LOVE

If you had just 10 minutes to speak with your younger self, what would you say? Would you offer advice, give a warning, or simply say something kind?

If I see my younger self today, I will first of all slap me and then give me a huge hug 🤗🫂 and say, Baby girl, you did well. You build the present me, the beautiful, smart 🤓, confident, caring, loving, and fearless me. And I love me. 💕😘. Let me tell you a little story about my younger self.

I came from a family of eight: father, mother, sisters, and one brother. He's the last child, and I am the last girl. You know what that means, right? All the work in the house is on your head 😂. I work to the extent that sometimes I could feign sickness so that I can rest. When I was in JSS class, Mon fell sick, and I had to drop out of school to take care of her.

I would bathe her, feed her, wash her clothes, and more till she took her last breath. And Int to go back to school. I and my siblings started a business; everyone could go to school except me, as usual. I wouldn't go to school maybe thrice a week. But I was loved by my classmates and some teachers.

I remember a cope member then in my school who willingly told me that he was going to help teach me extra classes so that I could catch up with my classmates. During my stay at the shop one fateful day, a very rich politician came to get some fruit from our shop, and he asked why I wasn't in school. I told him the situation of things at home and why I had to stay in the shop. That same day God changed our story. Story for another day.

Did I tell you that I also took care of our elder sister when she gave birth? Our firstborn got married, and God blessed her with a baby. When she gave birth, her mother-in-law was not around, my mom was late too, and they needed someone to stay with her, a family member, and yet again I was the only available option.
I took care of her for some months before I went back home.

My younger self carried the family burden so much that at a point it became like my responsibility. And today nobody can make a decision in that family without seeking my advice or approval. I am proud of my younger self.I could congratulate myself for being strong, for crying 😭 when needed, and for fighting too when needed. I could hug me over and over and over again. Thank you for reading my story.