Fat kids rule

You’re like the fat child that everyone made fun of, wait I was a fat child… well that’ beside the point. People only talk to you when they want something from you or when the teacher forces other kids to interact with you.

Then one fine day, one of the popular children in school, spots you being dropped in a Lamborghini and your Mum helps you out of the car, she’s not just any mum, she’s the celebrity mum. Your ranking and status goes up instantaneously. The popular children now want to be associated with you and for a while, you feel good.

It’s unbelievable, from insecurity to a trend setter in a matter of seconds. You are so taken by the moment, after years of discrimination, so you absorb the moment. At the back of your mind you wonder how long it’ll last. For the first time in your schooling life you go home excited. Your superstar parents wondering what changed and they are pleased to see you happy and positive and even having a friend.

In just a week, the fame, attention and showers of praise all dry up. The next best popular kid takes the crown. You still have your fan base of 2. Not a new batch, but the 2 friends who loved you from the start. The deprivation and mean statements sting more than before. It’s the sting of betrayal.

I’d like to introduce you to the fat, rich kid who doesn’t have friends at all; Africa. Africa’s wealth is public knowledge, but all it took was a few hundred years of domination and brainwashing to wash away a rich history. Timbuktu, the Egyptian civilization, The Stonehenge, metallurgy and other disciplines practiced for centuries, all flushed away.

I want you to take a break right now and take a deep breath. Close your eyes and envision the Africa you aspire. C’mon, close your eyes. Once you open your eyes, if you don’t have a smile on your face after seeing the Africa of your dreams. Close your eyes again till you do.

If you’ve just opened your eyes with that hopeful smile, then take another deep breath and right now, see what you can do to reward yourself with the African beauty and promise that you’ve just envisioned.

African beauty is blinding, it’s just that we’ve been blinded by it for so long that we don’t see it anymore.