Waiting for FRIDAY

[10 min read]

Akin was a 400 level Nursing student.

Between clinical postings, preliminary project, assignments, studying to be the first best male student in his department and the self-imposed responsibility of outdoing all his senior siblings, he had no time to do the things he loved. He looked forward to the weekends when he could rest and do some of these things, but then, his weekends weren't always free too, because all his academic activities still ate into his weekends.


So, instead, he looked forward to the few weeks holiday he got in a year when he could work on his photography skills. He knew he was great at public speaking and he could write well too, he had the entire hall laughing with tears streaming down the faces of most when he gave his speech as the best graduating student in his secondary school. He was excellent on the field and could always find his way around with a football between his legs. All these and much more Akin longed for, but he never had time for all the things he loved to do to. He knew what to do, you see, but he didn't know-how.

Do you not think we should stop?

We should stop waiting for Friday-the weekend, the holidays, for this, for that...

How many times have you said to yourself "I can't wait for Friday to be here"?

Or:

I can't wait to graduate,

I can't wait to have a baby,

I can't wait to meet the love of my life,

I can't wait to see you,

I can't wait to grow up,

I can't wait to blow chai,

I can't wait to show them...

I can't wait to go home.

While all these are not bad in themselves, it is important to live in the moment.

So, here's a little advice; how about waiting?

Yep, you read that right, how about waiting to achieve or waiting to be all of those things you've planned for yourself and just enjoy NOW?

Remember how, when you were little, you envied your aunts and uncles and couldn't wait to be like them? You even tried on your mothers' heels or your fathers' shoes and walked like them. Then, you grew and had a favourite human and you couldn't wait to be like them - Oprah, Chinua Achebe, Albert Einstein...

We became teenagers, and then we couldn't wait to be adults so we could make our own decisions and expect people to treat us like adults. Oh, we're in the junior secondary school, and how much we look up to/hate our seniors; we couldn't wait to be seniors too, the thought of the junior students we'd have at our command and we'd stop wearing pinafore or shorts and now wear skirts or trousers.

Then we got to senior secondary school and our teachers won't rest from saying "When you get into the real world, you'd know what I'm talking about." or "Don't worry yourself about this, you'll be taught in the higher institution", and how they filled our heads with images and our hearts with desires. We could not wait to get out of secondary school as the university became our fantasy land.

We thought of all the freedom we'd have, how there'd be no teachers to discipline us. We salivated at the pure freedom we thought awaited us, so we forgot to properly enjoy the present, busy preparing for a future; a future sure to disappoint, for when we got to university, how angry we were to find out we'd been lied to because you see this life, it's nothing like you imagine.

Now, we're at 200 level, and we're counting the years before we graduate. 

Somewhere in between, we long for days when we had others decide for us, when we were oblivious to the world and our cares were food and sleep.

Yaaaaayyy!!!! Final year students in the house make some noooooooiiiiiiiisssssse!!!!! At this point, you probably begin to think "What next?" Well, you have your NYSC immediately, or you have to go to law school or go for an internship or houseman-ship, so there's no immediate pressure.

Some people at this point already realize the mistake of them anticipating the future so much that they forgot to live in the now.

Now, you're married and have a child, you got a job; it is the job of your dreams, or not, but you're so stressed that you don't care. And you're just wondering WHEN DID ALL THAT TIME PASS? You just want Friday so bad that you go Monday through Thursday with thoughts and hopes of TGIF!!!

Sunday is here, tomorrow is Monday😭😭😭😭, you're still so stressed. "I'm really tired, but I can do this. I can't do this, well, Friday is 5 days away and the holiday is just around the corner." So you key your hopes into them.

However old you are,

Whatever stage you're in right now,

Stop! Just stop!

Don't wait for the holidays before you rest. Stop waiting till you blow before you enjoy yourself. Enjoyment is not necessarily in the quantity, it's in the quality too, and you don't always need a lot of money to enjoy yourself. So, don't wait until you've exceedingly passed your financial or whatever goal before you take a break.

Hey, don't get me wrong. Smash that goal, Win that contract, Slay that look, just don't lose yourself. It's important to take time off and evaluate. Is this me? Am I doing what I ought/want/need to do? This is December yeah? The month of accountability. So, see for yourself if you've lived in 2019 or the year has passed in a blur.

Don't wait until you have your dream job before you start living your dream. Don't wait until whatever and whenever before you're happy. Be happy now, have fun now, sing now.

Stop waiting for the 9 months to be up so you can leave your mothers' womb. Enjoy your amniotic fluid and the encased environment. You'll never be there again!

You're in primary school now, enjoy taking food to school 

You're in secondary school, enjoy your seniors, or juniors and all the perks that come with it. Oh, choose your course of study wisely too.

You're awaiting admission? Don't stay at home all day, learn a skill, forget how silly it looks or sounds

You're at university? Don't envy the graduating students, you'll inevitably get there too, rather, enjoy your boring classes, enjoy taking pictures of people sleeping in class, enjoy being the ITK or clown of the class (do you, but don't be unknown). Enjoy hustling for seat or getting your assignments done or dubbing from your friends, enjoy making acquaintances, enjoy the parties too(but please be wise).

You're doing your clinical postings? IT? Internship? House job? or in Law school? Don't let the insults get to you, grow and get experience.

You're serving your fatherland, connect with people, make the most of it(please, have fun).

Yesterday is gone and there's nothing in the world you can do about it. Today is here, what will you do about it? Tomorrow is just tomorrow, there'll always be a tomorrow, be in the today you have and LIVE. IT. TO. THE. FULLEST.

Don't let the anxieties of tomorrow weigh you down so much that you forget there is the now too. It is in the Now that you can make amends for that tomorrow. Plan for your future, please, dear human, but do not, don't you forget, to plan and live in the now too

HAPPY DECEMBER!!!!!

✌🏽❤

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