Unscripted

It’s my birthday and I am going to tell you about a typical day in my life; a very true story at that. Being someone who like to play in the shadows of discreetness, I must say talking about myself gives me an indescribable feeling I dislike, but it’s probably because most are not worth writing about. I am a bad guy in a very good way, so anytime I decide to talk about me, I am either reveling in my deviance or gloating about the very few bright spots fate has littered along the journey or talking about the mundane things everybody experiences which is uncool for me. 

I would rather talk about things, discuss ideas, or join the men at the coffee shop or even listen, which is most of the time, than trying to impress you beyond reasonable doubt, simply because I am one of the very few who believes in the maxim water finds its own level. Yeah, who no know no go know, unless they know; the very reason that informs our choice of books by their covers. How else do you pick your books anyway? 

I must however confess that till now, I haven’t settled down on what to write about because I don’t know if I should talk about me in my teens, my twenties or now, my thirties. I don’t know if it should be me at the church, school, in the Club, at the Parties or Carnivals, Beach at night or during the day, on road trips or with family and friends and most importantly, I don’t know if it should be one of my downsides or upsides, but yeah, I’m hell bent on telling you one of my stories to at least inform or correct one speculation or a perception thereof. 

Alright, I will indulge you in how I was unanimously elected the Psychology Course Rep. in the first two years of my University Education at the University of Ghana, Legon until I relinquished it and stopped attending lectures altogether. It was the second day of Lectures and most of us were yet to actually understand where we were and what was happening. University education has begun and we are here some, at the Premier University. And you have no idea! 

Expectedly though but things were brisk and different. And yet, while some of us were still struggling to find the locations of lecture halls and theatres or struggling to memorize semesters instead of the terms we were used to or even trying to convince ourselves that we knew what credit hours meant, I was battling it out with a T.A. who was then a Law Student at the UGSoL to retract his words in course of his lectures to which he obliged, which in turn made me happy and we’ve since been friends.

Psych 101 is underway and the topic at hand is sources of Knowledge which he explains are divided into two main parts, namely scientific and non-scientific methods and he delves onto Tenacity, which is one of the non-scientific ways of acquiring knowledge. He explains tenacity as holding on fast to something or a belief and goes on to say, for instance, Christians believe in one stupid book which tells them that a certain King Solomon was and shall be the wisest man even in the absence of verifiable truth to which almost every student exclaimed “Oh!”

As if on cue, I yelled “Sir, you can’t say that” from the back to which everyone exclaimed “Eh” and
silence befell the lecture hall. You could actually hear the tick-tocks of watches and he asked me to stand up and I did. Things are about to get real shady, I told myself and then he asked me to explain my reason(s) for the retort.

Then I say “Sir, you can’t say that just because it did not happen in your time or there is no verifiable truth. Most of us were not born in the era of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and cannot say for a fact that he lived even though he did and led an awe inspiring life which is already mythical to our generation. How much more a legend that is two thousand years? In fifty years time, anyone who chooses not to believe in the Kwame Nkrumah Story can resort to deriding him and his opinion will not become the new truth. Besides, Sir, the Bible symbolizes the faith of so many people here which is why you can’t say that” and the whole class cheered yeah, yeah, hear, hear, and anything people say when they pride themselves in a Champion.

The Lecturer managed a smile and thanked me for the perspective and instructively retracted that analogy and apologized by actually saying sorry which was humbling as he continued with the lectures. About ten minutes into time, he calls and beckons “You at the back, come here” and the class with their usual exclamations that sways in allegiance of who is winning or losing the turn of events exclaimed “3h3” meaning ‘as3m aba’. Honestly, I felt the jitters as I walked forward to the front of the hall.

“Gentleman, what’s your name?”

“Alfred Kpodo”

“I want you to be my Class President, will you?”

Hesitatingly, I answered “Yes, I will” then he turns to the Class and asks…

“Do you want him as your Class President?”

“Yes.”

“From now onwards, you are the Class President”.

“Thanks”

Then he asked me to take my seat to which I heeded and that first step I took after the introduction marked the beginning of my enjoyment of special favors on Campus. 

And, just so the import of my recount does not lost on you, all I am trying to say on this very beautiful day which also doubles as my birthday is that I am a Cancer and I can be very infectious. God bless as I dedicate my first Unscripted to my parents for showing the way in my quest for happyness.

Happy Birthday to me.

writer tweets @vilejah