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Atoke’s Monday Morning Banter: No Roasting!

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Hey guys! What did you all get up to on Valentine’s day? The fever that is associated with February 14 is usually so infectious that every one has an opinion about them. Those who think it’s an opportunity to show love, those who think that it’s an over-hyped day, and there are those who stoically maintain that it’s purely commercial.

My earliest memories of Valentine’s Day were from Secondary school. The excitement was palpable. For me, it was always about the mischief factor since I wasn’t getting any sugar from the boys in my school so it was fun watching other people unwrap their gifts, carefully left behind in their desks (lockers for you aje-butters). One year, some boys wrapped up an empty Danish Butter Cookie tin, filled it with sand, stones and kolanuts and left it for the prettiest girl in my set. It was mean but funny.

Anyway, as I grew older, I realized that girls particularly had expectations attached to Valentine’s day gifts and the day would be incomplete without a life-sized teddy bear, the humongous cards, unending boxes of chocolate, cakes and a bottle of perfume. Flowers! Ah, did I leave out flowers? I find that a LOT of women love flowers. My response to someone who asked if I liked flowers was that the last time I checked, I wasn’t a bee and since I had no plans of pollination any time soon, flowers are not my thing.  However, the joy on some faces when they are given a bouquet of flowers is simply priceless.

I asked a guy what he was getting for his girlfriend and when he listed out the things, I asked him if she liked those things and he said “It’s not really about whether she likes it or not. It’s the grandness of the gesture and the fact that her friends are gonna go ooohhh and aahhh.”  Laughing so hard, I told him he was shallow, but I knew there was a strain of truth in his words! Girls are special. I mean, we’re a truly special gender. Living in a University hostel and “roasting” on Valentine’s day is not for the weak-willed! Someone once compared it to being in boarding house on visiting day and nobody comes to visit you.

So guys, what did you get on Val’s day and what did you give to that special somebody? Did you put in any unique thought into buying the gifts or you just got something off the shelf? What was the favorite thing you got this year? Share some of your favorite valentine’s day experiences with us and share some of your terrible val’s day experiences too.

Remember, it’s all about love and happiness.

Have a fab week ahead, keep your head up. Remember to smile and stay positive. Don’t let anybody make you feel worthless or less than special.

Peace, love and cupcakes!

Toodles!

Photo creditbenzinga.com

You probably wanna read a fancy bio? But first things first! Atoke published a book titled, +234 - An Awkward Guide to Being Nigerian. It's available on Amazon. ;)  Also available at Roving Heights bookstore. Okay, let's go on to the bio: With a Masters degree in Creative Writing from Swansea University, Atoke hopes to be known as more than just a retired foodie and a FitFam adherent. She can be reached for speechwriting, copywriting, letter writing, script writing, ghost writing  and book reviews by email – [email protected]. She tweets with the handle @atoke_ | Check out her Instagram page @atoke_ and visit her website atoke.com for more information.

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