I grew up in Nigeria surrounded by superstitions and omens, most of them are warnings of something bad about to happen. As a child, I believed these things without questioning them, even if nothing serious ever happened.
Then, we used to believe that if food fell on the ground, we believed the devil had already licked it, so picking it up to eat was completely out of the question, as we didn't want to eat what the devil has touched.
I also grew up with warnings like, don’t jump over a squatting person, don’t step on someone’s shadow, and if your left foot hits a stone or stump while walking, it means you’ll have a bad day or it signifies bad luck buh when it's the right leg, it signifies good luck.
There are times, My mum takes omens seriously. She always says that when her right palm itches, she’s about to receive money. I used to laugh about it, but now I’ve found myself doing the same. Anytime my right palm starts to itch, I start expecting a credit alert too. It may sound funny to others, but for us, these things have been passed down in our culture, and sometimes they do true in the strangest ways.
Another one that still makes me smile is how we believe that when it’s raining and sunny at the same time, a tiger is giving birth. It’s something I heard growing up, and even now as an adult, it still crosses my mind whenever I see that kind of weather.
These beliefs shaped me in ways I didn’t realize. Even in social situations, I began to look for signs before doing things. I was very shy growing up, so I never approached people carelessly. If I saw someone three times, and they also noticed me at least once, I would take that as a sign that we were meant to talk. That’s when I’d finally approach them or start a conversation. In my mind, if we kept crossing paths without speaking, it meant the universe was trying to connect us. I guess you could say I made decisions based on signs I created in my head, but it worked for me.
There was a time my phone started acting up, and to be honest, I was just tired of it. It wasn’t giving me peace again. I needed a new one badly. I started looking for how to convince my parents that my old phone was literally tired of living.
Eventually, I succeeded, my mum gave me the money and asked me to go to the market in our town to get a new phone. But I told her I’d prefer to travel to another town where phones were more affordable and had better variety. She agreed at first, but later said I shouldn’t stress myself, instead, she suggested that I send the money to my sister who lives in that town so she could help me get it.
At first, I agreed with her, but deep inside, I wasn’t at peace. I knew my sister well. I just had a strong feeling she wouldn’t get exactly what I wanted. I told my mum how I felt, but she said I was worrying too much and disturbing my sister unnecessarily. She warned me not to stress her and not to start rejecting anything she bought.
Eventually, my sister got angry and told me to come and get it myself if I didn’t trust her. I felt stuck,If I traveled there myself, it would seem like I didn’t respect either of them, or listen to their advice, But at the same time, my heart kept telling me that I was going to end up with a phone I wouldn’t like.
Well, the day came. My sister brought the phone. From the first glance, I already knew it wasn’t what I wanted, my eyes were already filled with tears, but didn't know how to go about it, But at that point, I had no choice but to accept it. I tried to convince myself to be okay with it. But just a few days later, the phone started switching off and on by itself. I hadn’t even used it for long, yet it was already giving problems.
Then it got worse. Any time I tried to make a call, the phone would suddenly go off. It was very frustrating. I was so disappointed but didn’t want to say much. Deep down, I knew this was exactly what I had feared. I started calling my sister to explain what was happening, and finally, I had to travel there myself to lay a proper complaint, something I could have done earlier if I had followed my heart and gone to get the phone myself.
They collected the phone for repairs and kept it for months. I was without a phone for a long time. After about a month, I was told to come back and get it. I went, but not long after, it began to develop new faults again.
To cut the long story short, I regretted not following my heart. I’ve learned that while advice from others can be helpful, I should never silence my own inner voice. That experience reminded me how important it is to speak up, trust myself, and take bold steps when necessary, even when others don’t understand.
I now believe that what some people call overreacting can actually be a quiet warning from within. Since that day, I promised myself that I would always listen to what my heart is trying to tell me, even if others don’t see what I see. I'm not saying I won’t listen to advice, but I’ll always listen to myself too and weigh everything carefully, whenever I face a decision and others offers their advice, I used to be very careful, and it makes me remember this experience,
This has become a guiding principle for me, something I intend to uphold as long as I am alive.
Cause I believe with instinct are always right
There are still many more stories I could tell, but I’ll stop here. I now believe that even if the world doesn’t fully understand what you call a sign, as long as it gives you peace and protects you from regret, it’s worth listening to.