Teach them to understand...

Spoonhead claims he has a certificate in English proficiency. I haven't seen the certificate yet, but when he speaks, you will think English deficiency was his major. His conversational language skill is as rusty as the old wharf at Barra and you know why, because in school, he was only taught to memorise grammar rules in order to pass the exam, as if the art is not as important as the rule.

So Spoonhead is what happens when the teacher teaches his students to just memorise concepts, without helping them to think beyond the book, without using analogies as much as he can, knowing that people, especially kids tend to understand more when you use explicit representations, or cite known similarities to support what they are being taught.

Once I was assisting some kids with a certain primary school English passage. Unlike what they were used to, I said first, we are going to translate the accompanying photograph orally, and by their keen faces as we engage in conversation, I knew I was getting the understanding that I was trying to inculcate. So even before reading what was before us, we were able to extract and talk about not only the key words, but also new ones that they would come across in the passage.

Since the picture was about a hospital, these elementary school kids were able to know what an ambulance is, a stretcher, the difference between a medical doctor and a doctor because of a doctorate degree, etc. even a stethoscope became a part of their vocabulary. In the end, reading the passage became fun and effortless, not like it was with my junior school classmate who when he sees an unfamiliar word as he reads, he will say in Mandinka: "Nmalong" (I don't know) and move on.

I don't know how many teachers are aware of the significance of the pictures in those primary school books, but I am telling you now that they are placed in there to supplement the information being read, so that it can be understood more easily, and to make the words, terms and concepts therein less complicated than they may seem on paper.

About complicated concepts with small meanings, let's take "bank reconciliations statements" in accounting for instance; unless the kid learning this concept knows that reconciling is just about bringing two things into agreement, and that it could be about figures, ideas, people, nations, etc. unless that is clear, the kid may assume that there is no alternative way to reconciling except that one formula that he's caused to memorise.

To conclude this long piece, I am not saying this will transform your educational system from doom and gloom to bloom, but I believe it can help produce thinkers instead of tinkerers, and robust learners rather than robots. And for the record, I am not a teacher. I am just a concerned guy who aspires to be a parent someday.

The fool I used to be...

I used to have a thing for taking offense even where offense may not necessarily be intended, trying to get revenge and responding to every nonsense or act of perceived mockery, not knowing that in doing so, the one intending to offend wins by way of the satisfaction he gets in bringing me down to his level.

But the fool I was never occurred to me until I came across this wise quote that: "he who takes offense when no offense is intended is a fool, and he who takes offense when offense is intended is a greater fool."

Judas, that's what you are....

If your friend is offered something to buy, something he or she is novice at, but something you are expert at, and you know something about the thing that will someday and very soon be of detriment to your friend, and you still encourage this friend to buy that thing because there is some commission in it for you, you're not a friend, you're but a bomboclaat judas; a bloody economic terrorist, and I wouldn't have written this if I care about who takes offense.

Allow people to change....

Listen, if you cannot disuade a brother or sister from giving up on his or her struggle for self-improvement, knowing how hard it is to be fighting a battle that no one knows much about, the least you should do around this person is to be seen and not heard, because a depressed spirit can feel devastating. I know a little something about that.

In this life, if not yourself, you must have known someone who did things in the past that he or she will give anything to undo. But at the end of the day, what is of consequence is not who or what the person was, but what he or she has become. No sarcasm intended, and I don't want to name names, but I know former stoners and weedheads who to the credit of the 'Markaz' are today spreading the word of God, and conmen and indecent workers proving that it is possible for anyone to turn their lives around.

So, the way I see it, and probably the way it is, parting with an old lifestyle, or changing for the better is not much a shame, as it is in: "Oh! Once upon a time, I used to be so cool, calm and innocent, but shit happened and now I am an idiot."

As for you making a personal reform, remember that even though your best time for change was yesterday, there is always a second best time, and that time is today, like right now, because you have the capacity to develop, but you wouldn't truly live to witness your own change unless you stop living your life caring what people think of you. Don't ever say I didn't tell you so.

Morning reflection...

