, the fact that I'm admitting this mistake and willing to work on it is progress to me, I suppose.
**We have one more shot at this trophy and** ~~I'm~~ **determined**, **we** are determined to claim this victory, perhaps we should have done this years back but I don't think it's too late, we need to put up a better fight next time.
**It's not all bad news, the girls might just redeem us if they win the trophy,** we are counting on them, as I write this article, we are all going to the field to support our ladies, they make us proud each day. I bet it's going to be a really good game, I only feel bad for whichever team they play.
*I guess whatever a boy can do, girls can do better.*
**Speaking of consistency**, I've been working on that too after my long break (4 days) of not writing a single article. I wasn't out of topics, just too tired to put them down due to other "**engagement**", lectures are on a pause for now due to strike, I know I should work on my projects and books while I have this time and I will but I need this week to rest a little.
*A little rest never kills anyone - said the boy who has a lot to do with limited time to do it.*
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Adulthood - Scary isn't it?
*I must have written on this topic a couple of times in the past, most recently on my birthday, I expressed my thoughts on how I felt to be getting older. I'm sure that I am not the only way who feels this way, we can all agree that adulthood isn't always a smooth ride, in fact, it never is but somehow we find a way to just keep on going.*
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**The little adult**
Contrary to what most people think, **adulthood is not defined by age but by experiences**. The World out there can be so brutal, parts of this reality are portrayed in movies but the reality is far worse.
**Tell that little boy** who has to wake up as early as 4 am to go in search of food to feed his little sister and weary mother. **Tell that little girl** that she's not an adult when she has to ensure that her family lives through another day. These people wake up each day not knowing how it would go or if they would survive it and somehow they do.
**The hope that tomorrow is going to get better is what drives them on.** Even in their little, they are willing to share because they know how hard it can be when you lack these things, and when they smile, you just know It's genuine. An attribute you won't find in a lot of people.
Responsibilities
**I often wonder how my parents did it raising their stubborn children**. That idea that little creatures are going to constantly depend on you for as long as you live (even when they are supposed to be independent) is scary. I sometimes imagine what it would look like if I don't take my education seriously or do something very profitable with my life to ensure they have all that they need.
Sometimes, **I think I torment myself** when I consider the thought of having kids one day, and they wake up one morning with nothing to eat just because I was not "responsible" enough. It's frightening, you have to admit it is.
A plan is only perfect until the game begins
I've seen this happen over and over again but doesn't mean the goal isn't achievable, it just means **there is no singular way (or according to how Frederick Taylor would put it in his Scientific Management Theory - "one way") to achieve the task.**
This example is more practical when **dealing with building construction**, just before the construction process begins, the plan is always perfect especially when calculating the project duration but as soon as the project commences a lot of factors begin to come into play and as the work goes on, things start to deviate from the initial plan and you have to adapt to these situations as well as finding solutions for them.
**This same analogy is seen in our lives too**, and yes I know it can be frustrating but that's just life, adulthood has to do with how well we are able to adapt to certain situations and find solutions because the truth is that there is not going to be an end to these problems and you will constantly see yourself trying to stop one of them.
What to do?
[**Image Source**]
There is a **popular analogy** I usually employ when faced with such difficulties. Think of this life as a river and the challenges that come with it, the waves. When caught in a sea of waves, **it is foolish of you to try and oppose these great forces**, instead, you try and adjust to these waves and flow with it, eventually, it will take you to shore.
**Please don't mistake " flowing with the waves" for "being complacent and doing nothing"**, the analogy simply explains that instead of trying to fight against the problem, accept it instead and find solutions to it. Trying to fight the inevitable is only going to make it worse.
**It is important that you start now** (if you have not), the time continuously move forward unless you have a time machine that enables you to go back in time (even time traveling has its problems and complications). Don't waste any more time, keep planning, keep working, and more importantly keep praying. Do your best, fight your battle...Success will be yours.
