A letter from Jun 10, 2025

Happy birthday, babe. You’re 20. Can you believe that? We made it to 20. (not that we thought we weren't going to, though 😂😂😂) I don’t even know where to start because everything feels like it’s moving fast and slow at the same time. How are you doing? Like, really doing? Not just the “I'm good” you tell people when they remember to ask, how are you? Are you still tired? Still tired of living at home? Are you still dreaming about freedom and having your own space? Are you still fighting that constant urge to pack your bags and run somewhere far, just to feel like "a man" for once? Are you still working with The African Parent? Please tell me you’re still in touch with Mrs. Anne-Rose. I hope she’s still rooting for you the way she always did. She was really, really good to us and I hope you didn't take her kindness for granted. What about Welup? Still creating stuff that means something to you? Did you leave? I know what I'm thinking is exactly what you're thinking 🤣🤣🤣 How much money have you saved now? If you followed my plan, we should be this close to having a million naira o, don't tell me you messed it up 😭😭😭😭😭 Have you finally landed one of those international gigs? The kind of job that pays in dollars and doesn't stress you too much? Is school treating you better now? Or are we still dragging ourselves through the madness that is Redeemer’s? Please tell me we’re not crying over a course again and I hope you're not still feeling anxious about bumping into you-know-who. Are we still obsessed with forensic science? I know we planned to start our master’s maybe at 22 or 23 after NYSC and all. Are we still going with that? Or did something change? If something did, I trust you made the right decision, on second thought, I don't trust you at all 😭😭 Do you still want it for *you*, or are you just ticking boxes to make mummy happy? Do we know what we're doing? Do we know what our future future is looking like now? Did we ever start posting online? Still trying to show up as a content person or whatever else we’ve labelled ourselves? Or did we back out again? I know you ooo Do we still feel like we’re too much for some people and not enough for others? Are you still afraid of being seen fully? Like...*all* of you? How’s our body? Do we still hate mirrors on some days, or have we started being kinder to ourselves? Have we stopped hating our physique and loved ourselves better? And what about *that thing* the one we still don’t have words for, but know it's there. Have you started to give it space to just...exist? How about your friends? Are they still your friends? Did what happened with Eben happen with them too? Did they just stop talking to you? I hope that's not the case and if that's the case, that you have learned to heal and move on, I hope you cried and that you didn't feel ashamed to cry. We are not letting what happened then happen again!! Are we still talking to God? HECK, do we still believe in God? Do we still go to church? Do we still pray or just scroll? Or just watching church reels online and calling it a day? I hope you’re not too hard on yourself. I hope you’re still dreaming even on days when life feels heavy. I hope you’re still kind to Mum. I hope Goke is good. Aunty Efe too. Everyone really. I hope you’ve stopped apologizing for being too emotional, too sensitive, too self aware. I hope everything is going fine and that if it's not, that you're pulling through. And I hope you never stop writing letters like this. Because no matter what life throws at us, I want us to always come home to ourselves. Whatever has changed, I just hope you still have you. And I hope that’s enough. Love Orame. ❤️