This is the #4 Writing Prompt of @JonicaBradley. Thank you for all that you do and I wish you more strength.
You can join the prompt.
The rules are simple:
Write about darkness
Write 100% original content
Write at least 600 words
Tag me @JonicaBradley
Have Fun!
Darkness... This hits me differently and it took me back to the "dark ages". What do I mean by dark ages? The time of ignorance, the time when there is no understanding and in my language here we say "when the eyes were dark" - a time where there was no civilization.
I was at the receiving end of this when my parents didn't know better. I don't blame them because they didn't understand either. They had their thinking only in one spot so it was hard for them to break out from it. Like I always say, your exposure matters in life and you are limited sometimes as your background if you choose to stay rooted in that spot. I am sure if my father lived in this era, he would do things differently and even encourage me to do what I have always wanted to do.
As I said, darkness in this sense is a time where there was no exposure. In Nigeria here, we sometimes tag darkness to when someone doesn't 'know'. We say that person is in the dark as the English people would also say.
My father was in the dark. He didn't know better when I told him I wanted to become a football. He felt it was a waste of time and it is not a profession. To him, having to work in a corporate world is more rewarding. Back then, what is becoming a trend now, no one dare try it. How would you tell your parent you want to become a fashion designer or learn a trade? They believe it was for those who lack the means and to them, it was a slap on any parent's face if you have the means and your child wants differently.
I have heard of someone whose parents have the means and substance and yet he said he wanted to become a photographer. The father beat the living daylight out of him. It was that serious here in Nigeria while growing up. He made sure he sent us to the best of schools but he still believed having invested that much in us, we can't do anything different other than work in organizations.
I have always loved playing football. Every day I would go to the field after school and play till late at night when I would hear his horn from the far corner before the one to our street. I love running too, so I would beat his car for pace and get home before him even if I was about to score a goal. The moment I hear that car horn, nothing else matters, off I run.
No one can beat me for pace and hitting a shot. I was really good at it and I told him. At first, he agreed and said he would get me the form the next day. I should have known it won't be that easy. I just finished secondary school then and I was 16 years old, going to 17 years old. I knew Pepsi Football Academy would do me a world of good in realizing my dreams but he came home with a private university entry form for me. I couldn't hold back the anger and the tears.
After some minutes have passed and I know I had no choice, I went over the form and wanted to settle for Law. Still, it's a new private university in their second year of existence and because it belonged to my denomination: Baptist, dad said I should pick another course since I can't find Law there. I was angrier. I had to settle for Economics and picked Sociology as my second choice. I was picked for my first choice though.
This is what comes to my mind when I hear darkness. I pictured a time without 'light' - enlightenment which cost me from pursuing that dream of becoming a footballer. I don't want to see it as evil or a moment where people carry out devious acts but a time where people didn't know better because I feel if they know better maybe they would do better.
This is what 'darkness' means to me and I won't start having regrets, no, I am way past that. Even though he made that decision for me when I had no choice and he is no more and I am the one facing my life now without fulfilment in that area, I tried to make lemonade out of those lemons that came my way and become the best in everything that my hands find to do. I harnessed my talent in writing even though I was doing both writing and playing football back then. I started football before I discovered my writing skills.
No regrets, no tears and I am here, making the most of what I have left and open too, so as not to make the same mistake as he did with my children going forward.
I can actually relate to your father. My son (age 18) graduated from high school 1 year early. He had all kinds of ideas about what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. We couldn't afford to send him to university, but he was eligible for scholarships and student loans. He ended up not attending Uni. He is working in a tech repair store now. I hope he decides to attend college and get some certifications. He is a coder for a hobby. He's brilliant. If we had had the means, he would have been attending Uni right now.