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The season of love? Oh please
**It's the month of love, February 14, a day we all know as Valentine's day, despite its original origin, it has become a season where people show love to one another by gifting friends and loved ones. The ways of showing love even run deeper but let us not go into that.**
Who was Saint Valentine?
**Once upon a time**....
There lived a Roman Emperor whose name was **Claudius II**, he was so war driven that he saw the idea of having an emotional attachment to one's family as a weakness during battles that he banned all marriages (*hey, I guess you didn't know that, imagine if this Emperor gave a rule in our time that no one should be in a relationship, eh?*)
A Priest, **Saint Valentine** didn't comply with this law and still went ahead to marry young lovers behind closed doors until one day he was discovered and imprisoned. During the days he spent in the prison**, he received flowers from the couples who he had helped join them in marriage** as gratitude.
The man wasn't less busy himself, **he fell in love with the warden's daughter** (*awwn, so romantic*). Alas, the day came for him to be persecuted, but he didn't leave without first leaving a letter to his beloved.
"***To my Valentine***"- the letter began, a tradition that has been adopted. So, what lesson have you learned from this short story? Valentine's Day, now February 14 is a celebration of the love shared and the ones not.
What are you getting for your loved one?
My roommates and I spent the whole month analyzing what gift would be well suited to give our girlfriends (oops, no girlfriends). That's when the **oppression hits**. It gets worse when you see the "big boys" roll into school with their fancy cars to woo their girlfriends (or vice versa).
The popular quote -**No money, no love**- becomes real on this day, love is never enough so why do we call it "**a season of love**" when it is in fact "**a season of showing wealth**". Even if you spend a lot on presents, you shouldn't be surprised to see someone doing even more in the name of love.
Season of love? What a joke, it's not love when you leave other people feeling sad and oppressed, is it? I personally wouldn't mind having a box of chocolate cookies and soft drinks to help minimize the oppression, wouldn't you agree?
What are you doing today?
**I wish** I could boldly say at this point that I would just stay in my room, chilling and watching a Netflix movie while eating a plate of Spaghetti and Chicken, and a bottle of 5'alive fruit drink, alone or with my baby depending on how the perfect day turns out....ha, it feels so nice just thinking about it.
**The reality** is quite different, I have to be up in exactly 4 hours to pray (morning devotion), right after that, freshen up and go for classes. It would last till the later hours of the day just before the boys and I go out to train for an upcoming game this week.
Right after that, I have another hall program to attend and right after that it would be deep into the evening, I'll be so exhausted as I would lay down to sleep after what would have been an existing day. Sighs.
What you should do?
As I said, it **IS** after all the season of love, **to my single friends**, remember that before you love someone else, you have to first love yourself, treat yourself to something nice. Go out and have fun or simply do whatever makes you happy. That kind of joy is underrated nowadays but it should be encouraged.
**To the ones who wish to make it special for their love,** there is no crime in wanting to go big but please try to do it moderately or at least privately, not everyone who smiles with you over your gifts is actually happy with you, take heed.
**To the rest of us**, the goal should be for you to make at least one person smile. It goes a long way, you have no idea just how much money's worth of Therapy you have saved a mate through that single act.
