please believe in me.

day three.

picture of the sunset in alagomeji, lagos. electricity cables criss-cross the view and run a dividing line through the sun. cars move on, oblivious of the beauty above them, only interested in responding to the instructions the humans give them. a woman walks past in the picture, avoiding the cars. my finger blurs the picture a bit.

right here, right now, we are beautiful. not in the sense that the billboard model is, but in the way that concepts can be.

beautiful because in this moment, we are connected as humans – in a way that not many are capable of (so this is a rare sort of beauty, one that must be preserved).

we are in a car. the windows are all closed and the air is foggy with the grey presence of smoke. music filters through the speakers. travis scott? kanye west? i can’t really tell because i am observing & observing is a serious thing.

there’s chatter beside me and in front of me. my friends are engaged in a loud conversation and i admire the intensity of their viewpoints. everyone, inspired by the herb, is animated and is putting considerable effort towards getting their points across.

opposite us, a rundown block of flats. concrete peeks from behind peeling walls, overgrown weed touches a door handle, a child runs across my view and an adult walks in the opposite direction. someone is cooking – the smell of fried onions hits me as i wind down to take in some fresh air.

this is what it means, i say to myself. this is what it means to be human. to be fully aware and accepting of another’s condition and feelings. no judgement, only concern. in that moment, i am them and they are me – humans doing human things.

smoking, running, cooking – do we cook because we are human? or are we human because we smoke? “who cares?” is all i can come up with. it’s both. it’s all of it. it’s all of us who are here and who should accept each other. everything is a human experience. you wouldn’t get this feeling if you were a butterfly. or a garden gnome.

right here, right now, we are beautiful. not in the way that the magazine model is, but in the sense that humanity is just a set of beliefs. what it means to be human keeps expanding as we believe in more things. and we are beautiful because we believe in beauty. just like we believe in art and technology and the idea of growth.

i look around again and i see belief. belief in Eniola’s ability to understand me and my arguments. belief in Khalid’s earnestness, and Adewunmi’s honesty. i believe that we will keep this friendship going on. after all, belief is a paradox, it is hope + certainty.

i believe in you, and you must believe in me. please believe in me.

Oluchukwu’s note: I intend to publish something every day this year. Obviously, this is a herculean task for me (you all know how much space there is between stuff I have written recently) but I will give it my very best shot. I hope you will show up with me ❤