It’s been another eventful year, whether it’s 365 or 366 days. There has been a lot of changes in me, for me and for life as I live it.
There’s been answered prayers (many ones sef), there’s been the sugar-induced (and other) highs, the nerve wrecking low, the sacrificial derived benefits, the carelessness occasioned losses, and more.
Relationships have been forged and lost, alliances drawn and re-alignments made. Not to be ungrateful, there’s been so much positives and very few negatives. Generally, life has happened.
Before today, I’ve been thinking of a few things like I do many times. Mostly random and reflective thoughts. Some deep and analytical, others very meaningless and mundane.
I did not write a post for March 28 last year. Like we do sometimes, let us blame it on my work schedule (even if I was not at work on that beautiful election day in Nigeria). While thinking of my March 28 post for this year, random, rambling thoughts started in my head again. That is why we have this post titled the way it is.
Permit me to let you into some of the ‘junk’ in my head. Some are known to those who know me personally, some are not known to folks who (think they) know me; some are just bland and blehhhh.
So I present to you, 28 bits for March 28…
1. I was named Oluseye at birth. I prefer to be addressed as ‘Seye. I’m the first of three boys. Luckily/unluckily (depending on how you see it), I have no sister. I have no best color, or best food (someone knows i love spaghetti, well garnished), but I have not outgrown my addiction to puff puff.
2. I write with the name Oscarpoems. Now let us break it down. In my first year in Olivet Heights Oyo, I met one of the just graduated seniors who answers my name, and was called Oscar Lee. He named me Oscar Junior, shortened it to Oscar Jay. Another senior funkified the nickname as Oscar Jay Cee, and I started writing with that tag. There was a rebranding when I started writing poems. Oya, cross the t’s and dot the i’s and you’ll see how we got Oscarpoems.
3. I started reading newspapers from a very young age. That was largely due to the fact that my dad is a journalist. His byline in the now rested Sketch titles was the major attraction. I developed the love for writing from there.
4. I am a farmer. Each time I say that, people smile/laugh and say “farmer ke?”. Let me say it the way many like. I’m a 2007 graduate of Animal Production and Health from LAUTECH, Ogbomoso.
5. I am not so much of a conformist, and I like that part of me. Stereotypes are not my thing, I just don’t believe in any form of stereotype. To me, things are relative.
6. I have the knack for desiring something I may never have while leaving the ones I can have with ease. Mostly, what comes to me is better than what I originally wanted. Maybe I like challenges.
7. Human interactions and relationships are very important to me. That makes me value the people in my life despite their flaws (as me sef get mine).
8. Seye will not judge an individual based on what he has been told about the person. With me, you have a long rope to either draw yourself closer, or hang yourself.
9. My life is not about impressing anyone. I just do my thing the way I feel is okay, and every other thing falls into place.
10. I believe in love, I have been loved and I have loved. Yes, I still love someone but I believe love is overrated. It takes more than love to make things tick.
11. Decisions have been taken in my short life. I stand by the results of my decisions while I wish I have done a few things differently. I wish I had ditched the safe spaces to upset the apple cart when some very important and life changing decisions had to be taken.
12. The difference between friends and acquaintances is as clear to me as the day. Let us just leave it like that.
13. Religion will not make you see God, it can take you closer to Him. All you need in my opinion, is a relationship with the awesome One who made us all. That is what I have always thought, and that makes me see religion as nothing apart from a ploy to divide humanity. Your religion matters very little to me.
14. My intention has never been to marry from my tribe. I always liked the idea of having a wife from a tribe different from mine. It almost happened but…
15. My guiding principle in life is “to be better today, than the me I yesterday was“. In doing that, I want a prayer to be said for me anytime I come to mind. So I live to leave a mark in a way.
16. I try to not go to bed holding a grudge against anyone. That is possible in a hard way because even if you bear no grudge against someone, it might be the other way round.
17. My belief is that anyone can die at any time, the way we say Eyan Le Ku Any Fucking Time (ELKAFT). So I strive to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible, because you don’t know the last goodbye.
18. Nothing a human being does catches me by surprise. I have not appointed anyone, so no one can disappoint me.
19. That same thing that is the source of your joy this minute can be the reason sadness will envelop you within seconds. So enjoy your good moments and use the not so good to your advantage.
20. I don’t know myself. Yes, you read right. I am still looking for something; I am a LEARNER, still on the journey to self discovery.
21. I love reading. I really do, and I try to acquire knowledge. I want to have an idea of everything, and anything.
22. Life is relative. Some say it’s either black or white, no grey. Some experience the grey that some argue does not exist. I just do what works for me: could be black, white or grey.
23. There are people placed in your life to push you. You can be lucky to have them till the end of your life, or lucky enough to have life take them away from you either to the great beyond, or here.
24. There are recurring decimals in humans. No matter how much we push them away, their persona and impacts will live on in us. No matter how much others try to chase them away, they stay in our lives.
25. I hate myself for procrastination. I better learn to stop it so I can love me. I also hate my knack foot dragging, waiting for the perfect condition before taking a step. I’m working on me.
26. I’ve found the right formula for my life. Mine may not work for you so find your own.
27. I am open to correction, the right way. Don’t however force your opinion and way of doing things on me. It won’t work.
28. It’s my birthday. I’m graced to be alive to write this. It is not lost on me that the end is approaching too, and that with each tick of the clock. I will keep being me, and make my life write it’s own obituary. For there is life after death, and life after death is what is said of you after you have gone six feet under.
**The best happy birthday I can get from you is to drop honest comments about my life in the comment section. I’ll appreciate what you think I can improve on, not just the good sides.
OSCARPOEMS 