CHILDREN & CHILDHOOD...... THEY ROCK!!!

Each time I remember or I'm told certain things I did, thought of, imagined and said as a kid, I can't help but laugh out loud sometimes.

It's really amazing, how as a child, I really looked forward to growing up; because I thought it would be so much fun. The major reason really was because I just thought of the independence I would get: Free from mummy's controls, telling me what to wear to where, forcing me to go out sometimes, etc. In my head, growing up meant I would be able to act as I wanted, do whatever pleased me and earn my own money. The key word here is INDEPENDENCE, as I'm very independent minded. I do not like to be dictated to, I like to question things, I detest many "status quo" and want to be at peace with what I do, because I want it, not because it's the norm or what someone commands. I am very rebellious deep down and a little part of the rebellious side manifested in secondary school. I derived pleasure when we got to break certain rules, just for the fun f it. I just always felt "gangster" and that was a great feeling.

Now, back to the main issue, I particularly remember one odd fear I had as a child. Until I was 6 years old, my family lived in a naval barrack, and as a result, helicopters sometimes flew past the area. I was really very TERRIFIED by the sounds of those helicopters. My heart would literally jump out of my chest when I heard any pass, that I sometimes ran for cover. To me then, it sounded like the world was coming to an end, and as I type this, I can actually feel the terror I used to feel in those days. Awkward right? Indeed it is.

Now, there was this song I used to hear in church then:

 "Ebami gbe Jesu ga, oba nla, oba to ga, edumare oba to ga."

I didn't quite know the words or the meaning then because I knew very little Yoruba, so I thought the words were

"Ebami gbe Jesu ga, oba nla helicopter, edumare helicopter."

I just somehow thought I heard "HELICOPTER" in the song, and since to me, helicopters were fearful and big, it just made perfect sense that helicopter was in the song.... (SMH, *covers face*)
And in my head, that's how I sang it for some time, till God knows when I knew the correct lyrics.

I also remember that as a child, the concept of God was very complicated to me. I was confused with the thought of a God in heaven. I thought heaven was just above the clouds and since planes disappeared into the clouds, they go to heaven, so they should be able to see God. I remember asking my dad one day who God was, where he was, who created him, etc. The answers my dad gave me kept forming other questions in my head, and I just had to live with that complication.

As a child, I loved to play and to a very reasonable extent, I had my fair share of plays. Talk of suwe, hide and seek, rubber band games, who stole the meat from the cooking pot, ten ten, etc. Even video games, with my favorite being Super Mario and the duck game where i got to shoot flying birds....
At a point, I had a bicycle, which i never knew how to ride till it got disposed, but got pushed around on it by an older friend and other kids came around for the bicycle rides too... LMAO!

Additionally, every festive period, we were taken to the beach, which I loved and still love so much. We had horse rides, took lots of pictures and just had picnics. We also visited the amusement park and had lots of fun. And did I say I had very cool clothes as a kid? Man, my mum was and is a genius! The mini skirts, shorts, spaghetti tops, crop tops, dungarees, wrapped shorts... (Omo mehn.... I was a baffer)

Childhood is just such a very beautiful thing. It is characterized by some level of ignorance, innocence, inquisitiveness and carefreeness and sadly, vulnerability. Children, generally, have no worries and even if they do, they are very trivial, compared to the realities to be faced as an adult.

The sight of children always melts my heart and brings a smile to my face. I have realized that children all over the world are just children: whether black, white, red, yellow; they are just children. They like to play, have fun, laugh and just be themselves.

Life, however, has a way of putting some children through what no child should be put through, and society on the other hand sometimes, just steals the innocence of certain children and makes them into monsters.

In conclusion, today's children are tomorrow's leaders, and as such, they should be treated with so much care and shown as much love as possible. They should be brought up with the fear of God and in discipline. They should be guided and guarded. Above all, children should be allowed to be children and enjoy every bit of it, so they can look back and say "CHILDHOOD ROCKED."