Someone asked me to make more posts of the difference in lifestyle and tradition between Africa and the western world, the person of
and here I am writing about life in Lagos, Nigeria.
Sometimes I feel like Lagos is a school on its own. You don’t need to enter classroom before you learn something new, the street itself will teach you if you are ready to listen. Living here for years, I’ve come to realize that life lessons don’t always come in big forms. Sometimes it is from very small things that people overlook.
One thing Lagos has taught me is patience. If you have ever been in Lagos traffic, you will understand what I’m saying. You can plan your day, dress up sharp, leave home early but one small roadblock or accident on the way and your whole timetable is scattered. At first I used to get angry and bitter whenever I got stuck, but I later saw that anger won’t move the cars, it only stresses me more. That’s when I started using traffic moments to think about life, read something on my phone, or even just observe people around me. From there I learnt that sometimes in life, when things slow down, maybe it’s a good time to pause and breathe.
Another thing is survival. Lagos is a survival ground. You see people every day hustling, pushing trolley, hawking under hot sun, doing different jobs just to feed their families. It makes you appreciate the little you have because you realize some people are doing ten times harder work just to eat one meal. The resilience of Lagos people has taught me never to give up too quickly. Even when things are not working the way I expect, I remind myself of that woman I always see by the bus stop selling pure water with her baby tied on her back. If she can still show up daily, then what excuse do I have?
I also learnt about community. Lagos can be crazy, yes, but sometimes you see strangers helping strangers. Like that day inside danfo bus when one man didn’t have complete change and people contributed small small for him, or when a passenger warned another person not to fall into agbero trick. Those little acts show that no matter how busy or rough life gets, kindness still exists. It reminds me that community is not just family or friends, sometimes it is ordinary people crossing your path.
Living here also taught me simplicity. Lagos life is expensive and fast. If you chase everything flashy, you will only get tired and broke. I discovered that peace of mind comes from being content with what you have at the moment. That doesn’t mean you should not dream big or hustle harder, but don’t kill yourself trying to live another person’s life. Even the rich people in Lagos are looking for peace, so why not learn to create yours from little things.
Finally, I learnt that happiness is not about environment but mindset. Lagos can stress you, frustrate you, even make you cry, but at the end of the day, you still see people laughing, dancing at owambe, or cracking jokes at the bus stop. That’s when I understood that no matter how tough life is, if you don’t create your own small joy, the world will not hand it to you.
So whenever I sit down to think, I see Lagos as a teacher. Not everybody may notice it, but there are countless lessons here. You just have to open your eyes and heart.
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