''Assume less. Break the label. Meet the person.''

Hello fellow learners

Stereotype is when people believe something about someone or a group of people, which could be true or untrue, but it has already been assumed and concluded to be true....

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It is a common thing in the world we live in, and they did not start today... It has been in existence since the time of our forefathers, and we grew up to learn about some of those stereotypes...

I grew up learning that people from a particular state in Nigeria are stingy[ people from ijebu] and they do not joke with their penny, I also heard that Ibadan people are promiscuous to the extent that some parent take it too far and won't let their children marry into a family that comes from there.

Till now I have not been able to confirm if the Ijebu and Ibadan stuff is true because I don't go around asking people which state they are from, I have friends who we are close but I don't know their state, for example @quduus1 lol.

I don't believe everyone from a particular state would have the same character, I don't believe everyone from Ijebu is stingy nor do I believe Ibadan people are promiscuous, it all depends on the individual you met, unfortunately some people meet people who have that bad quality people talk about the state which end up convincing them that everyone from there are like that.

Another one that is the talk of the town is how Calabar girls are good in bed, I didn't believe this either, yeah we could have some from there who are sexually active but it can't be all of them, and it is the same for other tribes/state/city/ and so on. Generally, most people believe people who wear glasses are nerds, but this is not true either.

Aside from the group stereotype, we also have individual stereotypes, which are what happens to many of us, the way people see us, and the actual truth about us.

Most people think I am rich, and I guess this is because I dress well, but who tells Nigerians that we must look like our problem... Do I need to dress in rags, drink Garri without sugar, before you believe I also get broke?

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Few years back, on my way back from church, I wanted to ride a bike home, I called a bike man and asked him how much and he called 500 Naira and on a norms bike men collect 200 Naira for the distance, So I told him I will pay 300 Naira and the next thing he said was why am I pricing it, that I should look at the clothes am putting on, I ended up not going with him.

It is the same thing in the market. The moment you appear dressed nicely, you are in trouble because they will end up pursuing you with their ridiculous price. It was for the same reason I could not handle my project myself that I ended up putting my sister in charge.

The recent one that happened was in my new apartment, so it happened that the house didn't have a bin where the tenant can pour their dirt and in one of those days I was going to pour my dirt away in a particular spot where we pour it near the house, the landlady and I discussed about it and she told me the plans about how all the tenants need to contribute money to buy one, I didn't see any problem with it even though that is not tenants responsibility because when we leave there, we won't go with the bin but still I agreed to the contribution.

Two weeks later, I heard a knock on my door, and it was the tenant downstairs who came to tell me that we have an issue with the pumping machine, and everyone is outside, their discussion was about how to get money for the repair and to rent one to supply us water for that day because no more water, none of them was able to provide the money because it was an emergency.

I gave them the money and saved the crisis of not having water in the compound, and also paid my part for the Trash can. The landlady saw me the next day and thanked me, which was normal, but what happened two days later shocked me and also got me angry.

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I heard a knock on my door, and when I checked, it was a stranger I saw who claimed to be the landlady's son, and he said he wanted to see me. I have never seen that face before, but still, I granted him audience, and he said things are tight for him and that he just got an apartment and he wants to furnish it, and I should help him.

I told him I have nothing as well and he left, being an overthinker I had to ponder about the whole thing, I replayed it in my head and the only explanation for such a thing was they discussed me in their family like oh their new tenant who saved the day and oh yea when I packed in as well, I once told the landlady to forget the ten thousand Naira she was supposed to pay me after I fixed something they should have done, so she tells her son everything and they assumed I am rich and that was the reason the son got tempted to come knocking on my door to beg for money and not just that, he had to tell me he want to furnish apartment so I won't think of giving him a small amount, he want something huge that his forefathers kept in my account.

I could not let it slide, so I dashed out of my apartment to meet the landlady to confirm if the man was her son and after narrating what happened, she apologised to me and I let it slide knowing it won't repeat itself again, it was a test from them and I passed. Assuming I failed that test, then it is certain another person will show up again to ask for help.

I didn't do anything bad, paying my share fast when the tenants were asked to contribute money, it doesn't mean I am rich, I am just comfortable... I am a hustler working my ass out daily to make ends meet.

Just call me Burl.
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