Tough Love ☹️

Tough love.
--------------------
I passed out from the compulsory service a few weeks ago and my parents' calls since then have been 'Ifeyinwa bata wa zie nụ. Gịnị ka ika ná eme ébé ahụ?' and a host of them. Most of my friends and acquaintances are all asking the same thing, 'when are you going home?'
Like I don't understand. Is there anything like a job or activity aside my sewing, waiting for me at home? Or you all feel that because I'm a girl, I should run home after service, continue to say 'thank you ma, thank you sir' and not fend for myself?
The last I checked, 18 years is still the adult age in this country, and In saner climes I should have moved out of my parents house 7 years ago, but I can't try that here na. Going to the university and This service year was always a blessing and escape route for me, because that's my only acceptable reason to leave my house and live out for as long as required. It pains me because I can't remember my parents ever calling my elder brother like this to come back home, the highest they did was congratulate him and encourage him to come back when he gets the chance. And they remind him to 'cho wa ọrụ ọ'. Every single day now, my mum or dad calls in the mornings and evenings to ask me, 'Ifeyinwa, when are you coming back?' and each time, I tell them I have work to do here, they will grumble and complain and still call again, to ask me same thing. Ah ah. Na only me Don finish service?

I remember when I got posted here last year, I cried my eyes out and promised myself I won't stay an extra day here once I finish service. But months into the service year, reality hit me. I can't help it, this is Nigeria 🇳🇬. It's not about running back home to continue being dependent, it's about getting my footing in life, for me. To be able to make decisions, on what to eat, buy, pay bills, make budgets, send money home, and do things I feel like doing because I want to. Not because I was told to. This is the only period in my life I think I can have this level of space, as an adult, why can't I?
I know my parents love me, and yes they probably want me to come home and stay with them out of that love. But this is love, u might say its harmful to me. After a few days, the 'missing me fever' will wear off.

 Then what next??

Expectations hurt 😢😢

At the passing out parade at camp, I had high expectations. One of the reasons I stopped expecting so much from people, is because I hate disappointments so much. There's something it does to me.

Earlier,...
You see, my close friend in camp Pp, her elder brother was a senior to our camp commandant, so he instructed her to go meet the camp commandant and introduce herself as his sister.
Me :wow, see opportunity na, to get close to the officials and choose the best place of primary assignment.
Poor me and my high hopes 🙄😢.
We met him, greeted and she introduced herself, and yes by default and by force 😎me too. I started greeting this man unnecessarily, reminding him per say that 'it's me oo🤗, pps friend na, your seniors sisters friend ọ,' you had to remember abeg.
Then my lucky day came. He asked me a few days before we rounded up camp activities where I wanted to serve. That's my place of primary assignment.
Ah, I didn't hesitate to say government House. I already made enquiries about the other places that one can be posted here and didn't find any appealing. I obviously don't like teaching, it's not my strength at all, I just make efforts. And the other places, ministries, you will just spend transport going there everyday without doing nothing. Five days or four days a week. Ah no ọ. I'm not a medically inclined graduate na, so hospital Don Commot from my list 🤦‍♀️. So I thought, government house all the way. I can make impact there, work from the ICT room.
Haba , at all at all, Yobe no go too bad like that that their government house won't have ICT room na.
Besides, I should make contacts there, meet the politicians and their wives for my fashion business, you understand na 🤔. I was busy scheming plans, drawing map in my head. Kai.
And with the confidence I had in this our commandant, I just relaxed. At all at all na him bad pass.

The day for passing out parade came, time to distribute place of primary assignment letters. I was so confident, you needed to see my shoulders, my charisma in my khaki and boots na. The charisma of one going to the government house to serve. Cheiiii.
We stood in line, my number 29, very close sef. I almost snatched the letter from the official when I heard my name, as I immediately skimmed through looking for the place I was posted to.

Ooom, where is it na? Anxiety didn't allow me be great. It took me about 5 minutes to see it, at the top left corner of the paper.
A secondary school!
No!!! I cried. My heart broke 😭😭😭😭😭. And the tears started to flow immediately. I started to soil the papers with my tears, then I remembered who promised me that I was going to get my choice.
Blindly, I started to walk towards the podium, he was still standing there. I couldn't see or hear my friends asking me what the problem was, or the cab driver that has been standing beside me since, asking my location so he could take me.
He kept following me and talking, but the look I gave him when I raised my head eh, he didn't think twice before he stopped in his tracks and did a U-turn immediately.
The commandant saw me walking towards him in tears, and started to walk to me.

'what happened? Are you OK?'

I couldn't talk, just handed him the letter.
He looked at it, then looked at me, and felt so dejected himself.

'I'm sorry. Really sorry. They assured me it was going to be there too'. He tried to console me.
But me, I wasn't listening again, and there was nothing to be done except reject.

But In the end, everything works together for good to those that love God 🤗. My disappointment turned into a huge blessing.

My first alcohol experience

My long time secondary school mad friend was in town. I was so excited so I called up another friend and told her let's go visit okwybaby.. We got to our friend's house, and started gisting and laughing from the gate.. We got upstairs, seated and didn't even remember to take anything, the excitement was more than the tummy business. She remembered she hadn't served us anything more than 30 minutes later so she went to the fridge. Her brother only had alcohol in his apartment, and she didn't want to go downstairs to buy. She said the drink was sweet and tasted like palmwine..

'Ah ah, bring it na' . I cooed🤗

Babe brought one small bottle first and said we should try it, if we liked it she will bring the other one. I and my other friend Naz shared the first bottle, we liked it and asked for the second. By then our laughter was getting unnecessarily louder and we were just talking anyhow now 🙈🙈. Okwy was laughing, she had to go to the market so we hurried up with the drinks and start going.

'Haa babe, my eyes are turning me ọ' .
Naz said the same thing too.
We got to the road, my friend was just laughing at the way we were staggering, so she came back and had to cross us before she took the opposite direction. How we got home that day is a story on it's own 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️.

Please share your first alcohol experience let's have a good laugh.
Have a good week.