UNTIL TWERKING DO US APART

When someone accepts to be friends with you, it is a privilege that they are conferring on you. In the same way, when you allow people into your life, they also have to consider your friendship a privilege too. And both parties must not take this privilege for granted.

If for any reason these privileges are misplaced, the value you place on yourself or on your friend is questioned. It’s dangerous for either party to assume that they are too elegant, witty or successful for their friends. By undermining yourself so that you can fit into the same spectrum as your friends is gullible. What is the point of being in a friendship where you cannot be your real self? There are few things as rewarding as being in a relationship were both parties have mutual respect for each other.

Life has thought me that the most enduring pleasures on earth are the simple ones. It is in those euphoric conversations you have with a classmate you have not seen after graduation but whom you know will always remain a true friend. It is in sharing the passion of an absorbing game of football with your buddies even when you guys support opposing teams. It is in listening to tales of adventures during the Biafra War from grandma or helping the missus out in the kitchen while she prepares your favourite meal. It is in playing hide and seek with your little cousins during the holiday or in preparing your daughter for her first day in school.

The people we remember with the most fondness when their thoughts cross our minds are those with whom we have had these pleasurable moments. No matter how hard we try, we cannot forget them because the happiness they have given us is eternal. In a world that is full of challenges, they have managed to keep us afloat with these irreplaceable moments.

There are few things as wonderful as being able to find comfort away from the abrasiveness of this world and step into a place where we can be ourselves with little or no inhibitions. It is in moments like this that our stars shine brightly. However, moments like this can turn out to be the worst moments of our lives when we share it with the wrong people.

My undergraduate days were some of the best moments of my life. This was long before smart phones and twerking replaced common sense. My friends and I did so many wild and crazy things in college. Things I would rather not talk about now. Till this day, each time I remember our escapades conducted in good faith and brotherliness, it leaves a lasting smirk on my face.

A few days ago, a video of two friends having a private pleasurable moment went viral on social media. Let me start by saying that I do not encourage young people to always capture very sensitive moments on electronic devices. However, I must admit it sometimes hard to resist especially when they are being cheered on by a bandwagon of manipulative friends.

The presumed culprit in the incidence has tried making a case for herself which I find even more provoking because the fact remains her innocent friend's life has been turned upside down. And the annoying thing about this is that even if she manages to pick up the pieces of what remains of her dignity, there would always be a constant reminder on the internet of the moment she let her goods out.

What is in this for the rest of us who haven't made it this far scandal wise? Its perhaps simple. Never undermine your value by allowing someone else so much privilege all in the name of friendship. And never take anyone's friendship for granted, thus shattering pleasurable moments, relationships, dreams and self worth all at once.

Have a pleasurable and scandal free weekend people.