These days, if you cannot distinguish between the saint and the closet-devil who regardless, is eminent for piety and virtue, and if you cannot see beyond the drama of phony people playing victim of their own doings, you may end up hating the people you should love and loving the people you should hate.

Because I am getting pissed off...

Listen, every Muslim that upholds a suitable conformity to basic moral standards of the teachings of Islam knows that this world needs protection from terror. BUT so do we need protection from the ignorance that equates Islam with terror. Seriously, some of us are getting sick and tired of feeling sorry for being Muslims, and for acts that we already detest and denounce.

I have observed that even as we sincerely continue to stand in solidarity with victims of terror irrespective, there are still enemies that are so devoted to their uninformed opinions and prejudices about Muslims and Islam, like what the hell is wrong with them!

From right now, I am not going to waste my time trying to clear Islam from silly accusations, suspicions and criticisms; that's God's to do. However, if you want to remain ignorant, be my guest, but before you tar all Muslims with the same brush, come live with genuine Muslims and experience their way of life, or get a translated Qur'an and read the teachings. You may find not only your answers but your cure as well.

How to become broke...

If because of laziness, you cannot even clean your stuff, you keep repeating that [so us] cycle of complaining about everything being wrong, but doing nothing to make anything right, if you keep throwing away stuff that you could've salvaged to reuse, you keep outsourcing chores that you could've done yourself and save money, if you cannot be enterprising because your exploited source of livelihood is somewhere overseas, or because your trust fund is too substantial to be drained, if you can forgo breakfast for weed, or you abandon your needs for some designer apparel, you'll end up broke.

If you think the beginning and end of your success is in one thing and that thing only, like going abroad, then don't delay taking action, because if you keep putting a brake on your hustle just so you can run behind some pretended helper whose words don't match his actions, or some celebrity or politician, helping them to make their personal dreams at the expense of yours, no matter the weight of your own dream, you'll end up sorry, because it's never about the formalness of the dream, it's the substance therein that counts, and perhaps the faculty of choice to pursue it.

Around here, this philosophy is never too popular, because folks believe that ability is nothing without opportunity and I agree. But the truth is, opportunities don't fall from the atmosphere above; it takes will and creativity. If however, your environment is not conducive for creativity, that's another matter, but even at that, the onus is yours to change the root cause of whatever stumbling block there is.

If you can't make the ungrateful grateful, make him regretful...

It is said that a dog won't forsake his master because of his poverty, and a kid never deserts his mother for her homely appearance. I guess man is the only being that doesn't hesitate to abandon a fellow man the moment he expects nothing from him, because man that is expected to know better looks forward to everything, but hardly grateful for anything.

But since you cannot make the ungrateful grateful, try to make him regretful by being exactly what he thought you will never be again, and I believe you can grow from any situation and change anything you are willing to face up to; that way, the deserter will come again begging you to have him back. Trust me, I have seen it happen.

When you grow from concrete...

To paraphrase Tupac: when a rose grows from concrete, proving nature's laws wrong, we don't ask why or how. We see the scratches and damaged petals as evidence of the struggle it went through, and then we celebrate its tenacity.

But when you grow out of concrete, instead of being wowed by your growth, especially out of all the troubles of survival to make something good out of your past lifestyle, folks tend to keep bringing your past to your notice, as if people like you aren't built for change, or as if they have always been of the 'Sirat Al-Mustaqim.'

But if there is one rule in life that I have learned on here today, from the 'Status Update' of a certain young lady that I admire so much is: "phuk what they think."

Universities of job seeking...

It is really sad that after all the years, money and sleepless nights in school, you graduate with a degree, but only to an even more daunting degree of job hunting. Waking up every morning, praying to God for luck, wearing that oversized shirt that your uncle gave you, or that atrocious '80s suit that you bought from Salifou Jaiteh's, credentials in brown A4 envelopes, going from office to office looking for a job that wouldn't stop you from envying your unemployed friends, because even if the experience requirement is waived and you get the job, the best part of your life is dedicated to making your employer's dreams.

A few years down, your homeboy comes from foreign, marries that girl of your wet dreams, because the same parents that said they admired your tireless devotion cannot say no to someone who can do in two weeks what you were dying to do in donkey's years, and then you start to ask yourself: where the hell is the financial independence, the social acceptance and the personal happiness that I thought was attached to this job. Then you end up joining the company of those gossiping no-live colleagues at your workplace, who have nothing better to do with their time than to talk trash about the boss.

