The Esthitude Place

Hello 23!

There are lots of things that I’ll like to write about my birthday, but it seems my pen is stuck in my muddled up brain.

Let me see if I can let y’all in to have a glimpse of the words jumbled together in my brain.

Watch out for me

Birthday girl

Birthday girl

You see, I’ve always wanted to be older than my age (I’m not sure if I put that right). The thing is that I’ve always looked older than my age; this wasn’t much of an issue when I was younger, but as I grew older, it kinda started affecting my thinking.

As at the time when I was leaving secondary school, I was one of the youngest persons in my class. Those days, we didn’t feel bad about telling each other our ages, but as we grew older, it stopped (no one wanted to admit to being too young or too old).

I gained admission to the university at a relatively young age; I was going on 16, but I looked like I was 18. When asked what my age was, I didn’t like to disclose it ‘cos I felt I was too young and people might not respect me like they would if I didn’t tell them my age (especially when I know that they are older). It was just a few of my close friends that knew my age.

You might ask me, “What is the big deal about one’s age? “. Well, my age was a big deal for me in many ways than I might be able to share.

For one, I look and talk more maturely than many people that are my age mate and I felt that disclosing my age would make people take my words less seriously. Infact, recently when I told one of my male friends my age, he was shocked, and I’m not going to repeat what he told me (he proved my theory to be true).

So why I’m I talking about my age today?
It’s almost two years since I graduated from the university, and in the space of this two years, I’ve met many amazing people and I’ve learned life lessons that have changed my line of thoughts.

I don’t know if you’ve heard of or read about these people, if no, you can check them out; people like Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Ruth Okoli, Chinomso Okoli, Olusola Amusan, Moyinoluwa Adeyemi, Mary Ajayi, Tuke Morgan, I could go on with this list. These people I just listed are young people doing amazing things with their lives. They are young and making impact. Getting to know and meet some of them have helped me a lot.

One of the way I did myself wrong is that I let my age discourage me from doing some things I should have done; I felt like I was too young, now I’m 23 and I feel old. One of the reasons why I wanted to be older was so I could tell others my age without feeling bad that I’m too young, now I’m 23 and I’m trying to analyze what I’ve done with my life far.

The answer is no, I’m not feeling too bad; I’m grateful for my life journey so far. I’m grateful to God, I’m grateful for my parents, siblings, friends, and all the amazing people and factors that have shaped my life till this moment.

However, I’m writing this to encourage young people out there, those who are scared and think that their dreams are bigger than their age, and the older folks that think they’ve wasted the fertile part of their life on vanity. There is a reason for you being where you are right now. No matter how old or young you may be, you can still make the best of the rest of your life.

Your young age is an added advantage, and you being a bit old can be used to your advantage. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT ever be ashamed of how old you are. Make the best of where you are and who you are. If people decide to look down on you because of your age, then that’s their cup of tea.

So, my birthday message to you is:

Embrace you the way you are.
Make the best of who God has made you to be.
Be thankful for your life journey so far.
Make best use of the years ahead.
Live each day as if it could be your last.
Give your best, live, love, serve, learn, laugh, and live.
Finally, aim to die empty.

So yeah, I’m 23 and though I’m not all that I hoped to be at this age, still I’m proud of who I am, and even more happy about the woman I’m becoming.

Thank you for reading through my birthday post, feel free to drop your wishes and comments below, and don’t forget to send my birthday gifts and prayers.

Cheers 🍴🍸🍷🍰🍔