By Ansu Jatta
I never believed that there used to be in existence a type of affection that could control one’s psychology, external behaviour, and even social interactions until I fell, victim. For me, falling in love to an extent it completely affects your behavior, could only be experienced by two people in an intimate relationship or mothers with their babies, due to the excessive love, care, and concern they have for them. This type of feeling I believed was a natural fascination towards someone or something which is instinct into the heart of people by the Supreme deity, Muslims called Allah.
Growing up as a teenager is perhaps one the most cajoling and perplexing moments in everyone’s life, especially metamorphosing from infancy to the adult stage. A strange feeling, backed by a behavioral change, accompanied by an unpopular thought becomes the headlines affecting us daily. But there is this one we always become spellbound to, and sometimes feel cannot do without. This is a type of feeling that is capable of leaving someone an entire night inquisitive, decrepit, and incapacitated. These emotions undoubtedly, keep every human being busy, be it the thief or thug.
Just like in my case, I began to perceive things differently when I was growing into an adult. There was this lady I met in a national spelling bee Competition during my final year at the Junior Secondary School. Inevitably, nature took its course. As time grew older, we became fond of each other like Romeo and Juliet. I would spend my days and nights chit-chatting through text messages since I couldn’t afford enough credits to give her a call. The weekends were opportunities for me because there was no school and Africell was there to offer free calls from 6:00 to 10:00 am, ‘talk until you drop’. Barely a day passes without us talking. She in no time became my everything. My mornings, nights, and evenings were all spent thinking about her. There became a time, even in my dreams, she remained the focus of my thoughts. I was under this spell until she finally bore me a farewell, leaving me for a friend whose father was a prominent figure in my community, then I began to realize the game on me. My days became soar and nights bitter. It took me close to a month before I eventually got rid of the nightmare.
Affections without justifications, dreams without a course, all of a sudden took my every routine. I came to learn the devil’s pranks on me that I was being brainwashed, it wasn’t thoughts on the course, nor affections on trust, but rather a hallucination built on lust. I had to immediately change my perception of relationships and love, take a more trusted route, and head for the right course.
My real motivations and quest for the adopted desire began when I completed my Junior Secondary Educational Career. I moved to the Senior School to pursue a certificate in Senior Secondary Education. There, my passion for a work that would later change my story, aspirations, and even the demon in me, took effect. Being a science-specialized student, I was told that other school activities like public speaking, sports, drama, news reading, you name it, were meant for students in other disciplines. As science orientalists, you are made to believe that you only need to compete to be the best academic student and nothing more. Ironically, towards the end of the second term in my second year at senior secondary level, I began to develop a type of feeling that would later transform me into the being most people came to know. I began to love reading and writing, speaking, and sports. I took part in other discussions: inter-class, school quizzes, debates, and other personal development activities.
By the time I landed at the College, I had observed, that I drastically improved my writing and speaking. Because I didn’t want to abandon my parent’s field at high school, I decided to specialize in English Language and General Science to suit my taste to become who I always loved to be. My hypnotization towards this desire even became uncontrollable when I came to realize that I could speak, read, and write. I began to read different books on different topics: write whatever came to mind and speak the best I could. Classmates, friends, and well-wishers began to praise my commitments and encouraged, me to maintain the pace, for it would someday pay dividends.
Indeed, Passion, an emotional inclination of excitement towards the accomplishment of a commitment is no different from falling in love. It is a psychological phenomenon, that affects a part of the central nervous system which is responsible for one’s thoughts, feelings, and the conscious brain’s functions. That is why when one falls into its demesne, they develop a type of discomfort just like someone in love, such that, it would require them to fulfill the should-be rites before being relieved of its encumbrance.
For the record, I came to fall in love with literature and related fields that words cannot express. An accomplished wish can only become utilized when it is acted upon and the mode in which it is done would determine how well venerated the idea will be.
Sometimes, people become bored with work or studies because they do not have the passion for them. Other times, we are counterfeited into believing that a particular course we might be so passionate about will not suit us, just like I was made to believe that all those who obtain better grades at the GABECE exams should be studying science and science students are only meant to study, acquire better grades and work in the health or related sector. Though that is workable, however, not for everyone.
Thus, follow your passion, for it’s the compass that will guide you to fulfilling your dreams. The road might be rough and tough, but always remember that the destination is worthy of every drop of sweat, so, don’t give up. Continue to strive for excellence and never let people conform you to their exceptions, because you know your capabilities and can do better. Let the passion in you be the fuel that makes you not settle for mediocrity, rather, embrace your unique talent and interest for that’s a divine gift to unlocking the gem in you. You can do better, let the passion in you be the light that torched your aspirations. Keep, keeping it up, because effort pays.