If you ask me, higher learning is great, but our institutions of higher learning should go beyond teaching us to become employees. We don't need to be taught to write CVs my friend, or schooled on how to not look frumpy at job interviews. We need to be groomed to become creators and not seekers of employment, because until then, most of us will end up working for those who chose the real world as their source of instruction, and not your formal education.

Love is not supposed to be painful...

I think love is lovely. In fact, I don't think there is anything that is lovelier than falling madly and deeply in love with someone who loves you back the same way.

Me, if I ever told you to put up with whatever it is that is affecting your relationship because "love hurts," I lied and I am sorry, but I was just trying to be of comfort.

The truth is, if love invariably puts you through anguish or grief, be afraid, because it is not possessed in common. It is one party that is perhaps trying to make it work. But that's just a personal opinion.

Nahateh bi...

The language herein may seem explicit, but only if you see it that way.

It doesn't matter what he tells you, if he asks you out just like that, at a place and time like that, and in a state like that, I am not saying his intention's evil, but beware of carnal intent. If he does you just that, and gives you all that, don't go about pretending to have fooled him, because you didn't. If you like it like that, go kinky babes, make it count. Hehe!

Some who like to enhance their own vanity will say: "Suma doff bi! Koku sumako wonay yoyu monu, mba ma raaye ko tuti rek mu daanu." Like he cums with just a tiny stroke and a lil striptease. But even if a handjob is all he got whilst he rolls your pill, probably because that's all the stimulation he needed, he's got what he wanted. So don't flatter yourself - 'hanna kai nahateh, wye du yako nah!'

Khutba... because it's a Friday.

If you can give credit to your own efforts and hard work whenever you do well, it is only right to accept that it is by your hard luck that you lose or fail; it is not always someone else's fault.

If you have a thing for having a retard around you to laugh at, or for talking trash about other people, it is only fair that you keep calm when yours is being laughed at or talked about.

'Olof Njie neh bala nga merreh li ci kass bi, merrel ki ko xelly.' Maa'nan: rather than sitting and blaming an unfortunate situation, blame the architect or root cause of the situation.

If what people see is what they say, the attitude you manifest will make your character, and your character will get you the reputation you deserve. So, conduct yourself within due limits, 'muminol bay kungho si sumayaa."

The justice in human judgments....

So, the so-called "Butcher of Bosnia" (Radovan Karadzic) is finally said to be guilty of 10 of his 11 charges? I don't know if I should condemn or condone the sentence, but 40 years in prison for someone at 70, and after all these while? What a match for the scale of the crimes he is convicted for, and what a tardy closure for the families and loved ones of the thousands of victims.

The paradox of this Dunia...

This world has sold or is offering to sell Napoleon’s sword for $6.4 million, values a secretary desk by the Goddard & Townsend Families at $11.4 million, an 18th century badminton cabinet at $28.8 million, a collection of writings by Leonardo da Vinci was sold for $30.8 million, and a 1740 gold embellished vase for $80.2 million, and they say the offers are because of the history attached.

Talking about history, isn't it ironic that this is the same world that is unwilling to make history by creating a global community that will not fail millions of poor women and children like that 13 year-old Kenyan kid that collects rubbish at the dump in Korogocho slum to survive, and to support her family and sick mother? Yet we call ours an era of "global progress" - can you imagine, with millions of children left behind?

But isn't it a world where Mia Khalifa act-alike ladies will dress all modest on Fridays, act all holier-than-you-and-I, asking folks to repent because the end is near, only to turn back into their former state and practices, soon as night falls, and of men who'll chant "Subhanallah" because they've seen some skin or cleveage, but have the largest collection of porn in recorded history?

But, maybe I should shut the phuk up because unfortunately, when my status improves, I am afraid that like the rest, I wouldn't be able to see the things I am seeing today; it's the world we live in that is no longer interested in anything without a curse behind it.

You'll be pissed off for being pissed on...

