C'est La Vie (3)

Arrival.

Everyone is reeling in resumptive vibes. It seems the glamour girls are more bitten by the bug than the guys- the camaraderie of greetings culminate in inevitable small talk and idle chatter at every turn, nook and cranny in the school premises, as peeps who had not seen in a four-week long aeon get to gist again. Hugs and shakes and fake flattery are the new emblems of social interaction today.

"Heeey! I've missed you so much dear. Come here, come here," says some girl, face full of shale sheen, probably, heart full of farce too. Today's heads reason acceptance as a function of doing what others do, doing the "needful". The other girl in question gives a like response. Of course, that's the sane thing to do. That's the drill, she probably wonders subconsciously.

Everyone looks their best, as though today has been pronounced "FUNAAB social functioning day". Girl A sizes up girl B, head to toe, in shrouded social analysis and says "babe, you look awesome. Such a princess..." The flattered says "you aren't doing bad either. The both of them have overly embellished make-up and diminished cloth sizes (sensibility sizes too, I'm forced to believe). They both seem like clueless actresses in a scene plucked out of some glamorous Nollywood movie.

Everyone lives perpetually with the fear of fear, but these distorted minds can't afford to be afraid of themselves, so they find freedom and boldness in the wrong quarters. Deceit and peer pressure are the orders of the day. This explains why most students dress in a to-kill way or act in self-debasing manner just to attract public attention and validation. It is human nature; the reality students, no, youths have come to see, appreciate and believe. Very few of us make attempts to define our own reality, rather, we swallow hook, line and sinker of stories over-glorified social models relate to us.

Back to base. Think of it; in three or four weeks from now, the razzmatazz will die out slowly like dying embers. Peeps will transit from Pizza world to Garri city. The negative aspects of the realities they have forced themselves to believe will call home; by then, it would be too late to search out an identity that can last. Of course, there ate always make-shift solutions. Why do you think people steal, lie, cheat and commit other vices? The answer is not farfetched. They can't lose face, so there must be some way to keep spinning the social yarn.

What we fail often to realise, however, is that character is what needs to be built, not reputation. When the social fabric is ready, there must be some strong body of character to fit into it. Placing carts before horses is insanity.

Ara 'deinde
June 2015