I suppose I should start from somewhere – my name I guess. I’m clarity and right now my life feels anything but clear.
I’ve just rounded up my undergraduate journey, or as most people would put it, I’ve joined the adult world. The pressure from my family has reached a new high, and their conflicting expectations are driving me crazy.
Should I be hunting for a husband or pursuing my Mass Communication career?
Brother Charles keeps eyeing me like a ripe fruit, while Aunty Chichi has been drumming the ‘find a good man’ mantra into my head since secondary school; getting married is the overall fulfilment of any woman. How absurd and archaic!
Every morning, a battleground unfolds within me. My mother’s voice, a relentless record, demands, “Clarity, when will you settle down?” while Dr. Okoro, my thesis advisor, encourages me to delve deeper into media ethics, his eyes sparkling with belief in my potential.
Ada, my best friend, is my haven. Over coffee, I pour out my frustrations. “Do what makes you happy,” she insists, her voice firm. “It’s your life.” One evening, flipping through old photos, I stumbled upon a ten-year-old me, clutching a makeshift microphone, dreaming of being a news anchor. That little girl’s eyes held aspirations untainted by societal pressures.
The next day, I packed my bags, disconnected from the world, and boarded a random bus. The path ahead is hazy, the pressure relentless, but the decision to live authentically is mine. I’m Clarity, and I’m choosing to chase my dreams.
Nwojiji Bonaventure