If you care too much, or want to be the fixer of every mess, like it's your duty to fix, and you live and work amongst bloody annoying people, there'll hardly ever be a routine day that goes by without you feeling so worked up or pissed off for being pissed on.

But perhaps that’s all the evidence and argument you need to establish the truth that you being where you are is one big geographical error, and pray so that God will afford you the ability to endure.

Du'a on terror...

May God terminate every attempt to make terrorism business as usual. May intelligent civilisation be protected from the use of violence or the threat of violence to inculcate mass panic, or to coerce or intimidate innocent people, whether in the pursuit of religious, political, ideological, or economic advantage, or just for the heck of it.

May we be protected from those who benefit from terrorism, and those who use war on terror as an excuse to create more terror and to dominate the world. May we on here not be afforded another chance of making hashtags longer than sentences just to show solidarity with victims of terror, or the opportunity to bash those who are not so region-biased in their show of solidarity.

Amen!

Many are their own devil...

Sometimes people, especially young people do not need protection from harm without, but from themselves; from the harms of their own ways of thinking, their attitudes and opinions, especially one that has become a habitual thing.

But unless we are aware of this, every nonsense they do will either be interpreted as willfullness or thought to be the work of the devil, and the truth is, the devil has no time to hold sway with someone so eager and tending to stray like that - such people are their own devils.

Be patient...

Even if you share the same ancestral lineage, same birth, descent and semblance, let alone academic qualification, it is a matter of established occurrence that fortune and destiny aren't designed to be shared - because in this life, there's a lil something for everyone. You just gotta believe and be patient, for sorry are those who try to influence that which was never meant to be.

Mtcheew!!!

You should consider yourself fortunate to have found love since day one, when the struggle was real, or to be loved by someone despite your low probability of becoming a recognised person someday, and to have found someone to love you for who you truly are, and not for what she wants you to be.

But foolish is the one who all of a sudden sets his standards too high, just to ditch such an amazing love, because he's now financially secure enough to forget about the gravity of his once frustrating circumstance, and because today, he cannot control his erection around vampires in skirts, and bitches who a few years earlier didn't give a flying fuck about him because he was broke.

Caution...

If you try to exert moral authority in support of a cause or case that you do not possess or hold, and if you make request for reparation to undo a wrong or transgression that was never inflicted on you. You will end up shamed; I have seen it happen, not just once.

You can't please them all...

If you happen to be in a fortunate circumstance, and in a society like ours, you can do everything you possibly can for the people around you, even at some cost to yourself, but trust me, all what they'll talk about behind you back are those things that you didn't do for them.

If you're a people-pleaser, this will bother you. But being a recovering people-pleaser myself, I can confirm that unless you learn to crush some feelings, and say "yes" only when it is not a "no" to yourself, unless you realise that the primary cause of stress is giving a rat's arse, and unless you stop trying to adapt to the demands of everyone, you'll never do anything good for yourself.

I am not asking anyone to be unwilling to give or share, because if you know me, and you're sincere enough, you'll know I am not stingy, but since it's a moment of truth, it must be told. No one wants to get stuck with bills and emergencies that aren't your personal problems, and especially not for a dissatisfied set of people.

Once said, it is no longer a secret..

In this crappy era where people can do anything for recognition, money and baseless competition, if you make that place you set for the end of your journey known to everyone even before you embark on it, I swear down, you will not go far.

Granted, you must learn to trust in order to be trusted. But trust me, your secret is more than likely to be exposed to the chance of becoming an open secret the moment you think it fitting to confide the secret to someone you think you can trust.

Even if the person you're trusting is not necessarily an okra-mouth, or as crappy as the era itself, you need to understand that like yourself, he too may have someone in whom he confides in, and that someone may have someone with whom he shares secrets with. I call it the cycle of trust. So, if you ask me, if you don't want it to be common knowledge, just keep it to yourself.

It's up to you....

Listen! If you think your friend doesn't socialise or keep in touch as often as you do, and you really and truly want to remain friends with him, accept that as his weakness and move on.

Maybe he's not unwilling to be in contact; maybe he's just unable to associate normally like that, or perhaps the company you want him to keep is not the type he's comfortable with; people are different. It could also be that he sometimes wants to be left the hell alone.

