ULOG 2 | Memories From A Picture: The Good, The Bad and The Lost

Today was a fairly bland day: there was really nothing to be excited of course. (Something seemed to be of promise but at the end, there were no fireworks). I perched on my girlfriend’s bed scrolling through my whatsapp messages when a friend mentioned that he had a gift for me. I read the message preview but didn’t feel inclined to click on the chat. Next, he sent me a picture - the picture below.

One look at the picture and I suddenly had this nostalgic feeling. That picture was taken some two years ago. My friend laughed out loud; she said I looked like a very small boy (funny thing is, when I looked at the picture, I thought I was looking quite mature.) Anyway, this post isn’t really about the picture but memories it triggered.

The Good

That picture brought back some good memories. You see, I used to be a very vibrant writer. I had an opinion on almost everything that occurred on campus and I wasn’t hesitant when it came to sharing them. My friend, Emmanuel (the guy in the picture) was also like that too. We were writers who were out to share our thoughts with the world. Then writing was beyond making money. we were all about changing the status quo, challenging popular beliefs and all of that. We were activists in our own right.

We were able to live that way because we were carefree. We lived without any worry. We were happy and free. The world was ours at that time. We lived out our dreams, expressed our minds and lived our lives to the fullest. Those were the good times; the ones we look back upon and wish for another chance at life.

The Bad

That picture also reminds me of the many wrong choices we’ve made. I believe every youth has their fair share of wrong choices so it’s not all bad. Besides, I’m a fan of living in the present rather than worrying about the past or being too anxious of the future. That being said, there are still a couple of things I would change if given the opportunity.

Like I hinted in yesterday’s ulog post, I was not very wise when it came to money management. The way I see it, if I was careful with my money then, I would not have the current financial challenges I am trying to deal with. Of course, I’m grateful and all. But there are some wrong moves I made then that’s costing me a lot. I don’t worry too much about them but that doesn’t take away the consequences.

The Lost

That picture cannot be more than two or three years old but it feels like a really long time ago - like something from a distant past. I cannot remember what day of the week we took the picture, why we took the picture and all of that. Plus, I can’t even remember the things that happened around that period.

I guess that’s life. There are so many things that happen in our lives that we aren’t going to remember in a few weeks, months or years to come. Thankfully, I don’t have to remember everything. I try to remember the good to remind myself that there is still good in the world, that I can be good and that good things can still happen. For the bad, I keep them for the lessons and to remind myself I’m human with my own share of flaws. For the lost memories, it doesn’t matter.

Will I remember this ulog post a few weeks from now? I don’t know

Blessings.