Celebration of Life

It is with so much sadness in our hearts that we announce the demise of Miss Mayowa Oyetunde, who died on 20th of March, 2022.

It all started when I was in my final year; we all resumed back from the 300-level second semester. My department had called us to resume back to school after our six months of industrial training(I.T).

It was more like an impromptu call. For some students, they weren't ready, especially when it comes to the financial aspect.

For some, they were all eager to resume back to school. Some students were already in school even before we were being called to resume. I was among the ones that weren't ready.

Ready or not, everyone had to be in school in preparation for our industrial training defense we were going to present five days after we were called to resume back to school.

They say the final year comes with a lot of spending, overwhelming stress, unexpected bills, and unending payments. If I will be honest with you, that is just the truth.

So, just in case you are not yet a finalist, or are you soon to be one? Get your mind prepared, your body and soul braced with endurance, perseverance, belief, and prayers. Don't worry, you will definitely scale through.

My final year first semester was a rough one. I experienced a challenging phase. It was not easy having to study and engage in all academic activities.

Who wishes for a FNG (final year not graduating)? No one! FNG does not care if you are going through a challenging phase or not. It is no respecter of how you feel.

FNG will only transact business with you if you end up having carry-over(s). I was scared, frustrated, and tired. The strength remaining in me was -5%. I say again, it wasn't easy for me. I would always pray to God to always help me.

It reached a point; I could not contain it anymore. It became unbearable, but I was still maintaining the "everything is okay" look.

One day, I went visiting a senior friend of mine at her place. I blurted out and told her what was on my mind. I expressed my feelings to her; I told her my pains and ended my groanings with committing suicide.

I honestly do not know if I meant the statement of being suicidal or not that day. All I knew was that I was extremely frustrated.

After expressing out, I was expecting her to console and encourage me, but to my surprise, I got the shocking response of my life.

The Painful Truth
She laughed and said, "Oh, that's fine. You feel like dying, right? Very good, but before you commit suicide, please write out an obituary for yourself and send it to me as a document through Whatsapp.

I stared at her for some minutes, speechless. She continued, "That reminds me, You write now, very good. So just write out the obituary for yourself; make sure it has in it your date of death, what you have achieved in this life, how you have impacted lives, and how well-known you are."

She hugged me and said in my ears, "If you commit suicide and end up dying, I will definitely mourn you, but that will never stop me from continuing life and aiming to achieve great things."

"I feel for your family in advance; it is so pitiful you are going to bring so many grievances to them." She patted my back, stood up, went to sit on another seat, and started pressing her phone. It all felt like I was advised to go on killing myself and, at the same time, threatened to stay alive.

On getting to my hostel, I reminisced on the words that were said to me. I went to the reading table, removed a page from one of my printed lecture notes, and picked up my pen.

I went online and Google searched for what an obituary looked like. After checking through, I began writing on the blank side of the A4 paper:

It is with so much sadness in our hearts that we announce the demise of Miss Mayowa Oyetunde, who died on the 20th of March, 2022...

I paused writing and started thinking of what to write next. I pondered what I had achieved, how my life had had an impact on others, and how well known I was.

I had nothing to write on. No impacts; nobody knew me. "I'll just die like that? Ah. I muttered to myself. It was crazy.

I took the A4 paper, tore it into pieces, and went to throw it into the dustbin outside. On getting inside, I had an entire change in thoughts.

I went to the table, removed another page of my lecture notes, and began writing on the blank side of the paper again:

Celebration of Life.

It is with heavy hearts we mourn the passing on of a great icon, Mrs. Mayowa (my husband's name), nee Oyetunde, who died on 6th October, 2100.

During her life, Mayowa has been a woman of great impact to her family and also to the society. She touched lives through...

I kept on writing. I wrote about things I wished to have achieved before my demise—a lot of impacts and accomplishments I hoped to have made before my death.
Mayowa will be greatly missed; her impacts on her family and the society at large will always leave a long-lasting memory.

I ended. I typed it and sent it to my senior friend. I explained to her everything that happened to me. She went on, encouraged me, and made me see reasons to live.

Ever since then, I had a complete change of thoughts. There was no single reason to be suicidal anymore. There was always a reason to stay alive, no matter what situation or circumstance I found myself in.

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This post is in response to the #Hivenaija Weekly Prompt, Edition 59.

Thank you for taking out of your precious time to read this, and I hope you learn one or more lessons from this❤️.

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_{A red lit candle photo by David Monje}

_{A bunch of flowers sitting on top of a car photo by Strauss Western}