When to and when not to pick on...

If you bully, harass and make fun of innocent people on here or anywhere, rather than trying to lift their spirits up when you can, and under the pretext of "keeping it real," when nothing is real about yourself except your ignorance, I am saying stop it; it's straight up BS!

However, if you think you need to pick on someone just to feel good about yourself, to make the person look inferior, or just for the heck of it, be my guest. But pick on someone your equal, or someone who has his own back and see if you won't be sorry.

As for you the victim, if you're sure that the show of negativity towards you is about you being what someone doesn't want you to be, be it even more, and remember what Michael J. Fox said: "Ones dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered."

But there are exemptions, because some people need to be told off to be humbled. Sometimes though, because of the support structure around them, you may be accused of hating if you step up to the challenge, but as long as it is for a greater good, who cares what others think.

Mag du yaradaykou...

In our part of the world, showing contempt and lack of respect, or expressing disdain towards the elderly is strongly frowned upon and that's a great culture.

But if you are respected because of your age, don't be oppressive, and don't think you can do whatever you damn well please and get away with it. Incorrect behaviour is no one's monopoly, and the truth is, bullshit tolerance levels are very low these days. I thought I should say that.

Two major issues delaying the typical African:

ONE - drumming, singing, dancing and clapping about everything; from dancing-deserving festivities, to appreciation of some miracle, to using the mood as incentive to fire up the crowd during community works, and even at funerals. I was told that in some parts of West Africa, a funeral is not befitting enough unless it becomes out to be a bash.

TWO - one moment we are all spiritual; we go to our churches and mosques and say: “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you,” or “Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,” pretending to love each other, and putting our reliance in none but God, and the next minute we are visiting our beloved sorcerer to chase away enemies that never were, and to use witchcraft against one another. And we still expect God to buy our prayers? 

Based on my interactions, is like everyone hates being in this type of social situation, but only a few will think of a workable way out. The rest are busy dragging the next man back down to share the mutual fate - and if not for foolishness, you cannot go up by pulling others down; you’ll only get caught up in the struggle that you’ll forget about going up – that’s basic logic.

Just don't want it, pursue it...

If you ask me, our communities are not in need of brothers with big dreams. Every youth you talk to these days wants to own a nice ride, a great home, a healthy bank account, and a drool inducing woman. So what we are in need of are pursuers of goals and dreams, brothers who don't delay taking action, knowing that it is one thing to desire to do, or to want to own, but the ability to work to have what you want, and to be able to keep what you own is everything.

Even if a woman to keep is what you desire, and unless she's the 'swag obsessed, "OMG! He's so cute'" type of woman, you'll need to be able to demonstrate beyond looks and a highly-developed set of abdominal muscles. Your appearance alone, especially one sustained by handouts, freebies and giveaways won't get you a woman, at least not a sensible lady that is looking for a guy she can admire, and you cannot be admired unless you're seen wanting and getting something out of life.

When classy is trashy...

Turning your nose up at those who's is less skimpy, less provocative and cheaper than what you wear doesn't mean you're cool; it means you're a fool. Going into the restaurant to buy not because you love the food you're ordering, but because it is the most expensive on the menu doesn't signify your state of wakefulness; it's a show of foolishness. Being nice to your rich friends, but assuming a tone of baseless superiority over the less fortunate ones doesn't make you classy; you're trashy.

If you ask me, you don't have to try too hard like that to hide your low self-esteem and insecurity. 'Nyun xam nanj.' In fact, the coolest, classiest, and most wakeful of people are those with the understanding that being arrogant and inconsistent with good morals, or obsession with things like the number of celebrities you know, the expensive but useless merchandise you buy, the excessive parties you attend and into late hours will contribute nothing meaningful to society.

WORD!

When folks are busy patching a few facts about you together, and pretending to know you more than you know yourself, let me tell you what to do:

Do not try to convince them that they don't, because they won't. Instead, confuse them. Focus on your journey and let them wallow in their state of confusion. That way, you won't get distracted?

Chemistry not numbers...

