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I haven’t always been one to love attending social gatherings. Actually, I like the idea of it, and people who enjoy and do it effortlessly are people I greatly admire. Apart from the fact that I am socially awkward (except on days when I am shockingly hyper, which always ends up being disastrous, btw), I simply enjoy being in my space. In my defense, I’d say life is less complicated that way. It can’t be in my books that I am very social, unless the future says otherwise.

Anyways, I am a person who loves trying new things out, and maybe do one or two things occasionally. I also stumbled on a revelation lately, and actually, I wrote about it here on Hive (I just couldn’t resist🥹) — "what if all you had was today". Life is so beautiful, people are amazing (mostly, from afar though), and honestly, I don’t want to see it only from the comfort of my room, wowing at all the good stories, adventures, and experiences on Instagram. Life is actually worth being intentional about.

People are out there, making the best memories out of life, even through the uncertainties and challenges. If everyone decides to be like me, how depressing would it be to have nothing to look or marvel at while I curl up in my bed? . Plus, what if all I had was actually today?. I just decided that I would not shy away from things that take me out of my comfort zone anymore. Infact! I want to embrace it al…( okay, maybe I should just take one step at a time. Pheww🌝).

Here is a prequel…

We did this thing called FPY( Farm Practical Year) for the whole of 400LVL, and I think I have mentioned this a couple of times here on Hive. So, for this program, we were divided into groups and teams and shuffled through every Agric. department in my level. o a group was made up of students from various departments and colleges (in other words, faculty). We concluded this program last month, when we wrote our exams earlier this month.

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So, a beautiful soul suggested in our FPY WhatsApp group that we should have an hangout before everyone gets busy with the affairs of being a finalist. She added that everyone will be going back to their different departments and that it might be hard to gather everyone together again, and I totally agree! So,another group was created for the purpose of planning the hangout, and interested people were joining through the shared link🌝.

A typical me would have just read and passed, but guess what? I surprised me and joined the group eventually!!!😌. Oh, I forgot to add that I get nervous to drop any message in WhatsApp groups, out of fear of being the last person to talk ( funny!😂😂...or wait, am i weird?). This group was an exception though; I loosened up at a point, and we were all gathering ideas on how the hangout should be. We made the plans and awaited the "D-day"😌.

It was scheduled for 4p.m. in the evening, and I left home around that time too (even after shouting ‘no African time’ repeatedly in the group😂😭). Before you judge me, it turned out that I didn’t really get there late; I was even part of the ones that got there earliest. So, I guess the African time was inevitable. Before I proceed, let me bless your screen with one of the pictures I snapped before leaving my house that day.

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I got to Old Trafford—the location—, and this sweet girl (the mastermind) was doing all the hyping and welcoming me warmly while I climbed the stairs. ‘Pearllllll… Eii, see fine girl’ She exclaimed excitedly as she took pictures of me—those kinds we call "unaware pictures"😂

I gave her a warm hug as I blushed unashamedly. I hugged Rachael (my very good friend) and Tabhita (one of my group members), and I said hi to Goddey (another group member). I was one of the gentle ones during the program, so I am not particularly close to everyone in my group, but I am definitely cool with everyone on a neutral level.

I brought my Chessboard and my Ludo board along with me. Another person brought cards and another Ludo board. More people arrived, and everywhere was quite lively. I played ludo with two of the guys, and I defeated both of them (that felt extremely good, lol). With the first guy was 3-0, and the second 4-1, maybe I am not a local champion after all.

Also, in a way, I really needed that gathering, I had too much on my mind that week and it distracted me, I felt much better afterwards.

Some played cards, some played chess, some were just vibing to the songs played on the loud speakers. We had popcorns while playing the games, and we also small chops later. Then, I got a tasteless liquid to step it down😌😌. Also, one of the guys in the group sponsored the drinks, as he wasn’t able to attend the hangout (aww, so nice of him!). We later took group pictures, and at the end, we could all say we had legit fun!

I really look forward to allowing myself to attend more of all these social gatherings. Moreover, I honestly think it is a lot of fun, and I really like the influence it has on one’s emotions and state of mind.

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Thank you so much for reading☺️❤️

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