Which do I have: street or book smart?

Book smart and street smart; are two terms that aren't very popular but the meaning behind them is being expressed in our everyday life. I think the first time I came across both words was in an interactive novel I was reading back in 2018, two of the characters were literally named Booksmart and Streetsmart, and from there I got a sense of what those words mean.

But just to be sure, I checked the meaning of both words on Google. According to the Oxford Dictionary, street smart is the experience and knowledge necessary to deal with the potential difficulties or dangers of life in an urban environment. Book smart on the other hand, is having a lot of academic knowledge learned from books and studying, but not necessarily knowing much about people and living in the real world.

In an ideal world, we don't necessarily need to be street smart but with the way things are today (especially in my country Nigeria), it's very necessary to be street smart. Looking at the definition of both, it's safe to say that it's better to be both street smart and book smart as having just one can turn out to be a disaster later on. So, on that note, which of them am I? Luckily for me, I'm both!

As I stated earlier, it's best to be both and the reason why I said so is that I have been in different situations where both of them turned out to be useful. Yes, I have a lot of academic knowledge which I learned from books and studying, mostly because I was a bookworm back in my childhood days (until I got my first smartphone 😆) but at the same time, I know a lot about living in the real world and navigating dangerous situations.

I'm not going to talk about when I showed my book smartness because it happens practically every day, in fact, it's happening right now as I'm writing this article (if you know what I mean 😉). On that note, let's go over to the street-smartness aspect of my humble self. Most people's first instinct when they meet me is that I'm one of those kids that grew up indoors watching cartoons all day, but on the contrary, I spent most of my childhood on the street.

The city I grew up in is one of the most rugged in my country (Benin city), so it's paramount for everyone to be street smart and so I quickly picked that up from a young age. Fast forward to when I got into the university and I started living in a very dangerous off-campus community called ekosodin. This is a place where people got killed for the slightest offense and daylight robbery was frequent.

There were lots of cultists (gangsters) in every nook and cranny of the community and if you are not careful, you might end up losing your phone and money. So, because of the high number of cultists, the cultists themselves are careful about who they harass because they don't want to end up intimidating a rival cult. They use different ways to differentiate those that are likely in cults from those that aren't; the way you talk, walk, behave, and dress are all signals to them.

I knew all that and used them to my advantage. I always walk with confidence whenever I'm passing areas where I know there are cultists but that still doesn't stop them from stopping me sometimes. There was a day I was stopped by some of them and they started asking me questions. Luckily for me, I know a lot of street slang and so I could understand what the cultists were saying and I even responded with some slang as well.

There's one question they always ask before they decide if to pressure you into giving them some money; "which level are you?" The first time I was asked that question, I instantly knew I will be in big trouble if I told them 100 level, so I lied and said I was in 400 level. The biggest target for these cultists are students that just got admission into the university, so telling them you're in 100 level is like walking around with a big poster on your back with "rob me" written on it.

Being in 100 level means you are a novice to the university's environment and you don't have any connections yet. After telling them I was in 400 level, they looked at me from head to toe and then asked me if I can give them some money to buy weed. I jokingly told them that I was going back home to drink garri, everywhere just "dry" (which means I don't have money). They finally let me go and I even offered them a handshake which one of them acknowledged 😆.

A lot of my friends have been victims of these cultists and they have given out their money to them on so many occasions with some of them being slapped but that has never happened to me. I'm currently in 500 level and have never been touched by the so-called cultist or had my money taken from me, and that's all thanks to the street smartness I have acquired over the years. Most of the time, I can tell if a group of cultists is about to cause trouble just from their body language and the gestures they make, it has saved me a lot of times.

There was a friend that I had back in 100 level who was also my neighbor in my previous lodge. He grew up in Lagos and is the definition of an always-indoor kid who has zero street orientation. He always got in trouble with the cultist around and I always told him that things were that way because he looks like a walking target. Just from the way he walks, it's very obvious that he is easily intimidated and that is cemented when he opens his mouth to talk; what comes out is pure English.

One thing that pisses off a cultist (and also makes them happy) is when they are asking you questions and you're replying in English, it tells them that you're not street oriented. I finally taught my friend some pidgin English (mostly street slang) and also how to behave and with time, the bullying and intimidation reduced. Right now, he looks like Dwayne Johnson (the rock) after years of going to the gym, I'm sure anybody will think twice before intimidating him in the streets 😆.

On that note, it's best to have a bit of street smartness alongside book smartness, it will save you a lot of trouble as an adult living in a dangerous world. You might think you don't need it because you live in a high-security area but do know that nowhere is truly safe in this world. While researching street smartness, I came across some tips that might be useful to you (it is to me) and you can read them here if interested. You will realize that street smartness is all about having "common sense".

Thanks for reading

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