Issue 36: Sentences that changed my life
“There are people, she once wrote, who think that we cannot rule ourselves because the few times we tried, we failed, as if all the others who rule themselves today got it right the first time. It is like telling a crawling baby who tries to walk, and then falls back on his buttocks, to stay there. As if the adults walking past him did not all crawl, once.”
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Purple Hibiscus
Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been spending less time on Twitter for reasons unknown to me. It could be because I’ve chosen to be more consistent with sharing content on Instagram and my newsletter, which means I dedicate my time to these two and think of them first whenever I have an idea to share. Speaking of consistency, I did not send out a newsletter last week. There’s only one reason for that: I was tired. You see, I had received some heavy news during the week before which weighed me down and put me in a difficult state. I could not write anything you would have comprehended. So I decided to sit it out. Hopefully that doesn’t happen again.
Now back to the issue: my absence from Twitter. To be honest, I haven’t enjoyed this break myself. I don’t like it for anything. I love Twitter. I enjoy the conversations that happen there, the friends I have there, the people I read from. I also love how low-effort it can be. You don’t have to come up with pictures or videos. You don’t have to worry about the algorithm or content pillars. You simply have to say what’s on your mind - literally. And of course, due to the lack of the necessity of a structure, you see all kinds of things on Twitter. Which is why I make it my mission to unfollow people as often as I can. I’m currently following 1.6k people which to me is already too many. Why would I be following over a thousand people in real life? I make it my mission to reassess why my legs are taking me every once in a while on that platform.
But once in a blue moon, I stumble upon something brilliant, something significant. Someone has sat somewhere and they’ve written something exquisite and so extraordinary it not only appeals to the bohemians but even to the uninitiated. And because there’s no platform optimised for virality like Twitter, this little piece of magic that a random stranger on the internet has created goes out into the world and what does it do? It develops wings, takes to the sky and flies. And just like that, it finds other random extraordinary people who have extraordinary ideas to share and contribute to this original idea. So what do they do? They contribute. They drop comments and quotes and those too take to the sky and fly. And just like that, a stranger like me who always has to scroll through 500 shitposts in a day to find the one, no longer has to. Because for once in a blue moon, someone with interesting ideas has been recognised and their words are now going out to the world and they are finding other reasonable people and thanks to the universe, the people who comment “I follow back” “Follow for follow” “Tinubu is our president” and other stupid things have not found that post yet. They are still stuck in their world arguing about whether or not Japa should be banned.
And while they are still there, right here in our own little corner my people, we have found gold. So what do you do in such a case?
Well, you feast.
And that is precisely what I did when Pea’s tweet landed on my table.
I first thought of my own sentence. What’s that sentence that has altered my approach to my life and changed the way I view my existence of the world?
There are a few of them:
One is a quote from my namesake on the questionable nature of the concept of monogamy in many things:
“We die containing a richness of lovers and tribes, tastes we have swallowed, bodies we have plunged into and swum up as if rivers of wisdom, characters we have climbed into as if trees, fears we have hidden in as if caves.
I wish for all this to be marked on by body when I am dead. I believe in such cartography - to be marked by nature, not just to label ourselves on a map like the names of rich men and women on buildings. We are communal histories, communal books. We are not owned or monogamous in our taste or experience.”
― Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient
As someone who has always questioned the idea of singularity: only one soulmate, only one destiny, only one perfect fit, only one best place; this quote resonates with me. And that line: “We die containing a richness of lovers… we are not owned or monogamous in our taste or experience.” Epic.
Here’s another:
“You think everyone you like is special, she said. I'm just a normal person. When you get to like someone, you make them feel like they're different from everyone else.”
― Sally Rooney, Conversations with Friends
I find this quote so honest and pure. It’s a difficult thing to admit, that we’re not so special. You may be a singular entity with no replica but is that really what makes you special? If that’s the case, then everyone else is also special since they also have no replica and if everyone is special then no one is.
In the end, aren’t you just another human being and isn’t the idea of being special or not subjective to the person reviewing you? What is special to me may not be special to you. Same with who. Which is why this quote is valid. When we love someone, we make them special, important and pure. They become that person. They become the best thing ever. This is especially true if this person has things you don’t. If they are more intelligent, richer, smarter, taller, shorter, more knowledgeable or if they simply possess the things which society values right now, the very things you lack. Then they become special and in addition to love, you might even revere or go as far as to worship them. You think everyone you like is special, but really they’re just a normal person.
I recommend you read the quotes and replies of this tweet and indulge yourself in some beautiful words and sentences. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. And if you’ve read anything that has struck you deeply, please share with the world. Let us for once enjoy the beauty of words before we return to the daily consumption of terrible posts that is social media these days.
To read the thread, tap here
See you next week!