With Love, Anaya

17th February, 2020

Monday, 9 pm

Dear Diary, 

Today has been eventful. It is the first day of the annual career week for final-year students from the 17th to the 24th of February 2020, and life couldn’t be better. The only downside to this career week is that we have activities in addition to our everyday classes except for Sunday, making the week quite demanding. Earlier today, we were at The Achievers University Stadium, it was filled with different rental tents and chairs, with representatives from the top finance, entertainment, law, public relations, and the highest-rated private and public organisations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. 

At 9 am, Kam, Blessing, and I had a session with the representatives from Wazobia Magazine to discuss the opportunities within the organisation, and how the corporate world looks like our runway.

I had a ball. I got a business card from the representative of a top payment solutions company, Mr Richard Godwin, in Nigeria “Pay Now Now” who told me “I had potential and they could use a talent like me in their organisation”. We had an insightful discussion on the pros and cons of the public investment model Nigeria currently utilises, and how there is a need to integrate into the private investment model to cover the times when the government revenue is insufficient. A big-shot CEO thinks I have potential and talent? I was making small talk because “Pay Now Now” is one of the top payment solutions companies, and I was trying to get a feel of the energy of the company based on the interaction. 

Then, my school, Achievers University, provided these cool Instagram and Twitter props, so Kam, Blessing, and I took pictures with them to share on our Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter pages. And, yes, I am aware I have mentioned Kam and Blessing’s names at least once, but you can’t blame me. I love those girls and don’t know what I would do without them. 

It’s funny that I adore them as much as I do because when we met in our first year at Ayomide Hall, we were at best class walking buddies because our rooms were next to each other, and we happened to all be enrolled in Economics. During holidays, we would actively check in with each other and hang out when we were all in Abuja, and just like that, we became the three besties.

Kambili Jones is my 5’6, kind, caramel-skinned, dark-haired friend with a heart-shaped jawline and round eyes, who knows how to colour co-ordinate and is never to be caught unfresh. Kam is the only child from an upper-class family in Maitama. Her Mother and Father are both active in the Nigerian political scene, serving as Senators and Ministers respectively. 

Long before manifesting was popular, Kam practised it. Kam’s mantra is “I will work for the highest asset management company in Nigeria; just wait and see. When “soft life” was created, I was the muse”. She is such a sweet girl, and it’s a shame that so many people in our school form opinions about her personality based on her parents’ positions. 

Blessing Olumide is my six-foot-tough, but sweet, genius, almond-skinned friend, with a chiselled jaw, almond eyes, and a model-like frame. Blessing is the first child of a middle-class family in Kaduna State. Her father is the Director of the Ministry of Education in Kaduna, and her mother is a paediatrician who works with Smile Care, a children-centred medical non-governmental organisation that advocates and provides opportunities for children’s health and education.

Blessing isn’t the kind of person who bothers herself with mantras; she simply excels at everything she does. Blessing could decide she wants to be a pilot and get her Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) in a year.

I am the balancing act in our group. I am 4’11”, almond-skinned, round-eyed, with a petite body and an attitude big enough to compensate for my height, and my friends joke that I act like the group’s Mummy

I am the last child of a middle-class family in Taraba State. My father served as the Chief of Staff in Taraba State, and my mother was a part-time lecturer four years ago, but now both work as full-time lecturers at the University of Taraba. My perspective on life is simple; For all I know, I’ll be a successful Economic Researcher, and if that doesn’t work out, I’ll figure it out. 

Sorry, I just ran through my friends’ backgrounds. I did mention that I love them, so it’s a given I want to talk about how great they are. Can I be real with you? Some days I feel uncertain about what the future holds for my friends and me, especially if our hopefully bright futures don’t play out as we would like, but I refuse to entertain these negative emotions because it cannot be us. 

WITH LOVE, 

Anaya