Women staying unmarried is said to be on account of a shortage of men. I don't buy that theory. I will rather we say shortage of marriageable, eligible or loveable men, and perhaps a shortage of women capable of getting and keeping the type of men they want to be with. So, it is not a problem of ratio of men to women, it is a thing of compatibility, chemistry and perhaps preference.

Even if the sexes were neck and neck in ratio, if compatibility, chemistry or preference is not present, if ignorant bimbos don't want to be with their unintellectual equals, if ugly chicks cannot settle for less than what their extremely hot friends have, if men that are visually challenging to women don't want to be with a lady without full lips, round booty, and fine skin, some people will remain unmarried, because the options available to them will be found deficient in inspiring the love and affection they desire.

Since ours is a society with callous disregard for feelings, it is not uncommon for parents to force their daughters on big spenders and folks with lucrative careers. But it usually won't last because a couple of years down, the lady will have some jobless honey on the side screwing her. It's a simple law of attraction; this jobless loser has the power to excite her feelings and to gain her affection, because there's this force that pulls them together regardless of their own will, something money cannot buy. So instead of numbers, I am saying bachelorship and spinsterhood is as a result of a growing imbalance in mutual attraction.

There'll always be good people...

There is nothing wrong with the world as a physical planet. It is a fine world and so it will remain; the third out from the Sun and the most habitable of all the other planets. It is rather the community within it that sucks.

But tell you what, no matter the degree of jackassery, wickedness, apathy, greed, paranoia or fear motivated tolerance for bullshits, there will always be amongst us, people who will do whatever it takes to preserve humanity, brotherly kindness and selflessness, because not all hearts are 'Made in China' -  no disrespect to the wonderful people of China.

Just don't be inappropriate in magnitude...

Contrary to what some preachers will tell you, desiring money, fame, glory, fun, sex, and authority is not just our 'twenty-fuss' century trend, or a thing of moral bankruptcy, it is human nature, and besides, let me tell you what's good about these six things:

Money equals power unless it is motivated by greed. Nothing beats fame attained in something you're really good at. Glory is considered powerful unless it is vain. A no-fail formula for success is to have fun at what you do. Sex, preferably legit, is not just about procreation or making you and your mood feel good; amongst other benefits, it boosts the immune system and helps maintain a healthy weight; ask Dr. Omar. Last of the six, what's a man without authority in anything? Absolutely nothing!

So, instead of pretending to be too holy for these natural cravings and/or tendencies, being endued with reason in your quenching of your desire for them is what should make you more human than others. But that's just my opinion.

Mann ken du ma horh...

If you want to get married because you believe you have fallen in love, it's your call to make. If you believe it's about time you feed your reproductive urge, and whether you have laid plans on how to sustain the institution or not, it's still your decision to make.

But if the only reason you're married is to have a license to get laid without guilt; if you take the sacred covenant for a thing of convenience by 'chagatu-ing' even after marriage, and pretending to be acting out over your bad relationship; if you keep complaining about your spouse like she's the beginning of your end, like you're serving time, except you're looking for a partner in misery, what you should be focused on is the possibility of parole, not constantly asking me to get married, like a spouse is some garment that anyone can grab off-the-rack. Besides, you're certainly not fit to be imitated.

My stance may be wrong, but that's my mistake to make, 'ken du ma horh.' Right now, what I want, how I want it, and when I want it is my business. I am not gonna let someone's imagination of what is best for me to get the better of my intelligence. Thank you!

Creativity...

Edward de Bono said: "There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns.”

But first, I'm saying you gotta have faith in what you are thinking up. You need to believe that it can be done or achieved, then take the risk, break some rules, make mistakes; that's the only way you can free yourself from Albert Einstein's definition of "INSANITY: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Competence...

Knowing what you are expected to know is one thing. Doing what you are supposed to do with what you know, and not only doing it, but with the expected degree of ability is a better thing. However, knowing when and how to apply yourself, and knowing your accountabilities and the right attitude to be appended to what you do with what you know is the best thing.

Verbose? I know!

You'll reap exactly the bad you sow...

Be you someone who lacks care, emotion or motivation, be you selfish or painfully desirous of more than what you deserve, be you someone of irrational distrust of everyone, or someone so paranoid that you cannot even do what is necessary; be it what it would, you will always get what you deserve, and what that means is mostly vindictive.