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*I have not been chanced to write in some days now due to school activities, all of a sudden it started to feel like my time wasn't mine anymore. I need to plan my time better in the coming days to stay consistent.*
*References*
**History of Valentine - History.com** https://www-history-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.history.com/.amp/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day-2?amp_js_v=a6&_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQKKAFQArABIIACAw%3D%3D#aoh=16448161134885&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.history.com%2Ftopics%2Fvalentines-day%2Fhistory-of-valentines-day-2
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Talking to the moon
Hey, moon:
*It's me again, just lying down here feeling lonely, this is kind of weird, how can I even say I'm lonely when I'm surrounded by one of the amazing friends a young boy could have? Especially when I have you to rant to. I hope you don't get tired of all my complaints, the world is filled with many of those these days, or has it always been like this? You would know because you've lived longer than everyone I know.*
*If you're listening, then answer me this, how is it that in a world filled with people, it feels so empty. I was just trying to process what it would look like if only you and I were the last entities in this world, well, that wouldn't be hard to imagine because we are living that now. I won't keep you waiting for too long, I'm sure you have other houses to visit and perhaps other kids just like me to see, I'll see you tomorrow, goodnight.*
Hello, moon:
*It's me again, Great, why aren't you here now that I need you, the night seems cloudy, I bet you've gone to find shelter from the heavy clouds but that's okay, you wouldn't be able to tell if i'm crying or not, it would be lost in the rain after all.*
*Conscience died this morning, can you help me check up on him just to make sure he is in heaven, we woke up this morning to see he had been attacked by a snake. I couldn't find the serpent anywhere but I will get my cutlass and hunt every single snake that dares crosses my part. It hurts me so much that I couldn't save him. I don't know if it's wrong to feel vengeful but regardless, that is how I feel. Arrrghh*
Hey Moon:
*It has been a while but I've been healing, I needed the time out to hunt for snakes (just kidding, I haven't been able to find any, and if I do, I'm not sure I have the courage to attack them alone). I have good news though, I fell in love (again), this time I think I will actually summon enough courage to talk to her.*
*I know what you're probably thinking, don't judge me, I'm serious this time, I will. Just watch and see, I'll marry her. I just realized something, is it lonely up there? How are your little kids (the stars)? When are you going to finally resolve the long-time beef between you and the Sun, the kids need their father too, don't you agree?*
Hey Moon:
*Wow, years have passed, I'm sure you've been watching. Does growing up have to so tiring, I barely even have enough time for myself. Oh, by the way, you were right, I didn't make any move on that girl, but I did meet other better people, a fact I'm sure you are aware of since you are one who lightens up the night making it beautiful and somewhat romantic.*
*I see you and the moon haven't still resolved the beef, if you don't mind, can you beg him to reduce the heat, it's getting too much. Don't get jealous that I spend my days with him, he doesn't get to spend the night also. Thanks for being my talk buddy moon. Till the next time you get an update from me*
Writers mind space:
**The moon is not actually a moon and the sun isn't a sun, even though some of these events actually occurred, I had to try to express some of these things metaphorically. It has that kind of feeling that makes the mind want to solve a mystery to try and look for meaning.**
**When I was younger I would often talk to the moon, I had this belief that the queen of heaven lived there. If you look closely, you would see a woman carrying a baby. It might just be a young kid sharing his troubles and worries with a friend but it did help him feel better.**
**If you read the article, you would notice that there was a time skip between each message to the moon. Those were important landmarks in my life I divided to share, I hope you had a nice time reading through (even if you only glanced through)**
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Sighs, what a week!!!
Date: 5th of February, 2022
Published by: "Greatwolfman"
Have you ever had that week which felt like everything that could possibly happen, happened? I couldn't publish an article in a few days which is really unusual but it couldn't be helped.
For my absence, I apologize. Allow me bore you with how the past few days have been.
2nd of February, 2022 - I missed out
In the early hours of the day just after my birthday, a new NFT would be launched. ****Apes****. I'm sure you are familiar with the hype considering the mass success of the Ethereum blockchain.
It was going to launch by 1:00 hours (GMT + 1), so I didn't go to bed early despite the busy day just before. Sleep tried to get the best of me but didn't succeed. I was able to hold it off for as long as I could and finally, it was to mint this amazing NFT.
My metamask was ready, both on my phone and wallet. With excitement in my eyes I selected the "Mint" option and it kept on loading, I was only waiting for a "**Transactions Successful**" message but none came. In a blink of an eye, I saw all the **NFTs get sold on in what only lasted for five (5) minutes, and I missed it.**
I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces, I felt so bad that even sleep refused to take any sleep towards. I tried to study but the pain of the disappointment affect my concentration and I carried my sleepy eye for lectures.
