Short Piece: The One About Nails

Whenever most people see my nails, they usually say one of two things; the most common one I get is "Oh wow, your nails! Can never be me; I will bite them off.” And whenever they say that, I would smile because a couple of years ago, I could say the same thing.

I read somewhere that nail biting can be traced back to our genes, and if that is really true, then I won’t be surprised at all, because I come from a chronic nail-biting ancestry: my brothers, my dad, my uncles, my cousins, my grandma—literally everyone bites their nails; even I used to be part of the flock.

And I remember stopping only because I had seen the nails of a friend I had newly made at the time, and I wondered why I couldn’t just be as prim and proper as she was, and now, more than 10 years later, things are so different; you would argue if I told you otherwise.

I am a quiet learner, and I learn mostly by observation, and maybe that’s not a good thing for a student who needs to ask questions, but then I would see something done, especially by my mates, and that would sometimes challenge me to want to also be better in that aspect. I remember I once had terrible handwriting, like it was so bad my mommy used to beat me a lot for it, especially because with it, I was also very rough with my books, and I would just throw them into my school bag and treat them however.

That stopped when I was in primary 3, and a new girl was brought into our class and introduced as our classmate. And maybe, because all of us ladies at the time were all the same, because tell me why I hadn’t been inspired by any other till Flourish opened up her book to write, and it just seemed like an artist was gliding through her canvas and making art happen in real time, I can feel the exact emotion I felt then. I went quiet, and that is one way you know I was touched and thinking.

I remember thinking, “Why aren’t you serious with your life, see your mate?" *Insert the meme ‘why can’t we be like other children?' You'd think it was more than just handwriting.

Anyways, to cut it short, that was my landmark, and my handwriting changed from then on, and before I knew it, I was in secondary school, and I had teachers sending other students to collect my notes for them because they knew they would be complete and neat; that would have sent the primary 2 me flying, by the way, but what can God and willful determination not do?

They say that if you can't find a good role model, then you should be one - Gale Ann Hurd

I think this is one of the major reasons I am such an advocate for not just being 'it' but showing 'it' and letting others see that you are 'it'. I believe so strongly in not just changing people with words or deeds but also in even being a model and showing them the pathway to change in real time with your life. I should let you know that Flourish and Chidera (my nail friend) didn’t for once sit me down to tell me the do’s and don'ts of nailing and writing legibly. Still, for the time spent watching them closely and imitating them, I soon became the master and had my own proteges lined up behind me.

I mean, I definitely remember having "power walk" sessions with Chidera, so this doesn’t in any way remove from the importance of one-on-one teaching and learning, but hey, the Bible was so complete when God said,

“Glorify me in such a way that others will see what you do, causing them to glorify me too.”