Hi there.
How are you holding up? If you’re my comrade in Nigeria, Ibadan, and UI, you will agree that there are levels to this shege thing. Imagine writing back-to-back exams in all these rogbodiyan for goodness sake! No light, no cash, no water, heat, mosquitoes et al. Chaii...if you sha dey do POS, please be humble and signify.
The other day, I mentioned I'd write about hope. Honestly, I've come up with this post for a while now. But, I delayed publishing because I felt it wasn't good enough.
But here it is.
These days, I keep telling my friend how hope is one of the most beautiful feelings there is in the world. And how hope can be what can hold a man up despite the gbas-gbos of life.
I think of hope in bits…
Hope is a flicker of light in a dark haunting place
Hope is a pool of water in a desert.
Hope is the sound of laughter in thick, anxious silence
Hope is the sight of anchor to a sinking boat
Hope is the feel of a warm jacket in freezing teeth-jarring cold
Hope is any form of help.
A short story
There was a time in my life when I felt purposeless. Nothing interested me, nothing excited me. I’m a media girl. I love the TV and the radio- I love broadcasting. It is what makes my blood pump fast, what makes me bang the table in excitement. It's why I chose Communication and Language Arts as my course. I’ve always wanted to be the next Oprah Winfrey. For a long time, I admired sensational On-Air personalities like Bolanle Olukanni, Samantha Walsh, Elma Godwin (this is what most of my mates call me too, but that’s by the way, story for another time?), Tomike Alayande (then)…these people held positions I saw myself becoming. I was passionate with fiery energy, till I was not…
One by one, like paper becomes ash slowly when it touches fire, the energy waned.
Why? (I'm getting there...)
I could say I lost passion but that would be putting it wrongly. It’s more like I lost belief in myself. The more I daydreamed about hosting my show, sitting on one of those plush chairs, talking all posh and looking all shiny, the more it seemed so, so far away. How do I get there? Am I smart enough, bold enough, or unique enough? I told myself I had lost passion but what I had lost was hope. And without hope comes despair.
Despair is like fear and hopelessness combined. It leaves you empty. You just cannot see the point in doing anything anymore? Dreams become air, plans become dust.
One by one. I unfollowed my “role models”, and slowly I stopped checking the net to learn more about what it takes to become a charismatic presenter (this was one of my most searched item then), learning broadcasting became to me like learning to become an alien; I was so unsure of my dream and I eventually gave up.
Until something happened…
I learned about hope. It was accidental but it was cathartic. I began to explore Instagram more often and learned a new career path called Digital Creation. It was like broadcasting. It was broad, flexible and accessible. The first wave of cool breeze hit me and like the cough of a long rusty tap before it begins to gush out water, my heart gave a start. I loved the feeling and I held on to it tightly. I began to say my prayers and all I prayed for was hope. Hope in the morning, hope at night. I had learned the importance of hope. God answered my prayer and poured it out in full into my heart and just like that the future that looked so bleak took on colours. It shone bright. I knew deeply that it wasn’t a matter of if I could achieve my dreams anymore, it was a matter of when.
The story has not ended. I’m still waving my way through, but I hope you’d learn from this. Get hope. Hope keeps you going. Hope makes you believe. Hope fuels the hustle. And when you grasp it, even if it’s the barest thread, even if it’s the lowest twinkle of light, grasp it tight, grasp it as tight as you’d hold the hem of your clothe down when wind wants to blow it off and you know you have nothing under. And when you catch the glimpse of the light, follow it, guard it, blow it softly until it glows. Blow it like you’ll blow charcoal, when you want the fire to spread.
I wish you right now above everything, hope. Especially to the tired ones out there whose realities have become like a dream. Keep on keeping on.
Till my next post,
Keep Unboxing.
I’m adding a new section to The Unbox newsletter. Here, I get to tell you what I am reading. Reading is a part of my life I'd love to share. You should tell me what you are reading also, I’d love to hear about them.
Currently, I am reading “Clever Girl Finance” by Bola Sokunbi. I just started reading and don’t have much opinion about the book yet. But, I picked the book because I want to gain more financial knowledge. God knows I need it in this current economy.
However, I just completed “Steal Like An Artist” by Austin Kleon and it was resurrecting! Whoosh, that book is packed with so many useful lessons, especially for creatives. It’s so good; I almost highlighted all the pages. Add it to your reading list, you’d be thankful.
Now, your turn.
There's something about this writer's style of writing that always reels me in whenever I attempt to just skim and move to another task. I believe it is because you pour your soul into it. Beautiful!!
This new section is really amazing! I love it.🥰
And I would say, hope is really one thing every one should keep having.
For me hope is one thing that keeps me going in life.