For Crying Out Loud Don’t Die, Wake Up!

I am “yelling” at myself too.

There’s this green plant in my dorm room’s balcony. It wasn’t taken care of by me nor my roommates until a friend who visited us told us the usefulness of the plant. 

After her words, I scrambled to my feet, filled a large bowl with water, and practically sprinted towards it. The soil it was in was dry as a desert and drank in every drop so fast, I almost went to get more— I didn’t want to add to its stress by drowning it. I reached to caress some of the still-green leaves. 

It would have to make it.

It had to live and I had to just hope it wouldn’t wither away.

Like an Ivy, the plant survived. I decided that would be the first and last time I didn’t look after it. From then on, it would stay hydrated, lush, and lovely— just like me.

It had been so well taken care of for a while now after it almost died, and now I haven’t even been in the room in over two months. News of the extended strike gives me the certainty that the plant will die before the forced holiday ends. 

Truth be told, it stands no chance at survival with no one to water its soil or monitor its light consumption. 

I can only hope it would stay miraculously alive.

But YOU?

You are not that plant.

You can stand a chance at survival if you feed and nurture yourself. You can survive, same with what is in you.

There is a deposit in you that shouldn’t waste away.

Don’t put your potential to sleep. The knowledge you’ve acquired shouldn’t die. You’ve got life, and that’s the biggest chance you’ll ever get. 

Productively do something, don’t just sit and waste away. Learn and grow. Feed and nurture yourself. Invest in yourself and live a valuable life.

So don’t sleep,

Don’t die,

Wake up!

I am Oluwaferanmi,

And you are loved by God.❤

P.S: Pray for my plant, please.

Will you?

Edited by Daniela Obike.

If you haven’t already, check out my other recent posts:

• Insights on Being 19: A Gift of Life Lessons.January 26, 2023
  Socrates famously said, “The unexamined life is not worth living” and while this dictum is certainly true, self-reflection is not necessarily an easy thing to practice. We live in an incredibly fast-paced world, our mobile phones are constantly buzzing, social media is infinitely calling, and Netflix always has something new to binge on. Taking the […]
• Try to Save the Plant.November 18, 2022
  On cutting off the dead things and watching new things come to life. Five months ago, I wrote about a plant on my room’s balcony that takes nothing but occasional water to keep it alive. And still, that plant started suffering from the very beginning. If you remember the post, I’m sad to announce that […]
• Confessions of a Nigerian Skinny Girl: I do not need your rude comments.August 1, 2022
  This one is for my skinny sisters. “You’re this thin, yet you’re not beautiful? You’d better not add weight.” That unsolicited advice from my former classmate never left my head. Her words messed me up badly. That was 2017, my first year as a high school Senior.  “You’d better not add weight.” Her words followed […]
• Trust God through the storm.July 21, 2022
  “This is just an ambivalent chapter in my life. I will get through it. I’ll get through it, I’ll get through it, I’ll get through it, I will.” I don’t know when exactly I started giving myself this pep talk – or why. It just sort of formed. I wake up every morning, and I […]
• Got Questions? Ask Awayyy!July 8, 2022
  I promise I didn’t forget about you. I didn’t intend to just leave you but then my brain said, “Let’s take a break, Agnes” and I yielded. (Who was I not to?) Hence, the mini-hiatus. But enough about me. How are you holding up? Hope July’s been great so far? Alright, I bring you good […]