This option brought back a memory I realised I've never written about. I know it's meant to be funny so I'll do my best to make it seem funny because even though it's been about 15 years, I still have scars I haven't healed from.
Growing up, I was a very shy child but just like I am today, I loved parties. I've never been the best dancer but I loved that vibe of seeing people dance and moving my body to the beat in the midst of people. So, as a kid, I always looked forward to parties.
I looked forward to the end of every term when we would have a school party and my friends and I would make matching hairstyles with pretty ribbons and wear our pretty dresses. I had my somewhat fatal accident around such a time when I was filled with excitement.
The week before my accident, my friends and I had selected the hair we would make and over the weekend, I had made mine. I was excited about that party because it was my second year in my new school and I had finally gotten to the point where my classmates accepted me. I was a complete outsider for an entire year. I was 9 at the time, turning 10 in barely 3 months so being accepted was a big deal for me.
This major event happened on the 10th of December, 2007. The previous day my mom had travelled to Port Harcourt, Nigeria for school so my 2 older brothers and I were left home alone with my older sister and my father.
On that day, my father was supposed to drive us to school but he was either being too lazy or just tired, so he gave us some money and told us to use bikes to school. I can't overemphasize how terrible bikes are as a means of transportation, yet he took that risk.
My brothers schooled far away from me so they both boarded a different bike together and I took mine alone. We had already gotten in front of my school when the bike man decided to be kind enough to take me across the road, unfortunately, there was another bike coming behind him that wasn't looking so they collided with each other.
I can't recall what happened exactly but I remember being on the hard floor and screaming my brothers' names because I was sure their bikes would pass by my school. I found out later that they didn't.
I was carried to a nearby hospital and my father was contacted. The entire right side of my face was bruised and I had burns on my knees, but the worst of all was my front teeth that were gone.
My dad came around a while later and he cried when he saw me. All the regrets and "I wish I had" did nothing. His baby girl had lost her teeth and had been harmed and to him, it was his fault. Although at the time, I didn't think about it that way. I was in pain and I just wanted to go home.
Well, we went to the dentist and nothing could be done about my teeth immediately. I'll share that story eventually. I still have one more dentist appointment to fix the error of that day.
I guess I couldn't make the story as funny as I hoped but I did manage to dig up a few pictures from Facebook from a couple of years ago before a got my current semi-permanent fix that I need to change in a few months.
That accident ruined my self-confidence for almost 10 years but when I found the strength to be happy without my teeth, I flaunted my smile and didn't give a damn about anything else.
And for good measure, here's a recent picture of me with my semi-permanent solution.
In the end, the only thing that matters is my happiness so I decided to dwell on that. My teeth may or may not be there but my smile remains the same.
Thanks for reading
(All images were taken by me. The first 3 with my Techno Camon and the last 1 with my Redmi Note 10s)
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