My friendship diary; making friends in unexpected places.

2024 was quite an interesting year for me. I didn’t start the year planning to make new friends, my small circle of friends to me was fine and enough, not because of anything, but just cause I personally hold friendship sacred, I have people I talk to, some casually, I don't consider them friends, they are not enemies too. Smiles, But as life would have it, things changed, and in the most unexpected ways too. You know how they say life brings people your way for a reason, that was my story last year. Let me tell you how it all went down.

First, let me introduce you to Janet, I met her sometime around April in church, I was in the drama department, and we had just wrapped up a presentation, to be honest, I wasn’t expecting anyone to talk to me like that. She said she loved how I acted and how real my emotions felt on stage. Apparently, she had been in the church for a while, but I never noticed her. We got talking, and guess what? She’s just as dramatic off stage as I am on it. What made us more close was her love for food,she loves food so much, just like me and we are both picky eaters, and now she has become one of those people I can call about anything.

Then there was Ifeoluwa, Ife in short, this one was a shocker because she and I had been in the same class for years, I was the quiet and reserved type, In a class of over 800 students, I doubt if I talk to up to 10, I do keep my distance, only that am very much known, cause I have the habit of greeting people, I greetzl, shake hands with almost everybody, I don't just you know... Talk. Fast forward to our project defense last year, and life did its thing again. It was a group assignment, and I had to represent my team in front of the panel.

Honestly, am a shy type, but when it comes to acting, am a different person, I still don't understand that other side of me, so when it comes to class stuffs like this, I put myself in a acting scenario, that way I do well. So this time again, I went all out explaining, analyzing, and answering questions like my life depended on it. When I was done and ready to leave, Ife stopped me as I was walking out. She looked at me with a mix of shock and admiration and said, “I didn’t know you could talk like that. You’re so brilliant” I laughed, thinking she was joking, but she wasn’t.

According to her, she had always thought I was the quiet, unserious type because I rarely participated in class discussions, and I had always thought she's the proud type, cause the way she talks and act in class, I always feel she's a lady of class and not in my own category, shes a big girl, she even owns a car. Well, that day changed everything. We started talking, and it turns out we have so much in common. She (Ife) is a very smart one, she pushes me to think differently about a lot of things. I feared getting attached to someone of that status, but she seems happy about our friendship and she's been very humblebanf helpful. Till now, she's always the one to chat me up first.

Now, let me tell you about my reunion with an old friend, Kemi. Kemi and I used to be inseparable back in secondary school, but life happened, and we drifted apart. I hadn’t seen or heard from her in years until one day last year (2024) we bumped into each other at a roadside stall. I remember staring at her for a few seconds, trying to process if it was really her, and she did the same, we screamed like little kids and hugged each other so tight. That day, we talked, gisted, did some catching up, talked about life and all, well I had my fears as well, as girls/ladies have the tendency of acting all big and all especially when its been a while you saw, but she's still same, you know, very humble, and since then, we’ve made it a point to stay in touch. Kemi’s genuine heart remind me of why we were friends in the first place.

And, I met this young girl sometimes ago, I wouldn't want to say much about her but she's what people say "don't judge a book by its cover", she has he own in the way she do dress, it was later I got to know it was because of the way she grew up, in school then ,she do have lots of embarrassing moments, guys trying to talk down on her and ask for fun time with her, I called her one day, and we talked, wow, she's a very good girl I must say, 17 years old girl in her first year in school and she's sponsoring herself, she's been out of home since shes a little above 12years and fending for herself, worked in bars, hotels and all those places, all those while maintaing her diginity, she inspired me, her story is for another day, well we became more than friends, now, shes the little sister mum never gave me.

And the list goes on and on and on. Each of these friendships brought something unique into my life and even a few hard truths when I needed them.

Did I make new friends in 2024? Yes. And they’ve made my life so much richer. I hope 2025 brings even more amazing people my way. And who knows, maybe its you reading this?

All pictures are mine.

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