Been'a while here

There’s something alluring about these months, as though God sprinkled them with dust from heaven’s walls-sapphire fragments scattered in the air✨. Each ember month drips with its own lustre. I’m smiling as I write this. My lips can’t stretch any wider; I might as well call it blushing. Writing makes me blush EVERY SINGLE TIME. If I ever saw the word “Writing” in male human form, we’d get married 😅. The ember quarter always stirs a few things that make me giddy. First, it’s the assurance that normal students are about to enter a new academic level. Those ones that want to be doctors can’t relate 😅. Second, this quarter shouts, “2026 is peeking just around the corner!” A Story. Quick One. I did something-I’ll call it funny-last month. Funny, because I chuckle every time I think of it. In my “Girl, just do what you love” era, I went on a little adventure. A couple of years ago, I told Gabriel and some classmates that I wanted to be a news reporter. He laughed so heartily-so innocently-that I laughed too. But when I shared the same dream with my guardian at the time and got the same reaction, the laughter stung. It was outright mockery. So, I began to tell myself: I’ll be like Chimamanda! I’ll drop out of med school, get a scholarship abroad, chase my passion in secret, and end up fulfilled and successful. Yikes. Crazy young girl right there. 99% of the medical students I know are writers. Is it inherent? Or does one provoke the other? “BEWARE: Medicine; an attack on writing” 😅 Back to the story. For my love of listening and reporting, I set a goal to interview 100 people in my school; students, lecturers, and doctors included. At first, I was brimming with excitement. Then I slowly learned what it meant for happiness to grow threadbare-stretched too thin-before dying. What kept me going? There was this man. And God saw that Precious was weary 😅. Wherever you see Edem, in Bolden’s words: “Squeeze ₦2m into his hand.” 😅 I wouldn’t have made it without him. There were days I wept from exhaustion, but Edem kept insisting I hit the goal. And I’d snap back, “Edem, it’s because you’re not the one doing the listening!” 😅🤧 One minute I was wiping tears, the next I was smiling and laughing, listening to someone. Two days before exams ended, we were at 75. I was ready to quit. My ears felt clogged; I was overwhelmed, drained, fatigued, uninterested, unhappy. And still, Edem kept pushing me 🤧. Maybe I would have run mad from hearing. “Much learning doth make thee mad.” Shey that’s how Festus said it? 😅 There were days I seriously questioned myself: What’s the purpose of all this? What am I even doing? Who sent me? Should I have kept it to 5? 10? Even 20 would have been JUST FINE. Your mates are reading for exams, and you’re here: “I want to do what I love” 😅. Doing this while writing exams was the funniest part of this journey. I didn’t truly believe I’d make it to 100 until I hit 99. Edem was doing the believing part for me. And of course, he was the 100th person. (Had to be that way to surprise him 😅.) He did 90% of the work and stayed with me every single day until the end. Breathe, Precious. Breathe. The longest session lasted 2 hours 58 minutes and 47 seconds. I begged some people to wrap up because I was either freezing when evening fell, dozing off (yes, I almost slept mid-listening 😅), or bracing myself for the endless list of people waiting. Looking back, the journey was worth it. I learned so much. And I heard juicy secrets too. “Please don’t publish this part” Okiiiee 😁😅. I also met fascinating people. Girls like Roli, who only wanted to talk about Jesus and friendships. Lecturers like Dr. Napoleon, who was so energetic while talking. So much wisdom in 150 minutes. (Side note: He and his wife were secondary school classmates. They started dating after he once rescued her from senior students who wanted to punish her. Typical K-drama? 😅 Their journey has been bumpy, but they made it through together. The way his eyes lit up talking about her-he was nearly jumping from his chair. Sharing this here as an encouragement: in case your love story feels rough at the start… “love conquers all” Shey that’s how they said it? 🫠) The purpose of this project? Everyone has a story to tell, something to say, a mystery to unveil, a puzzle to drop. But not everyone has the opportunity or platform to say it. So Zekie came with her fishing hook and net, under the guise of this project, to fish out stories 😅 Because she knows you have many things valuable to say. And she wants to hear you out! She wants the world to hear you too! Stories would start landing soon 😁. Can’t wait I can, I mean 😅. Would we do this again? 200 doesn’t sound bad. End of story. I'll share the link to my blog, soonest🍃 Footnote: For the last quarter of the year, I want to ember and be embered.