On My Wall

I cannot readily recall whether it was feeling of joy or one of shock.  On the morning of Wednesday, the 9^th of July 2014 just before I left home for work, I was told an article I wrote and published on my personal blog and subsequently the biggest and most trusted news portal in the West African sub-region, www.myjoyonline.com two days earlier had been reproduced in a newspaper.

The person, sensing the doubt from my chuckle, pulled the newspaper from her bag and handed it to me. My reaction was one with an opened mouth and a 5-minute alternating stare between the lady and the newspaper in my hand. I now recall I was completely gobsmacked and overwhelmed with joy concurrently. That ‘intertwined’ feeling was borne out of the fact that I knew I was doing something noteworthy, but for another to agree with me and caused to be published in his newspaper without my knowledge blew my mind through the roof. See, if I felt elated the day I first saw my article published on Myjoyonline, it sure felt like an infinitesimal fraction of what I felt on this particular day. I shoved it in my bag and joyously showed it to my colleagues at work who supported what I was doing. I phoned the editor later in the day, and that began my [weekly] 'column' (used advisedly) in the Daily Express Newspaper and other news portals.

Now after literally showing it to everyone in the office (yh! I was that happy), I kept it in my drawer with the intention of framing it for my bedroom wall. However, the prices that were quoted sounded too exorbitant to the ear, so I kept making some more enquiries and eventually forgot about it as time passed.

I was clearing out my drawer one day as it had become a receptacle for ‘unnecessary’ documents and there it was, with the cover page worn out. I quickly flipped to page 19 and what I saw made my heart skip a beat. I placed a frantic call to the editor to enquire if I could get a copy of that particular edition, to which he responded in the negative. My heart sank. After several attempts, I found a photographer who could frame it on a wooden slab, albeit charging an amount higher than what the others had mentioned in the past. I had no option than to pay.

Now why did I bother framing a newspaper article I had written two-and-half years earlier? For starters, it was my first article to be published by a print media outlet. Secondly, it was to serve as a memorial – a legacy which I will proudly hang on my Wall of Fame some day.

See, it is one of the first things I see each time I wake up from my bed because of where it is positioned. It tells me where I came from. It tells me how far I have come. It tells me not to settle there but take steps to reach the top. It expresses the view that it does not want to be the only article written by me hanging beside a wall painting and a calendar. It tells me to strive to get one from international media outlets like the New York Times hanging beside it.

I reckon it is a good memorial to show my children and their children in future. I want it to tell them of how I achieved success in my lifetime. I want it to tell them of how I set the world on fire to burn brighter than the sun with my gifts.

Dear reader, what will you be remembered for? With what are you going to be remembered? It is not enough to simply go through life each day without leaving your indelible mark. You should be remembered for something noteworthy. Something your descendants should be very proud of and walk high shoulder and chest out whenever your name is mentioned even after your death.

That is what the framed article on my wall tells me each day.

Have a fruitful week and enjoy your holidays. I will be expecting my Christmas present.

More Vim…Let’s Go…