When it's now, it's now or never...

Neither an unavailable second chance nor the unhealthy tongue of the blabbermouth shall be of considerable inconvenience to those who are ready to make a difference, because once one is ready to take advantage of every moment, especially moments that are now or never, these two inconveniences will be too unimportant to be of concern.

The reason why some of us that seem to know what to do to make a difference tend to hardly make a difference is because we hesitate to proceed to make a difference, or keep giving refuge to unnecessary caution, and perhaps because we are not fully conscious of situations where it is either at that available opportunity, or never at all.

"There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune...." William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

People change...

If you knew me, and you see the amount of tolerance I have for stupid bullshits these days, you'll confirm that I'm living proof that anyone can change; if you choose to grow that is.

Talking about change, the story of that girl who today claims nothing for herself, that girl that used to listen to no one but herself is proof that those who choose arrogance over everything will someday be humbled by circumstances.

You're not ready for a smartphone yet...

If you can afford it, flaunt it; go ahead and buy a smartphone for 20something thousand Dalasis just to say you have it; it's not my business. I don't care if you’re paying for something you're not going to use. It's your money to waste.

But if you're going to come to me to ask me to "konficur" your "wassap," "tanko" and "biber," when what you mean is to help "configure" your "Whatsapp," "Tango" and "Viber," then I have every right to ask you to go get a cognitive development gadget instead, a baby jigsaw perhaps.

People...

Where people only remember the people they need, and where people can crush the spirits of some people to boost the egos of other people, or pretend to be supportive only when they perceive some form of reward for their support, don't expect support if you have nothing of value to offer - and that's a good thing, because those who don't get disappointed easily are those people who tend to accept fate and don't expect fluke.

With satisfaction in your situation, with hope, and by God, things will change, and those same people that never counted on you for anything, those whose hostility sometimes causes you to second guess the essence of friendship and family, will someday tell everyone how they met you, and how closely related they are to you. They'll want you to forgive and forget just like that; as if it is that easy to get over a wound like that. Like, they don't know that pain changes people faster than anything.

Fools...

"It's easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled." ~ Mark Twain

Granted, everyone’s a fool to someone somewhere, but prejudice aside, let me tell you the truth about real fools and foolishness: just pretend to like their plans or the things they do and they'll unquestioningly record you in their good books. Let what you tell them sound favourable even though insincere and they'll do incredibly stupid things for you.

If you ask me, the worst of fools are those that are of believe that whatever they do, even under temptation or a state of compulsion is their unforced choice. Such fools will allow their own ideas and set of morals to play second fiddle to whatever they think is in accordance with the latest trend, fashion or hype. This is why Mr. T pities them.

If you can't, don't...

"My back is not a voicemail. If you want to say something, say it to my face." - Unknown

Or make sure you'll be okay with it when the voicemail reaches or is retrieved by the unintended recipient, because he or she eventually will. It's a small world and people talk. So, if you cannot handle head-on confrontation, don't talk nonsense about someone who is not present.

Insecurity...

He or she, it doesn't matter; if someone who shouldn't leave her house for the good of man and for her own good, someone as unattractive as some piece of classified information, one who even with makeup on, has a face brighter than her own future, yet has this shameless audacity of criticising and disapproving of everyone she resentfully desires to be like, it is more than likely that she's showing symptoms of a highly contagious insecurity ailment. CDC is yet to put a name to it, but as an emergency response, this person must be isolated without delay - take precautions.

Say it....

When a boil or skin abscess (tabb/yeetor) is pus-filled and ready to drain, you cannot evade the bump and expect it to drain by itself, because not all boils can resolve on their own.

Same way, if you have something to say and want to be heard, especially when you can construct some good by it, say it. If an advice is what it is, give it, otherwise keep it. But you cannot keep to yourself and expect others to respond to your needs or know how you’re feeling.

Unfortunately, people these days don’t want to open up, but we expect others to give a fuck, as if it is other people’s job to look into the constructions of our hearts, to tell how we feel and put our needs right… but aren’t we the blame-everything-on-something-or-someone generation?