I have always find myself doing things entirely different from my relatives and peers that many have concluded that I'm strange.
There have been so many times people, when I say people, trust me: quite a lot of people have made wrong assumptions about me and so many of them barely even know who I am.
During my early years in high school, I never knew what was "boyfriend and girlfriend" but, I did know that if anyone touched my private areas, I am to shout and report them to my parent. In my JSS3, I started hearing my classmates and even most of my friends then talk about date. Though it took a while before I understood how dating works from others explanation, I did finally understand how it works.
One day, as my ex friends were talking about the different guys that have been asking them out and how the will accept their request one after the other, I suddenly spoke up. I told them that I would rather remain single until I graduate from high school before I date anyone that my heart willeth to date. Suddenly, they all laughed and one of them said that I am a pretender and that people like me always end up doing worst. She said, she bets that before we graduate to the next class, I will date and if I don't, it simply because I am not fine enough for a guy to cast an eye on.
Quite a hard blow. The "not fine enough". Truly, I wasn't that beautiful in high school especially in junior high. As a matter of fact, I did look like a boy but, that was not my reason for deciding not to do what they did. What the girl said to me that day pierced me deeply. She did made me feel hideous. I felt I was just doing too much: just try to take a decision as that which seemed almost impossible considering that girls who are not beautiful are the ones who end up in various relationships as a result of flattery which do sound like compliments.
After some time of battling with myself on whether I should date as my peers, I decided on sticking to my decision. Though, I did not do it on my own. I asked God to help me stick to my decision and I know it is because of that grace that I was able to restrain from dating while still in high school.
The girl must have said hurtful things to me that day but, instead of break me or make me do what I was not suppose to do. It strengthen me to make a difference.
Not for validation, for my own good. She said, if no guy asked me out, it was as a result of my unattractiveness: So I reckon that even if it happened, though I will feel happy, my reply will be a "no," and since I didn't have beauty, I can have excellence and that could make me beautiful. That I said to myself one day. So, I thrived harder in my academics and emerged excellent. Before the end of that school year, I stayed away from those girls because I knew that if I want to grow physically,academically, and psychologically, I have to stay away from those who were still babes
Another instance a person said what he did not know about me was in my JSS2 when I visited my cousins . When I got to the compound, I noticed the guy was playing word game in his phone which intrigued me and instead of go to where I was headed,I stood beside him so I could partake in the game. I gave few words which turned out correct and we won and moved to the next level. While playing the new level, I gave a little contribution and suddenly, he said, I did not have the brain for English words because I speak our vernacular too much.
It was painful.
First, speaking ones vernacular everyday of a persons life does not imply one is dump. So, him saying I was really hurt me. As a result of that, I never really like going close to the guy even when I noticed him playing word search because, I did not want to be ridiculed.
However, although what he said that day hurt me. I took it as a challenge to be better with my studies since, I was already good at it. I studied and studied to prove to me that I was not dump and that what he said to me was never true.
Like I said ab initio, so many people have made wrong assumptions about me which undeniably, hit me at first and sometimes did made me a sadist.
However, instead of break me or weaken me, it served as my stepping stone to do exploit. Was that my former friend right about my look? Yes she was. Did I end up dating before I graduated to the next class as she had said? NO, I stood my ground. Was the guy right about me being a dump as a result of not speaking English frequently? No, he was not
They said things that could have broke me but, it moulded me into a better version of myself. Today, when I reminiscence on those days, instead of detest them, I feel grateful. Actually, I have them to thank for their hurtful words which made me realise the greatness in me!!