The Transformation of a Story

[5 min Read]

What happened;
George was helping Cynthia carry her books back to the hostel, because she wasn't feeling too well. She's not sure what possessed her to carry all these books today. But at least someone was kind enough to help her with them back to her hostel.

She and George talked while walking, and she realized he was a pretty cool guy. They hadn't really had much of a conversation before today. Along the way they passed Henry, and she turned her head away from him because she really didn't want to deal with his stress right now. He had been asking her out for a while now, and she had turned down his advances because she wasn't even interested in a relationship right now. She had quite a lot to do and achieve - and she was excited about the future.



Person 1 to Person 2:
Did you see just Cynthia? Wow, after hanging out with Henry two days ago o. This girl ain't loyal. Who is that George sef. She just passed Henry and even hid her face. Something is definitely going on.


Person 2 to Person 3:
I heard Cynthia is hanging out with multiple guys o. She was with Henry the other night, and then George then next. She passed Henry and hid her face so he wouldn't know she's seeing another guy. Tufiakwa.


Person 3 to Person 4:
Wawuuuu. You won't believe the gist I just heard!! Baaaabe!! Cynthia is cheating on Henry with George! People have been seeing them everywhere. Omo, this girl has guts o. I wonder how far they've gone.


Person 4 to Person 5:
Omg! Do you know Cynthia is sleeping around?! Tomorrow now, she'll be forming holy holy. I heard she slept with Henry and George, and I even saw her in the cafeteria with Chimobi. I'm sure they're getting down too. I see the way he looks at her. I hate girls like that. Always pretending to be good just because they go to church. I'm sure she has even been pregnant before sef. Rubbish girl. Let me see her preach to me again.


Person 5 to group of people:
Use your imagination here.


And it goes on and on, and on. If you've ever heard a rumour about yourself that was untrue, I'm sure you've been shocked about it. Especially if it's extreme.

And it's shocking how people that hear these things don't try to verify them. Maybe because they heard from their "friends". You either have terrible friends, or you're a terrible person, or you were just caught in an unfortunate moment. You'll hear something about someone, and it won't be from anyone close to them and you'd believe it without a doubt. 'Perspective' is a very powerful thing, but many of us do not use it very well.

I've heard a lot of weird stuff about myself in the past, and even up till now. From being gay - because I "didn't talk to enough girls", to being a womanizer - because I talk to "too many girls", to be being pretentious because I walk in a particular fashion, or being proud because I think I'm fine (Amen to being fine!! I claim it o.) as well as many rated-R material that I'm not going to put here, because you know, this isn't that kind of blog. I've heard so many things about myself that I wonder where I ever got the time to do all those things I was accused of. Am I a spirit?

The answer is no. No I'm not.

At a point in time, when you hear enough rumours about yourself, you start to wonder if all the rumours you've been hearing about other people are true. Even the ones that had seemed "obvious" to you. Suddenly, they are not so "obvious" anymore as you start realizing that all you know is hearsay, and you've never actually seen this stuff for yourself. In time, you mature because you realize it's true that "Sometimes it takes being misunderstood to be more understanding".

And if you are one of the people out there in the world, that either invents, spreads or twists rumours, I pray for your soul. Judgement day can come at any moment, and I pray you have repented long before then. I'm not going to call down hellfire and demon terror upon you. We have all sinned, in one way or another, and I'm neither qualified nor interested in judging you.

Maybe you didn't know the rumour was false, or maybe you unintentionally added a small detail to spice the story up because you loved the attention your audience was giving you at that moment - and we all love to make people's eyes glow with amazement. Or maybe the person in question did something to you, or maybe you left out an important detail that would have entirely changed the story, or you misunderstood something that happened or was said, or maybe there's some other reason or excuse you have, to free yourself from responsibility or guilt of any form.

The truth is, none of those reasons matter. You are ruining someone's life - and that is never an answer. Not even to injustice. There are people that have committed suicide because of rumours, some people are still living through mental trauma and depression because of what they've lost due to the effect of untrue rumours. Some people's entire lives can change because of an untrue accusation or wrongly interpreted statement.

I honestly hope you don't have to go through what these people go through.

Though, you honestly might deserve it.

To everyone who has had any issues; including depression, anger, loss or disappointment, I wish I could offer you something tangible - but I cannot. I may never meet some of you, but I can give you these words of truth, as intangible as they may be. Those things are just words. Some of them might never be wiped away, and there may be people who will never understand you. But you'll need to walk straight and tall. It's not always useful to bother trying to run around and tell people the truth, because it can backfire for a lot of reasons beyond you, or have limited effect and waste your time.

Just be a good person, and be ready to defend yourself with the truth if anyone asks you anything. They may not believe it, they may call it bull-faeces but it doesn't change the truth. And if it bothers you, tell a well-trusted and understanding friend. They say a problem shared is a problem half solved, and this is true on many occasions

I may not be able to offer you much, but I assure you - You can offer yourself so much happiness and more. Because an honest 'first class meal' being called 'sewage' doesn't make it become garbage at all.

Define yourself. Know who you are. In time, whether it likes it or not, the world will know it too. It may take a while, even years or decades, so you'll need to be patient, but time matters less than your personal resolve.

The world will call you weak.
Be strong anyway.



Thanks for reading.
Love, Stars and Don't Spread Faeces.

-------------------------
Did you like this article? You'll definitely like others like...
1. Unpopular Opinion - Over The Top
2. Between a Rock and a Hard Place

3. Take Your Time (Processes)