Valentine is over? Where is your ahem ahem? You are sitting at home, lonelyyyyy!! Anyway, a couple of people have asked me whether I spent Valentine’s day with my office boyfriend. First of all, Valentine’s Day is not a day to spend with annoying people. Especially a light-skinned vexatious person. It is not a day to spend with someone who texts me every morning “Amsha ngamia! Masaa ya kuteseka imefika!” Instead of “Good Morning my love.” Valentine’s day is not a day to spend with a rat on de haiwei who enjoys getting on my nerves at every single opportunity. It is not a day to spend with someone who always asks me “Sasa unataka kulia?” after irritating me. No fam, I know my worth OK? Najiheshimu venye naheshimu ndouwa.

Jokes aside, today the blog is blessed to be graced by yet another guest writer. I can proudly say that Big Sean’s hit Blessings is now the soundtrack of this blog this year. Our guest is called Ruth Awino but says that her granny calls her Rudhe. Ruth also says that she loves movies, fashion, food and that she teaches Mathematics and Biology. She reached out to me via WhatsApp and told me that she is just starting out as a writer. The thing about writers is that we love to build each other. I was helped by other writers when starting out and today, I am so glad to introduce a new writer. Ladies and gentlemen, Ruth……

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When the sun begins to set, we quickly retreat to our “cocoons”, hide-outs, reset centers, comfort zones- whatever name you want to call home. For some of us, it is a time to hang out with friends and celebrate a promotion, child-birth, engagement, etc. For others, it is a time to reassure our beloved ones who in one way or another have dealt with loss. When life hands you a tough blow below the belt, then it is a time to fan the flames of hope, knowing that tomorrow comes with new battles that must be faced. So whether we won today, we still need the energy to face tomorrow.

There are those to whom sunset presents a time of reflection on how the day has been, connect with their Maker, and offer worship of thanksgiving. Others take it as a time to restrategize and put measures in place to ensure that they win tomorrow. Tomorrow is quite relative; it could be as immediate as the next day, or next week, month, year. For these people, the night offers a chance to rewrite their future, and literally change the narrative of their day-time story, and consequently the opportunities that come with it. For instance, daytime could only be offering one a chance to earn a living as a janitor in a great company, but night-life could be preparing the same person to be the next C.E.O of the same company.
Hence, our night lifestyle greatly reflects on our subsequent daytime lifestyle.

Night-life could mean schooltime for some; while for others, it means another opening to make more money. In all these, nightlife offers us a chance to prepare for the next step in life. It gives us an opportunity to make our dreams valid. All dreams are valid, but only a few are validated into reality.

At every milestone of our general lives, we view nightlife differently. As kids, nightlife meant finishing homework, catching up on house chores, and eventually resetting for the next day. As we got older, nightlife became an opportunity to catch up not just on assignments but also to study areas that were not quite clear during the day. Therefore we, burnt the midnight oil re-learning. However, this was only the case for those who thought education mattered.

Consequently, night-life offers a moment of clarity on what truly matters to us. For those whose families matter to them, they will spend their night-life with their children, spouses. For others, it is friends, football practice, vocal training, and still, for some, it is God (hence, the all-night prayers, worship praise, and sermons).

They say that a man’s choice of friends is a clear indication of who they are. I say a man’s indulgence during night-life tells the story of his past, present, and future.

Watch me Lord in my time of need

Christopher Martin