Catherine becomes an accredited writer just in time for her adult beginning

Catherine!!! Cathy!!!! Gosh, where to start?? You are 18, you released an anthology, you're famous, you're about to begin your undergrad in medicine, and you're my best friend! It just does not get any better does it?


But seriously Catherine I love you. We have been through so much together and whilst it has not always been easy sustaining our friendship, it has also not been tasking at all! To be honest, not much has changed since the beginning...think about it. for example, I still don't get when you think my dress is short (cause it is!) and you still don't get why i wont at least learn how to play ONE sport ( I've tried soccer remember?). We both don't like to act mushy when we're actually together but then when you leave you ping me and say something sweet (loser behavior). lmao and we both don't get why NIGERIANS use such funny expressions like, 'smiling in perspective' (really?) and till date i don't know where all my 16th birthday plans went to...likeeee all our dreams. Sha, we've lived the most part of the past seven or eight  years(depends on when you start counting) building a future around one another, dreaming about prince charming a loooooot, planning our dream wedding, laughing at funny people like mutant chike, and fantasizing about the posh life not to mention all the famous people we plan to meet and places we said we would visit together. It has not always worked out and we were meant to explore Europe together this summer *sigh*. Anyway below are a few tips I would like you to keep in mind as we both climb that age ladder to keep you fresh and wise:

1) Maintain your uniqueness: Believe it or not it is hard to accomplish. We live in a world where everyone follows a set formula for almost everything and only few of us question why we do things and create OUR own formula for living-Remember that this was precisely a major reason for why we clicked as friends. Be different Cathy, find your own meaning of life like Buddha did and abide by it.

2) forget about too much logic; You have never been one to completely let go even though this is something you advise me to do and which i have ALWAYS believed you should do more often. Logic is good don't get me wrong, but sometimes things would not make sense on the surface and yet they could end up being some of the best memories just because they were UNCONVENTIONAL. Remember last summer? :)

3) Try to aim for personal contact with your friends that are far away....it keeps things in momentum: For example, if you end up going to Ireland for uni we would need to still meet as much as possible. And look how Tweej is not here with us, we need to try to reunite with our sleepover girls every now and again.I don't know how but we will see. You know old friends are always the most refreshing for they hold the most memories of our past and we will share the future together :)

4) Never stop being charitable; I was very happy when you told me about your charity, it is something that has always been linked to your personality. Our happiest times are usually when we help that can never pay us back for it...it is the mystery of generosity. And still those who give the most always seem to have more. Is God not brilliant?

5) Do not bother following the crowd; i know this is linked to my first point but what i mean in this case is that you should remember YOUR/OUR values. you know something i realized is that because we refused to do those supposedly 'little' things like grinding in ljc....i mean yes they stroked us for it but what it did is that it made me very resilient so that even now I would still frown at something I don't feel comfortable with...And imagine how impressed prince charming would be to find out that we are not just gorgeous but also virgins? Yaaay!

6) Try to be childlike; I know i'm copying your advice but seriously when you look at the world the same way despite the reality of things, you truly never age. And it glows from without...you can even spot when an adult is youthful...it is in the things they say and how they act. Youth is our elixir.

7) Get your first kiss!; Yess you know this is the point that I have been waiting to make hahahahaha. In the grand scheme of things first kiss doesn't have to equate to first boyfriend. There are reasons why we must not put a name on everything. But he would always be someone you never forget.

8) Get into the dating scene; Dating is exciting- cause they don't have to be your boyfriends but they would take you on adventures that would mold into a true princess. Just imagine fine dining in fancy restaurants, wine tasting, and flowers being delivered by the post man with hidden love notes. That is what you deserve to happen to you because you're beautiful and it will...and he will be exactly how you want him to be. Someone shout amen! lmao

9) Keep your family at the veryyyy top of the list; God made us share the same last name with a bunch of people for a reason. it wasn't luck but destiny- This is something I have not always done cause you know how I am...wanting to be self dependent and all that. But they would always be right behind you do not let go  of their love and companionship :D

10) Ignore the critics; Many times we would come up with grand plans would of course have flaws. People would use their cynicism to shoot them down...then they would say it is just cause they are 'wise'. ALL LIES dear one, remember the wright brothers?...When you believe in yourself there is no limit to what you can achieve, so shut out the voices!

11) learn about the sages; You know how all these famous authors, Presidents, Nobel prize winners, etc always seem to refer to some old quotations in their speeches-it is cause of what those sayings actually do to your mind. Believe or not the old philosophers knew so much about life and its significance.....there is soooo much wisdom to be gotten from what they said. And not just cause of the pretentiousness of being able to quote them but the depth in their meanings.

12) listen to more music and go for as many concert as you can; only because these are things that we both love and have always wanted to do- once in a while buy yourself a ticket to a show and go along with a friend....enjoy life. Plus music is really soul food.

