Chasing Dreams

Coloured Hair

Chioma

I could dare go home and tell my parents that I had a crush on a boy. Here in Africa things were different. Nigeria,to be precise. Girls didn't ask guys out even if they were madly in love with them and parents never approved of High school relationships. It even seemed like a crime for their teenage female children to talk to boys. Like such a deadly seen. In the real sense of it dating was just so you could know more about your partner. More like another level of friendship. Sometimes you have yourself thinking your parents were saints. But they did do the deed to create us,right?

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I pretty much wished I was from the US. Here in Nigeria teenage girls are stuck up on what celebrity did that in that award show and what people wore to the show including best and worst dressed. They'd discuss before lessons started on what trended on Instagram as well as Twitter. While most US teens had outgrown the Facebook it seemed like they were just discovering the app. You'd see them patiently waiting for Davido or Wizkid to drop a song. Other artiste's included. And when it finally drops they'd start their criticism like they could do better. They were having boyfriends in secret because our parents never approved. Waiting for graduation so they could finally fix their nails for the unprivileged ones and so they could wear colored extensions. Vanity indeed.

Me on the other hand is pretty much interested in boy bands and hipster sort of things. Not at all interested in Nigerian music or secretly having a boyfriend or colored hair. I just wanted to be stuck with a good back so I could travel far beyond the borders of this 'wonderful' country. I wasn't extremely antisocial neither was I friendly. It was more of I speak to you if only you speak to me.

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I sat in chemistry class absent minded with a book. The teacher didn't show up so there was a lot of noise which I was obviously oblivious to. I suddenly heard the 'class greet' chant. Over here it was compulsory to greet any teacher,parent or school staff who walked into the classroom. While in my dreamland you'd find your teacher in your class,here you'd have to wait for the teacher. We had the same classroom for every subject except the sciences. As I stood so I could join in on greeting the principal who walked in,I straightened my horrible looking brown school skirt and adjusted the overly long tie. I noticed something standing by his side. Right,a girl. She looked like a half caste. Like one of her parent was from Nigeria and the other from a different country possibly the US or UK. The principal introduced her as 'Evelyn Osundare'. Nigerian father alright. She transferred from the US and we were to make her feel welcome. They gave her a seat next to me so I was practically her seat partner. I didn't feel the need to speak to her seeing as her desk was packed with wannabe girls claiming they'd been to her country and that they liked her hair and stupid boys drooling over her. They made the air suffocating as well. The girl looked irritated and I'm sure she was dying seeing as she was putting on a hoodie and the only source of breeze were the four windows and a miserable ceiling fan in this extremely hot weather. In my most polite voice I asked them to let her breathe and they surprisingly left.
"I'm Evelyn but I'd rather you'd call me Tinu because I really love the name",she said with all happiness either because of the name or that the people were gone.
"Well Tinu,I'm Chioma. Call me Oma",I said with a genuine smile.
"How do you pronounce that?",she said with a full accent.
"Cheee-o-ma"
"Oh okay,take it that you're lucky because I now consider you my friend. The rest of these people are seemingly cheesy and they sound fake."
"You're not the only one that thinks so. How would you go home?"
From there we had an interesting conversation and I liked her at a lot. We talked about the US and all. Most importantly the dating thing in this country. At the end we made a bucket list which mostly consisted of finding out why we couldn't date and confronting various people about it. Safe to say she was my best friend.
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Okay I hope you find this interesting and I promise to update every 2 or 3 days.

Meanwhile who wants to uncover the whole dating issue.

Forever your Aisha of Afrika .
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