You may wonder what there is in Lagos to love (being that #ThirdWorldCountry with all that bad press and so on and so forth)..Is it the traffic jams that can make a 10 minute journey last over an 1hr or the constant disrespect of time (both personally and professionally) or the sometimes over-priced, sub par restaurants? Lagos certainly has it challenges and I will not downplay them.
Some days, it takes me over an 1hr to get to work and sometimes 2 hours to get back home (thankfully I am not driving myself). Having to constantly remind people of an appointment is something I am not used to, but for my sanity, it has become a daily ritual. Knowing that I will not know how my weekend will plan out is another thing…plans change the same way the wind changes direction (but I am enjoying the unpredictability of things here).
What does my life in lagos like? To be honest my weekdays are a little boring (and so they should be, I very much like boring. Staying home, watching tv means so much to me and I am proud to say so). I am either at work, on the netball court or at the gym. Let me digress quickly into my netball sessions. These sessions where near 30 women come together to train and play sports has truly helped my perception of women in Lagos. I have grown to know and like a bunch of smart, intelligent women who to me are simply refreshing to be around (there is a no discrimination, no looking down at anyone here, the air is CLEAN). So, I try to keep my routine during the week simple and tbh I dislike when I am invited for activities during the week (please this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep inviting me o lol).
My weekends are a bit more interesting as I try to attend brunches, low key get-togethers, dinners and games nights (I am not about that club life but I can certainly have a good party once in a while lol). When I think about my life in Lagos, I realise that I could have this life anywhere (well aside from anywhere cold – I am not going back to the UK) but I have been more willing to create an ecosystem in an environment which I have chosen as ideal for me. So my love of Lagos I believe has less to do with Lagos itself and more to do with the choice I have made with making this my home and taking every step to ensure that this home is everything and more to me.
So to my most important lesson for you today, the love of anything, anywhere or anyone has not much to do with the thing, place or person but everything to do with you and your personal choice to love it or them.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you agree and if you don’t, why?
#Sassy