By Nouh Sanusi
Kaira, a close friend of mine, brilliant, and in her early twenties. Even though God blessed her with these attractive endowments, she’s been without a boyfriend for a while now.
Her previous relationship ended rather unpleasantly. She was 17, young and naïve. Her boyfriend whom I always considered ugly but of course has his pocket full of cash, ate more than he can chew by wooing a cousin of hers and almost having carnal knowledge of Kaira’s best friend within a short time frame.
Why did you do this to me? Kaira asked sobbing heavily. The ugly boy was not even perturbed and had pictures of him with another lady surface on the internet a few days after they broke up. She was heartbroken, devastated, and wept for weeks. After all, all he wanted was her body, I said to myself angrily because there’s nothing I could do and I always had a covert affection for her.
Fortunately, she’s moved on but always experiences PTSD few days to Valentine because that was where the journey began. Memories of how he always manages to surprise her every Valentine; how he gets the things she wishes and takes her to a pleasant place to cap it all, makes her gloomy and lonely on Valentine days subsequent to her break-up.
She has devised various means to get past this phase which I would love to share with those of us who are yet to get the mister or mistress right; those of us who do not want to be oppressed by the lovey-dovey of couples; those of us who have been unlucky with partners or aren’t sure of what will happen and those of us in a stingy relationship or not in any at all. These steps are top-notch and have been a way out for her. They are:
⮚ Wake up late: Kaira has roommates who have boyfriends, so she decides to wake up late on Valentine’s day. She sleeps until she’s tired of sleeping, she does this to avoid the early feeling of undesirable loneliness as one of her roommates gets taken out by his doting boyfriend in the morning.
PS: If you have lectures, wake up early and go to the class ASAP to beat the morning oppression.
⮚ Take a long shower and dress nicely: Have a cool bath, spray perfumes, and dress nicely. Kaira does this to uplift her mood and to also prepare for surprises. A guy/lady from your department who has been crushing on you might decide to take this chance to sweep you off your feet or make his/her hidden feelings known by taking you out as it happened to Kaira in her 200level days. Although they didn’t end up dating, it was a nice treat for her.
⮚ Prepare a sumptuous meal: Every valentine, Kaira makes new delicacies to shut her friends who are eager to make her sadder by telling her things they ate and sorts. She makes it to the extent of them salivating when they return. You might not know how to cook or you might be out of ideas, just go on Youtube like Kaira does and get something special you could make without spending a lot.
⮚ Binge-watch movies and listen to music: The day always seem to be long but with interesting movies and music, it flies. Kaira gets movie recommendations from her friends days before Valentine and downloads them before the D-day. She watches and also dances to the tune of fine music sometimes.
⮚ Hang out with friends of the same status: You can’t be the only one single among your friends, in your department or religious place of worship. Hang out with cool friends and make sure to avoid those that are boring, those who do not care or anyone you’re uncomfortable with. They add salt to your wounds and make the day even seem longer. You don’t want to make yourself sad.
⮚ Avoid checking statuses and public places: Kaira does her best to avoid hotspots in her neighbourhood places like cinemas, resorts, amusement parks, beaches and many more except she’s hanging out with group of friends with like minds. She also refrains from checking her friends’ statuses to avoid any unnecessary brooding.
All these measures are just to make you better and feel less oppressed, you should add anything that makes you feel more comfortable and satisfied.
With a shower of encomium, we wish all lovers a happy valentine and we look forward to seeing how creative you guys will be with your white and red, but will not forget to drop a nugget of wisdom for you.