**I dozed off in between lectures,** I don't know how but I survived but I did, but wouldn't be the end. A lot of assignment to keep up with was also given and one was due to next day. The only way I was going to go through this was to deny my body the sleep it deeply deserves.
3rd of February, 2022 - working
**The assignment was a building set for demolishing and making certain alterations to the demolished wall, the floors, and replacing the doors, windows, and the leaking roof.**
I planned to sleep for just 30 minutes but by the time I woke up, it was morning. As early as 5 am, I started working on the project to meet up with the deadline which was this same day.
You know how they often say ***the brain works better under pressure***, that was exactly what happened. I pushed myself to complete the project even working between classes.
Thankfully, I was able to complete it. I survived Thursday and now I could get the much-deserved rest. The thought of my main project kept popping up in my sleep but I forced it anyway.
4th of February, 2022 - Training day, Pain day
**A football competition would be held in my department next week** so I had to utilize my only free day to get the boys ready for the match. My 8:50, I was out on my morning jogging exercise to the sports center.
**I happen to be the coach of the team so I had to be there early**, the players who came later were also punished. I couldn't keep away from the ball while training the boys on passes and ended up doing a little too much.
While trying to steal the ball from a player, my boot sole removed and I tripped peeling off a wide area around my knee. I didn't feel the pain until now that my legs hurt really bad.
I'm confident it would heal soon though, and it won't affect my game plan for the team this week. I'll be sure to update you on the result of the final when we win.
5th of February, 2022 - that brings us to now
I decided to try and cover up on some of the things I couldn't do during the day at night. @Gaftekloriginal encouraged me to study in the faculty overnight. We started by 11 am but by 1 am I started hallucinating, I didn't want to make any mistake in my project so I packed up and slept.
Now, I'm lying here writing the article. Today is the last day for submission to the writing prompt challenge. I'll be submitting the results tomorrow and the prizes will be given out, good luck to everyone.
**My legs still hurt and certain parts of my body that slammed on the ground when I fell had started hurting me as well.** What we do for football eh. Believe it or not, I've been through worse.
I'm a year older today
**It's a new month and as fate would have it also my birthday**. It is that time of the year when I take the time to just chill and relax but unfortunately I also have to be in class for lecturers.
**At exactly 00:00 hours today, I was amazed by the number of good wishers who messaged me and called me**. I felt...special. That is what birthdays are about.
Being the first of a month alone makes me feel special, either way, I get messages of good wishes, don't get jealous. February is after all the month of love.
`Hey guys, how's February 14 looking like eh? What are your plans, sit in the room all day eating and seeing movies like me, or hang out with your loved ones having a wonderful time?`
**Back to the topic, I had no plans of celebrating my birthday,** but somehow I did, it wasn't very grand but it was with the people I consider family here in school. I had a big smile on my face from the moment I stepped into the faculty to this very moment.
I wish I could just express how much every single message and text and wish meant to me but writing about it isn't doing any justice. This has to be my best birthday celebration yet.
**I count myself lucky to have lived this long,** I'm still young but with each passing year I get older and I'll be honest, it scares me a little but growth just like time is irreversible.
If I could be younger again.
As I get older, I realize that there are certain things I'll never be able to do again as much as I relish it. My childhood was a mix of fun and a lot of indoor-sy situations. I used to want to be older, but now I wish I was younger. Life was just so much easier then than it is now, you know right? More responsibilities.
These days if you see a grown man playing under the rain, what would you think? Exactly. Those days are gone now, this boy has to grow up now (still waiting on the beards though).
Getting older is scary.
I feel the time is just not enough, I have all these dreams yet time flies by so fast, it looks like it was just yesterday when I clocked 10 years of age and now I'm more than twice that age now and it still feels like I've done nothing.
I used to have all these plans to be a Billionaire when I was younger and with each passing year, these ambitions haven't been achieved. That doesn't mean I'll stop chasing this dream. Eventually, it will become a reality, I just know it.
