Growing up as a child, I had the enjoyment of listening to a lot of stories. These stories were told by my grandparents after the evening meal. I and my cousins eould sit down on a mat to listen to their stories which were so believable that some nights we could not sleep just thinking about it. Stories like how the tortoise came to have rough shells or how the sheep came to have short legs, were always scary but fun.
These stories, I later found out to be myths. I mean how could all the birds contribute a feather each for the tortoise to fly to a party in the sky? Or the fact that tortoise named himself "all of you" and the host allowed him to eat all the food that was meant for all of them. Education has made us understand that all these were simply myths. In as much as I enjoyed listening to them, I knew they were not real stories.
To respond to the #hivenaija prompt for this week, I would like to debunk stories about life that were less true than it was made to appear then.
As a teenager, I had the streak of stubbornness like others and I wanted to rule my world. Parental advice and counsel came in through the right ear and quickly evaporated through the left ear. I had this notion of "after you lived and enjoyed yourself, you don't want me to enjoy myself now when it's my turn". If only someone pressed the pause button on my thoughts then.
A major part of the counsel to me then was be patient, * wait a little while more, don't worry when you grow up, everything will be alright ha!, How hilarious those words seem to me now because back then I believed those worda and couldn't wait to grow up do that I could be"free"*. If only I was told the price of tha freedom!
Adulthood came all too quickly for me and I had to step up as a mother figure following the passing of my mum. The first three years was difficult for me to cope and meet up with the demands of the family. I worked only to receive my salary and have it gone in just a few days. It was then that it dawned on me that adulthood was no joke and all the hyoe about it were sham.
I wanted to be a big girl and be treated like one too, I wanted to have my own money through legit work, I wanted to ne able to buy whatever I wanted without first seeking permission from the elders and I thought that when I became an adult, all these things would play out and I would live my life freely but nope, none of it happened the way I thought it would.
No one told me that as an adult, I would be responsible for catering to my needs completely or that I would have to move out of the family home and seek ways to support my siblings and assist the house. No one told me that the bills would come regularly like a woman's monthly visitor. I was not enlightened with the facts of adulthood entails and I paid for missing those lessons dearly.
I had to deal with housing agents who charged a fee that was twice the rent, just for an apartment. Then came the electricity bills plus others from my siblings and dad. Sometimes I feel like rewinding time but that would only be possible if I control time, which I don't.
Adulthood is filled with many responsibilities that can be so so demanding but I learnt quickly how to overcome and now I can say that I am doing well as an adult.
Thank you for reading....shalom
Images are mine.