13) Read a looooot of books; old books, new books, all of them! trust me the elite can always tell the difference between someone who is well versed and he who isn't....It just rings from the things you say, how you think, the knowledge you have. It is also very attractive in a lady- personal experience speaking here.

14) Do not be afraid to get wild when you deserve it; Try to live a prudent life but every now and again go out with your girlies for a night out, get wasted just a little, and chill out in hotel rooms drinking vintage wine labels....I will be there to make sure nothing drastic happens/gets photographed. that reminds me of Holly's 30th lol.

15) Keep it till the wedding night; As we are getting older it is making more sense to us why we should keep waiting. Yeah so stick to it (I know you will). But like not just cause it is a sin, it is also a dishonor to yourself to give to someone more than they deserve :)

16) Try to call on birthdays; I'm starting to cultivate the habit as well- twitter/facebook messages are not enough so yeah...ring us up..your homies and send a chocolate box or sth.

17) Keep your faith alive through active religiousity; Abeg what im just saying is continue going to church...it is good and it is very helpful for you and for others who wish to emulate you.....sounding like Sr. Lilian right now but sha you get warram saying.

18) Never Forget US!- Yup me and you, you and I, Cathy and Duby, the adventures of bubbles and frosty remember? cathy and duby greatest, our hausa jokes, our late night convos, our dreams, our past, our present, the awaiting future....remember it ALL and try to write down some of the things...these are memories we would one day share with our kids....you will be their aunty/god mother and all that. :D

Forever loving and adoring and disturbing you,

Duby...Yadubi (get it?)

Scorned

I grew up in Lagos, Nigeria. My neighbours were black, my teachers were black, my friends were black, the President was black, everyone was black. I am black. And yet of significance is the fact that because everyone was black, no one was black. Having dark skin was synonymous with having two eyes, or a nose, or a liver or a lung. It was one of several, several characteristics of being human. It didn't matter. It was inconsequential. I grew up believing this.

Fast forward to 2009, and I was a 17 year old girl entering the United States for the first time. There were several things I was naive about; race was one of them. I was quickly buffeted with information and opinions and a whole history that I had been previously mostly unaware of. Films and books and television had talked about racism, but it had always remained a distant, far-removed concept, one as foreign to me as -3 degrees weather and nasal accents I had difficulty understanding. But it was important that I understand, and that I inform myself quickly about the history of the United States. Because I now live in America, along with all the brilliant things about being in this country, the realization that I am black is of consequence. It means that, for some illogical reason, I am different, something more, or less, than was meant when I was home. It is a realization that shocked me then, and that I continue to grapple with always.

Since 2009, I've had several conversations about race. I've taken classes and read journals, I've written responses and listened to lectures; I've worked hard to educate myself. Yet I do not think that I've fully understood what racism is, what it feels like, until today. I have never felt as personally attacked or aggrieved, as entirely victimized and hurt as I do today. An individual, or group of individuals, has targeted another group of individuals over something they have not done, that they have no control over, that should not matter, something that has been entirely constructed over and over again by people who were ignorant or prejudiced or hateful. This is a reality that we must live with. It is infuriating, it is terrifying and it is hurtful. It makes me wonder about the country I now reside in.

More importantly, however, this incidence makes me realize that educating oneself on issues of race is not enough. I have spent the last three years at Oberlin silently paying attention to occurrences on campus, but never getting involved. I have sat idly by. I have listened. Listening is not enough. Action and solidarity are important. We must speak out against all hate, we must revolt against those who try to fragment our community, we must work hard for our happiness. I stand in solidarity with all who feel victimized by the occurrences on campus. I stand against all individuals who target me and people like me because we are a minority. I stand with the rest of Oberlin as we defend the principles this college represents.

Enough is enough.
Written by: Olive Nwosu

If we ever leave this world alive......I will still have Cathy.

I cant stay long......have an exam in a few hours. But me and Cathy are at that stage in life where we're trying to understand what its meaning is. Yesterday I woke up at the same time as always, smiled to the same people I saw, ate the same food i would have eaten, laughed the same way I would have, the fake pleasantries remain the same, the god moments of life are limited by the knowledge of its transcience...afraid of being too happy, wary of letting the distress sip through. Truth is...life is boring in an exciting way. And so I realized the irony as I studied late into the night....the preacher was right...vanity of vanities...all is vanity. (Ecclesiastes). Maybe we just do the things we do because we have been in a planet of walking people...these creatures around us. They walk and talk...sometimes the smile...but I get tired of seeing them....they are too much in number, and we would only ever get to bond with a few of them. So why are there are so many of them....If I had the chance to create another earth I would have made it differently..more music and less people.

But maybe im just bugged down by the 'worries and drudgeries of life' as my best friend would say...In all honestly I really do need to try another planet...or maybe go back a millenium....find another definition of existence...before I end up living too little and thinking too much.

Yes age is just a number...most times I feel like seven...but today I'm just 40 again.

Napoleon says 'we are kings or pawns, emperors or fools'

Duby