We keep marching
Though the road may be long and hard I will continue to soldier on. I count myself lucky to be friends with the likes of @HappyBoy, @King_Gozie, @Jumper-01 just to mention a few. They might not know this but they have been a major inspiration to me during my journey towards financial freedom.
I remember the saying now
***"Surround yourself with purpose-driven friends and you will be spurred on to improve and get better" - anonymous***
Keeping up with writing and posting articles wouldn't be possible if you don't have friends to keep encouraging you. There is no law on the tracks that says you can't help a mate when he is down.
To my wonderful family who sent good wishes and blessed my wallet. Thank you very much. I was able to celebrate with only a few of you physically, but one day, there will be a huge party just to mark our journey together, thank you **Nigerian BCH Forum.**
Proposals moving forward
I just want to continue to grow and mature while being a good example to everyone around me. I want to also be a form of blessing to those around the same way I have been through my "Family". If there is anything I've learned so far, it is this, Family is not only those connected by blood, it is those people you can count on, the ones you can trust.
To my read.cash family, thank you very much. I love you all.
****Notice****: *There is a writing prompt currently going on for those interested in participating, it's restricted to Nigeria's Culture but it's open to all to participate. The details of the submission can be found in this article here (****Nigeria, Our Heritage****). Let us all respect the idea behind this prompt, indeed, the history of Nations isn't always green and rosy but we can point out the mistakes and how we have improved, history can be a really sensitive topic but it is our heritage after all so we can talk about it...proudly, have fun guys, may the best articles win*. https://read.cash/@Greatwolfman/nigeria-our-heritage-prompt-76f2ac0d
Nigeria - Our heritage (Prompt)
***Every country has a history, it is important to visit some of our important heritage, good or bad, it's still ours***.
**There is a saying that goes thus** **- "*****Great and successful men learn from history*****", There are stories that the generations of old have passed down over time, it is our duty to also pass along this message or it would be lost forever. This is a prompt to call my brothers and sisters to talk about this heritage less the sacrifice of our hero's past will be in vain.**
It was really nice seeing my friends like @Kelzy writing about her plans (fictitious or not, that remains to be known) to visit Nigeria, the devil himself @Lucifer gave an even more detailed historical landmarks of places in Nigeria, yet there hasn't been a single article promoting this heritage (okay, I've seen one but I doubt most of you have)
Nigeria is a country that is rich in diverse cultures and resources, different tongues and tribes making up what we have today. When I was younger, most nights, my dad would tell me stories about the Nigerian Civil War and how many people died during this period. I will submit my prompt on this topic later in the week although it won't be graded, just for the sake of learning.
Meet my amazing sponsors
`A big thank you to` @King_Gozie `for the sponsorship renewal.`
I stumbled on a page this morning on Instagram ***(asirimagazine)***, they deserve a big thumbs up for keeping our heritage alive. I came across some amazing history that would have been lost to time if someone didn't capture it.
The plan to aid in the German war
[Source] https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3OTI1Mzk2MzYxMjc0ODk4?story_media_id=1990961445298303836_609090394&utm_medium=copy_link
I will express my displeasure with the term "*bow and arrow*" tribe but I'm sure the British journalist probably wanted to show how funny the chief was when he claimed he could spare 3 of his sons to eliminate Adolf Hitler during the second world war. My country has always been known for cracking jokes, wouldn't be a first and I doubt there would be a last thanks to social media.
Public Executions to reduce the crime rate
There were also some dark times, after the Nigerian civil war which claimed millions of lives and livelihood, people were forced to steal to survive, the corrupt leaders used this opportunity to enrich their pockets, while the rich got richer, the poor got poorer.
To reduce the crime rate, the military government brought up a rule, anyone found engaging in arm robbery would be Publicly Executed. This extreme measure was carried out for the first time in 1971
[Source] https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3OTI1Mzk2MzYxMjc0ODk4?story_media_id=2757897270524545522_609090394&utm_medium=copy_link
Although this measure worked as the crime rate reduced drastically but a lot of activists rose against this method of punishment. Eventually, it ended.
