In a country that is plagued with strikes and conflicts that affect the masses, it would be very rare to find someone in the Youth age group who has not been a victim of poor decisions from governmental bodies. However, I am one of the few who can say that protests and conflicts so far have not affected me in the least.
One, I do not attend a conventional university but study online. Two, I do not work for any governmental organizations and neither does my mom. Given that I did attend public school, owned by the government, still, I guess I was privileged that while other sectors under the government threatened and even carried out their strike, we still received attention.
Thus the conflicts I faced that had any sort of impact on me was not external but within my surroundings. The one I still remember was from my early days; an event that would alternatively shape my life would be the conflict between my mom and her aunt, which would lead to us being thrown out in the dead of night, under the rain close to a burial ground.
The next thing that would follow is our living in a car garage turned home that would give me a different outlook towards life. I do not know how, but I believe that events like this really did carve me different. Not better than the rest, just different.
What would follow is a conflict of interest I remember that would lead to a teen boy beating me. Well, in his defense, I was a mouthy one and in my defense, he made it too easy to ridicule him. He was so pathetic and still is now that I think about it. What 16 year old would beat a 9-year-old girl for saying the truth?
I have also had lots of conflict with my mom. Over the littlest to the biggest things. The most concrete being religion and lifestyle. Mom is so gone with Christianity that it suffocates me sometimes. I cannot open up about my feelings to her because the Bible and God would just be brought into it. I cannot talk to her about real life pressures I face in total honesty. I always leave most parts out thanks to experiences that ended with long sermons and bible verses.
Not that I’m complaining, she has my best interest at heart but sometimes all I want is just comfort not solutions. Or sermons. I just want to be told its okay then you can fill me with the deets later. However, not how it works. Which is why I do not bother opening up anymore. If I feel like it is too much to bear, I have my journal, my keyboard and my trusted friend who listens without any judgements.
In addition, conflicts that have affected me and even altered my life would be at work. Yep. I used to work for someone who was a good boss, but was actively trying to get into my pants with his ‘goodness’. I left the job but it affected me a good deal. I was only eighteen and that was the best paying job I had. A small altercation after he tried to, well, you know… and I left. It was a hard decision because I needed that job. Mom was not working anymore and I had just graduated high school. Ugh.
In conclusion, the conflicts that have had any sort of impact on me mostly had to do with my surrounding and things happening directly to me. Outside that, I can say that I have been saved so far from the wrath of angry workers and an inconsistent government.
This is my response to Day 7 of the INLEO July initiative. All Images are mine.