Cameriere, champagne per favore.( Waiter, Champagne please)

 

My school journey had been a long one but I seriously do not know how it is just coming to an end. I don’t even believe it because even few years back when I thought that school was ending, that is when it started. I remember how I was that smart kid in primary school. I was always the first in class except for one time when I was the third in class. That time I was used to being the first (I am even my parents ‘first born) and I was so confident. Being excellent was something normal to me, I can proudly say that I was so intelligent. Things changed when I started my secondary school!! I thought I was going to be the first in class as I used to be but there were many intelligent students. That is when I became an” as long as I pass/don’t repeat a year” student. What I can say is that it always took me an end to realize the reason why I started. It required me my final years (senior three and senior six) to get serious and remember who I used to be,” that young and intelligent girl”. It was like I had something to prove to the world. It was like I had to let everyone know that lions never graze.

Car horns replaced soft melodies

I had to fight to keep my inner voice

My bread was kept inside hot furnace

Crying was not an escape, dreamland was no longer a wonderland

Helpless and clueless, I took a breath and murmured” que sera sera”

I saw water talking to fire, I saw life rising and setting in a blink of an eye.

I shook hands with terror, I danced to the music of time.

I befriended sinners and saints, I met smiling snakes and gentle giants

I filled my oceans with thousands drops, I sang my anthem at the 25^th hour of the day.

I vowed to keep fighting until the 61^st minute, I said hi to every early morning bird and late night owl.

I glowed as I was growing, burying them with smile.

I came, I saw and I conquered.

 

My university years were something else. As I have tried to say it in my poem” Veni, vidi, vici”, I came, I saw and now here I am conquering.

 Life was challenging for a seventeen years old me, who was about living in Kigali (Biryogo to be precise, yeah man mi people) for the first time in her life, far from home, far from everyone she knows, far from her comfortable life but through it all, I learned valuable lessons in life.

My school life taught me that living on good terms with others where possible is absolutely priceless. I have learned the value of friends because I befriended “sinners and saints”. I learned that you got to guard yourself jealously because you are all that you have. I learned to save and to spend. I learned to hold on a little bit tighter before letting go. I learned to be real and to pretend, all for the sake of something worth protecting.

Though I am still learning, cheers to all lessons I have learnt along the way.

Birds of the same feathers flock together

 Have you ever moved to a new place where you know no one and then suddenly you hear a friendly voice calling your name only to find that it is your old friend who lives there too? Have you been admitted to a new school in a middle of a term only to find that you know no one there? Heavens know how uncomfortable it is and how most people (including me) find it hard to adapt to that situation. In a crowd of strangers, finding one familiar face is like stepping on a bag of dollars.

Some say that you have not lived until you fall in love or until you love somebody. But I say that you have not lived if you have not even once in your life done some selfless act to a person, be it for a stranger or someone you know. You have not lived if you have not lived for others even once. Have you ever paused and asked yourself why you are not alone on this planet? Or why you are not the only human on this planet? This universe of ours comprises of billions stars and this planet of ours is inhabited by 7 billion people. This means that for every 7 billion problems, there are more than 7 billion answers. The reason why there are a lot unanswered questions and unsolved problems is that most of us are too selfish to work for common interests. Some throw foods in garbage cans while others cannot get even a spoonful of food. Some burn their old clothes while others shiver in cold. Though we may be a bit different (in personalities, skin color, religion…), our differences should not be something to make us hate each other. It should be something to make us love each other and celebrate each other. We all bleed, we all respond the same to some natural calamities and above everything, no one is going to get out of here alive! That alone should make us love each other.

Let us love one another and pity our fellow humans who may be in bad living conditions. You do not have to own a gold mine to give something to the needy! You only need a kind and compassionate heart. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you and since we are all birds of same feathers, we should flock together, fly together and fight together. Peace.

A letter to my son

 

I most of the time hear from my friends that our parents have raised us in a way that they should have not raised us in. Though they provided us with everything they were capable of providing us with (I salute them, they are real life superheroes), they made us scared and it is rare to be a best friend with your parent or guardian. In a letter form, I tried to show how future parents should make a difference and raise a generation which will at least be different from ours. Feel free to let me know what you think about this in comment section. Peace.

Dear son,

Welcome to this land, the home of beautiful sun kissed mountains and rivers. Mama had been waiting for so long to hold you and to kiss your little cheeks. Now that she is holding you in her arms, she can’t help but crying. Son, though mama has already decided your name, it is you who will define yourself as an individual. Mama is going to feed you from now, but the time will come when you will be the one to feed mama and others. Because of that, you will have to be responsible and to work hard and smart . No one will hurt you because mama will defend and protect you, but there will be a time when you will have to defend those whom you will love and those who will run to you for safety. Mama will teach you ABCs, how to think but not what to think and she will sing you to sleep, but there will comes a time when you will be the one to set a calm and peaceful environment for your loved ones. Mama will be strict sometimes but do not resent her for she will be working for your best interest.

Son, there will be a time when you will mess up and screw everything but let mama be the first one you will call because dear little angel, no amount of mistakes will stop mama from loving you and defending you. That does not mean that she won't scold you but trust me, in mama’s loving arms you will always find comfort.

There will also be a time when you and mama will misunderstand each other but son, mama won’t be always right for she too is a human. Though it is a hard pill to swallow, never let mama stop you from doing what your conscience urges you to do but be polite while doing so. Mama will always sing you songs of courage, kindness, bravery, love and compassion.

Oh my God, my baby is crying!!  Right now, mama is going to breastfeed you and you are going to stop crying instantly but there will come time when you will feel like crying, when everything will be boring and they will tell you that “big boys don’t cry”. Do not listen to them little love! Big boys do cry and it is absolutely okay to show your emotions when you are a man. Always stand for what is right even when it means standing alone and do not let anyone look down on you.

Son, mama prays that you find true love and once you find it, protect it at all cost for that thing is rare but it luckily comes to those who believe in it.

With love,

Mama A.