Civilians lived in fear
A major characteristic of a "coup de that" is that you never see it coming. According to my mom, the way you know if it was successful or not was the victory trumpet from the Armed forces, it signified a change in government, there were a lot of coups, some successful, some not.
**You know how they say Pictures hold memories that can never be washed away?** my eyes caught an image of a mother running with her child during the civil war, I can only imagine what must have been going on in her mind. There was a lot of argument who claimed "Federick Lord Lugard" 1914 Amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Nigerian a mistake, *but how could he have known that it would lead to the civil war?*
Date: 7 October 1966.
[Source] https://www.instagram.com/p/CXPe6zmI3Fj/?utm_medium=copy_link
I would really love to write an article on one of the darkest times in Nigerian history.
I could go on and on writing on our heritage and still wouldn't do justice. This is the reason why we will be hosting a writing prompt that **would last a week**. I for one am excited to host this prompt thanks to the support from **BCH Nigerian Forum.**
*I started this article by writing about how rich and diverse our cultures are so you can't run out of topics to write about. Be creative and have fun.*
**Traditional beliefs** were filled with **gods** that were feared and respected, you could write about them. The introduction of **Christianity, the Slave trade, the elimination of twins, The Islamic Jihad,** and many more beliefs.
You can also write on the various forms of **architectural design** that the expatriates left behind, there were amazing building designs and some are still in existence today.
There are also tourist centers, perhaps a back story would be quite captivating.
The list of topics can't be exhausted, be creative and you might just be one of the winners, that's right, there will be prices.
TOPIC
**Write a prompt on Nigerian Heritage meeting up with the standard of a minimum of 600 words (or 4 mins read) creatively, images would be helpful and would also help you gain an extra point.**
**Submit your article to the "****Naija Wazobia****" Community tagging** @Greatwolfman **with the #Nigeriaourheritage, this will enable me to see your submission.** https://read.cash/c/naija-wazobia-9ea9
Failure to do this would annul your submission.
Lead Image Source: **Unsplash**
Joy in the little things
***Life is already hard as it is now but that doesn't mean they are still not things we could derive pleasure from doing. The statement "it is the little things that matter" is so right in is many ways yet very simple. Take a moment, close your eyes and try to find those things that make you happy.***
*The sad part about all of this is that we don't appreciate what we have until it's gone. This should be fun, a good way to start the day by simply appreciating what we have now.*
Breathing
[Source]
**Take a deep breath, breathe in and breathe out, how does that feel, refreshing right?** The ability to do that is exactly what separates life from death and we do this freely.
As I write this article, they are people in the hospitals who can't do this without breathing aid, how they wish for what you had yet you don't even appreciate it enough.
**I've always imagined how much it would cost if a price had to pay just to breathe**, how would it be measured, it would probably be expensive too because it would be high in demand, the whole world might just descend into extinction.
**Plants need the air we breathe out (Carbon (iv) oxide just as we depend on what they give out (oxygen),** and that creates a balance, but if we aren't giving out any and dying off, eventually the plants will die too, then, what would be left?
You can see how an activity that we even carry out without effort could just as well lead to death. As I mentioned earlier, it's the little things.
I love you
[Source]
**Saying these 3 magic words can change a person's life for the better**. You don't just have to say it, you can show it in your actions.
I can still remember the first time I said the words - "***I love you***". I was only 13 years old yet I knew exactly what those words meant, surprisingly that word has lost its meaning today
**Love is the greatest gift of all**. To be able to love someone and show it is one of the greatest gifts to be given to mankind.
**A lot of people out there are alive but not** "**alive**", depression and pressure have become a status quo for most, a random show of love and care is enough to save such a person from the mental prison he had subjected himself to.
Your senses
[Source]
**Your eyes, nose, ears, tongue, and skin play a major role in our daily lives**. Imagine if you could no longer see, how would you appreciate the good things of life, imagine if you couldn't smell, that would just be awful especially for those of us who loves eating, the aroma of the meal goes a long way in arousing our appetite.
