HELLO 45!
Above is a photo of me and some of my friends from the Drama subgroup (Hello 45!) of the Evangelical Christian Union (ECU), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, Nigeria. I believe this picture was taken when I was the Drama subgroup lead (in 2003 or 2004) – a story for another day.
At that time, I was in the 400level at OAU, studying for my Bachelor of Science degree in Food Science and Technology – and I was typically supposed to go for my 400level Industrial Training (IT), which I had secured with the Seven-Up Bottling Company Ibadan (another City from my school). I was already planning to resume at Seven-Up; one of my awesome friends had connected me with a beautiful family that was willing to host me for the six months – (God always provides, you know). But then I surprisingly got “carried” (that’s the word we used for when you get selected to serve in the Executive) into the Exco as the Drama Lead (we call it Chief) – the almighty ECU 35! How could that be? First, I am a lady – the position had only been occupied by guys (sorry, brothers – lol) until that point (no further comments on that for now). Second, it’s my IT year! Anyway, long story short, I had to find a way to do my IT with Infinite Grace Bakery at Ife instead – another exciting gist for another day. And guess what, I still later was able to complete my IT at the Seven-Up Bottling Company, though – there is always a way; we just need to be resilient. I guess I will talk more about my IT experience some other day.
Today is about some of my special College friends, and how much I treasure the moments we shared.
Every single person in the photo above occupies an extraordinary place in my heart. The awesome men and women in the photo above have amazing careers and talents; and I admire each one of them. I am grateful that our paths crossed, and I am so thankful to have learned a lot from each of them.
FRIENDS CAN BE THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PART OF YOUR LIFE
No matter your race, ethnicity, social status, gender, achievement, financial status, or religious background – you need a friend.
Friends can be the most influential part of your life. Your friends affect the music you listen to, the movies you watch, the games you play, the type of sports you do, the clothes you wear, your slangs/language, your belief, the places where you hang out, your choice of drinks, your diet, your lifestyle, your fitness level, who you marry, the career you choose, what kind of job you end up doing – the list is endless.
Your friends can make your world fun or miserable. I am thankful that the friends I chose to hang out with as a teenager/young adult made my world fun and exciting. So fun that I eventually married one of them – hahahahahahahahahahaha
My dear younger friend (Dear Aburo), this is a thing I’ll continue to emphasize for you while I am still able to write my #450Letters to you – you must choose your friends wisely.
I have seen good kids turn otherwise just by the friends they hang out with, and I have also seen kids turn around and got better grades in school because they started hanging out with smarter kids.
The choice is all yours.
You’ll know when your friends are not contributing to your progress; you’ll see when you are beginning to compromise your values for your friends; you’ll know when you begin to think “it doesn’t really matter”, after all “everyone is doing it”, you will know when the things you used to believe were bad are now suddenly right – you will know – I know you will – at least before you finally crush that inner gentle nudge. And that is the time you need to run and make new friends. Don’t be too tolerant when it comes to compromising your faith and values. Only hang out with people who share the same values as you. Those are the friends that would be real friends forever.
PICKING IT UP FROM WHERE WE LEFT
Today, we are all busy living our dreams and taking care of our families. And so aside from the occasional comments on each other’s social media status/post/story and periodic shout-outs on WhatsApp, we are pretty distant. But you know what, every time we get a chance to connect one-one, or in a group, we always pick it up from where we left. I think that is priceless, and I appreciate that a lot.
I am terrible with calling/texting – something my husband has been bugging me to improve on for years – and believe me, I am trying – just not there yet – and it goes both ways. I do not expect my friends to call or text me every now and then – but we still treasure one another, and when we do connect again – we just pick it from where we stopped.
We’ve had some occasional group WhatsApp/Zoom calls, and those were epic – absolutely fun – we’ll be talking over one another non-stop. I love it!
FAITH & VALUES
It is possible to have friends who do not share the same faith with you, yet you may share some values. Some of the people in your class, at work, sports club, after-school coaching, etc., can still be your friends for life. And this is awesome. Please treasure these relationships. I do have many friends in my life who do not share my faith, but we share the same values of hard work, self-reliance, self-leadership, integrity, honesty, same skills at work, and more; I will always respect and love them for this. And where we do have differences, I’ll respect that.
It gets more profound when you share the same faith and the same values with your friends – you connect at a different level. And that’s the kind of connection I have with my Hello45 friends. You’re wondering what Hello45 is? Hahahaha, that’s our stage name – and folks are still asking us what it means (not telling!). Haha.
My Hello45 friends are as unique to me today as the days when we sat under the stars in front the Faculty of Agriculture in OAU or the basement of Ajose Lecture Theatre. I treasured the days when we brainstormed through the next presentation (we call it ministration) at our student fellowship (ECU). I enjoyed the hours spent praying together at the Sports Centre and all other places where we met – praying for what appeared to be the critical needs of our lives at that point (our faith, GPA, concerns from home, finance, and a few others) – the Lord answered those prayers – and the ones we think He did not, he had better answers for them. Life at that time was simpler (though it did not quite feel that way at the time). We walked miles from our hostel to our Lecture theatres; we persevered through extended rehearsals that lasted into the nights for weeks, especially when we prepared for our annual stage performance called ACTS. It was a lesson in RESILIENCE.
We shared food, and sometimes even our pocket money. We laughed and cried together.
But most importantly, we share the same faith, same values, same commitments, same grit and determination to be successful.
And that’s why we are still friends till tomorrow.
“Friends can be the most influential part of your life. Your friends affect the music you listen to, the movies you watch, the games you play, the type of sports you do, the clothes you wear, your slangs/language, your belief, the places where you hang out, your choice of drinks, your diet, your lifestyle, your fitness level, who you marry, the career you choose, what kind of job you end up doing – the list is endless…”
Did we always agree on everything? Gosh, no! We argued, and I totally miss that. Since leaving school, I am not sure I have been able to argue so safely with peers – the experience is priceless.
And today, I am sure if we gather again, we’ll probably still argue on what not. “Would you rather your future wife knee down to give you food or hug/kiss you while giving you food” – that was one argument! “What’s the shorter distance between Mozambique Hall and Ajose Lecture Theatre – through Moremi Hall or Old Buka?” “Would you rather eat your fufu/swallow with hand or with a fork”? And we have a thousand more. Including arguing over characters in a movie we watched – or whatever is the news happening in school at that time – or even issues around our faith – there’s no end to it.
And after every argument – hot or gentle – we just move on to the next thing on our informal agenda for the day. It was an exciting experience for someone like me, who did not have many siblings to fight or argue with growing up. And it’s usually not about who’s right or wrong; it’s just like what it is – like siblings – arguing over the most ridiculous things – memories that I’ll treasure forever.
“Today, we are busy living our dreams and taking care of our families. And so aside from the occasional comments on each other’s social media status/post/story and periodic shout-outs on WhatsApp, we are pretty distant. But you know what, every time we get a chance to connect one-one, or in a group, we always pick it up from where we left. I think that is priceless….”
I still love our team song – yeah, I haven’t forgotten – I hope I got all the words correctly – I’ll edit if someone corrects me (lol) – I think it goes this way:
We are a covenant house.
A family of love
Walking in the light of His word
Our foundation is love, and our walls are made of unity; we’ll go on in the strength of this love.
God knit our hearts make us one, build us up, and make us strong.
Till we come to the fullness of love.
Till we come – till we come to the fullness of love.
Till we come, till we come, till we come come come come….
And you just need to see to the excitement in the room anytime we sing this song!
