Month: August 2010

Letter to 10 year old me

Published by Osemhen

So a while ago, I rummaged through my diaries and ‘wrote’a letter basically to me. Ten year old me (she answered to Jennifer) wrote to 21 year old me. You can read it at http://eurekanaija.wordpress.com/2010/06/24/10-year-old-me-vs-21-year-old-me/ This is the reply. Dear ten year old me, Hi, there.  You’ll be happy to know I turned out pretty ok considering what a nuisance you were! 😛 I now live in Surulere (bet you didn’t see that coming!). I’m through with Uni; ended up going to Unilag, oh! It’s not half as bad as you imagine, don’t worry. And no you(we?) didn’t flunk one bit, contrary to what you might think! The next few years are going to be the most tumultous of your life; two major tragedies and a house move. Mega sucks, but you’ll cope. Understatement! You’ll astonish yourself with how strong you are. You end up being best friends with Folake Dosunmu (you don’t even know her now!) and Ebiere Oki. Yes, Ebiere Oki!! And you’ll find them the best things that could happen to you …

Left-Handed in Nigeria

Published by Osemhen

I am left-handed. And proudly, too. People stare (admiringly, I think … I hope) when I wield my left hand. Most are surprised my hand-writing’s neat (it is!). Others expect me to write from top to bottom… A few comment, “You must be smart.” That’s the part I like best. And just to make sure it wasn’t some myth-turned-stereotype, I actually looked it up. It was a great deal of medical-ese I had to wade through but the long and short of it is that most lefties are gifted in Math and art and have terrific organizational skills. We learn easily, are generally unconventional – and okay, it must be said – mostly precocious. But do we get treated accordingly? No! Society doesn’t like lefties. It has been proved over centuries and across cultures. In French, to be left handed is to be gauche, from where we get the English word of the same spelling that means awkward or clumsy… In Italian, it is to be sinistro, from where we get the English word sinister… …