**Imagine if you could no longer taste**, I experienced this earlier last year and I was panicking. I knew I was hungry but it couldn't be satisfied because the food felt empty in my mouth. I can't even describe the feeling accurately. The skin itself is made up of receptors that pick up information like cold, warmth, pain. Without these senses, we can't truly say we are alive.
Smiling
[Source]
I was fortunate to make some new friends through read.cash and one Of them is @Julsbaby, since we couldn't meet physically, we had a video chat where she was quick to pick up on a flaw I've had an issue with with with - " smiling".
I always have this serious face unless I'm around people that I'm comfortable with, she pointed out that smiling makes people comfortable around you. I don't know but I have a good feeling she had just solved my friendship issues. **When we smile or laugh, we release certain chemicals that promote good health**.
**Smiling is also contagious,** have you been among a gathering, and suddenly you see everyone laughing and without even knowing why you also join in? That's how beautiful smiling is.
It's a necessary social attribute that we need to inculcate in our day-to-day interactions.
I wouldn't be able to touch every aspect of the topic but feel free to add suggestions. I love you all my friends
Lead image Source: **Unsplash images**
Who is the Judge
Date: 28-01-21
Published by: "Greatwolfman"
*If you have seen "The great debaters" then this topic would be familiar to you*
***Who is the judge?***
*The Judge is God.*
***Why is he God?***
*Because he decides who wins or loses not my opponent*.
***Who is your opponent?***
*He doesn't exist*.
***Why doesn't he exist?***
*Because he is a mere dissenting voice to the truth that I speak.*
[**Source**] https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/great_debaters/quotes/#:~:text=Henry%20Lowe%3A%20Who%20is%20the,or%20loses%2C%20not%20my%20opponent.
I was less than 5 years old when I saw "***The great Debaters***", I found this quote captivating that I immediately wrote it down and it became my power chant before going for any exams or test for as long as I can remember.
The movie (based on true events) features around the time where being a man of color itself was a crime, a time when women couldn't get a place in the society because they were considered inferior to men, a time when colored people were segregated and lynching colored people was more common than drinking coffee in the morning.
Despite all of this, a group of students didn't accept this reality and fought their way through it, a feat I found really inspiring, if they could achieve that, then what is stopping me?
Now, go back up and read it again to yourself
Check out these amazing people
Who is the Judge?
The moment you start looking at the Judge as someone who isn't human, your mindset will start to change. The one who Judges us all is God, not man.
Yes, I know what you're probably going to say, what about the "Judges", but here is the thing, even they are not above errors and mistakes and the law can be manipulated to suit whatever you want as long as you have a good lawyer.
The laws of men are filled with flaws but that of God is above such, the moment you start to see the Judge as someone far greater and more powerful than any human can hope to me, you have taken the first step towards achieving your goal.
People will always talk, it's human nature, they will criticize you or support you, they will try to be the judge and tell exactly what would happen.
Which asks an important question...
Why is he God?
In every competition, the judge decides who wins or loses, not your opponent. That should be your focus. The decision lies with the Judge.
There are game strategies that we can apply to try and psych the opponents out, you shouldn't be shocked if this happens during competition but the truth is that in the end, it doesn't matter what the opponents did or didn't.
You have a goal, pursue it, once you have accepted this fact, you have taken another giant step towards your goals
Who is your opponent
He doesn't exist, it might look as though you are in a competition with other people but you are actually competing with yourself, try to be the best version of yourself and of course, this isn't an easy task yet it is something you must do.
You need to realize that all that matters is you doing your best and the decision the judge makes, all other things are secondary
Why doesn't he exist?
He is merely a dissenting voice to the truth you speak. It's in the name - "opponent". Either he is with you or against you, as long as he doesn't share your goal, he doesn't exist.
I've always believed "fear" comes from knowing, you can't be afraid of what you don't know (or can you? ) perhaps fear of the unknown.
Your fears can also be your opponent, sometimes the only thing keeping us from achieving our goal is just fear, once you can eliminate that, nothing is holding you back. In this case, you need to also realize that "Fear doesn't exist" because "it's merely a dissenting voice to the truth that you speak?"
**If you haven't seen "The great debaters", then I'm recommending it. It's pretty old hence why I think most people wouldn't be aware of it. If you do, then you are one of the oldies hahaha.**
**It's Friday, the best time of the week, I'm sorry I haven't been active as I should be but there are a lot of things to do these days at the school that just make one exhausted. I'll try to keep up with my consistency.**
Lead Image Sourced from **Unsplash**
No hurry, take it easy
Greatwolfman gets on his knees to meditate...
Breathe in
"*I'm going to take things easy from now on, I'm no longer going to chase things that are out of my control*" - I say to myself each time I wake up only to end up repeating the act, I don't think mediations work for me, it's pointless and a waste of time, I resolve.
I might be wrong so let's just take a look at two different schools of thought then you can be the judge to decide which of them you find to be true.
A big thank you goes out to my
"sponsors"
The fastest person wins the race
[**Image Source**] https://www.etoon.com/cartoons-store/running-race/
***This school of thought is built upon the fact that life is a race and we have to keep running if we ever hope to succeed.***
This feels like a hassle to me if I have to keep running, aren't there breaks after every lap in a race, who makes these rules?
I was raised with this school of thought, a second position prize was often regarded as a loss in my house which meant we always had to push ourselves to work harder contrary to the way we survived pre-school where we were often rewarded as all winners.
I became so competitive that I kept on pushing myself to do things that weren't even necessary at the time which in one way or the other affected my social construct (by the way, it didn't help my chances at making new friends). A part of being so competitive means you are also going to be a sore loser.
High competitiveness and sore losing are like 5 & 6, you can't have one without the other. I got so aggressive when I lost, my anger issues became something else until one day something happened but that's an article for another day.
Why does life feel like a race where the faster people are referred to as winners while the slow ones feel like losers. It feels so unfair. I wish I was raised differently but looking back at it now, I think it all depends on the environment you find yourself in.
*Before you make any decision, let's take a look at the other school of thought.*
Slow and steady wins the race
[**Image Source**] https://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/s/slow_and_steady_wins_the_race.asp
***This school of thought is built on the fact that even though life is a race, there is no need to be the fastest one to win. The slow and steady even have a higher probability of winning the race***.
"*The best things in life often happen when our eyes are closed*" - anonymous
This would explain why we close our eyes when we kiss (at least 90% of people in love). The point of this analogy is that we often run so fast that we fail to appreciate the beauties of life.
When I was in high school, there was this girl. I often observed from afar (in a less creepy kind of way), she was my classmate but we weren't close friends (at the time). She always had this "I don't care expression" even when we were late on submissions on different papers.
The funny thing is somehow she always got by and I don't mean just "getting by", I'm talking about the distinction. She redefined what I thought about racing. Just as you've guessed, we eventually became friends. The saying that goes thus - "***surround yourself with people that challenge how you think***" runs farther than we allow ourselves to think.
Conclusion
*Even though we all have a race to run, we are not in a competition with anyone, we all have our races to run and different tracks, some smooth, some rough, and sometimes crooked but it's ours. It's also important to take breaks from time to time to appreciate what you've got because only then will you realize just how lucky you are.*
***At what point do we say we are too slow or too fast? What are your thoughts on this?***
Lately, I feel like I've been on a race and I need to take a break, but how do I know when it's too much or not enough. Every time I try to get some rest the thoughts of the work I have to do just come to my mind and just like that, I'm awake again and working.
I'll end this article with my famous quote from "**Peaky Blinders**" by the famous Thomas Shelby
"***There is no rest for me in this world, perhaps in the next***"
[Lead Image Source: **Unsplash****]**
@Greatwolfman
