A ROOM IN EXCHANGE FOR A SECURED TICKET TO HEAVEN

For an entire university academic year, I stayed with my uncle. Now, make no mistake, it was the first time I was meeting him. Imagine yourself moving from your comfort zone to live in a city you have only heard so much about and a person you have never spoken to before not to talk of seeing him. Yes, that was the feeling initially but with time, I settled in just fine.

I settled in not just with the different lifestyle I had to adapt to suit the academic challenges of the university but how to cope with living with a person I had never met. I would say my uncle is a semi-liberal person. He doesn’t often talk about what others do. He observes for a while before making any observatory comments.

Frankly speaking, for the fun part, I enjoyed living with my uncle. But the part where he would descend on me to make his observatory comments about all the wrong things I had done, I really didn’t enjoy it.... (Yussif smiles).. Don’t get me wrong, I like it when someone points out my mistakes to me because it gives me the chance to correct myself and to render an apology if need be.

There is a saying that the truth is always bitter to hear but I vehemently disagree with this assertion. I think the truth is actually good to hear but the voice and tone with which people tell the truth with are what makes it bitter or unpalatable to hear.

I didn’t enjoy my uncle’s observatory comments because the way he spoke gave no room for extra commentaries. But he was very good to me and I appreciate all the good he has done me. May God allow him to sleep in front of the gates of heaven even if He would not allow him to enter heaven itself..

Fast forward to my second year at the University where for some reasons I had to move from my uncle’s place to another place. The options were not really great because of the challenges that confronted me at the time.

Finally, even though the option of staying with my auntie wasn’t really in my books, that is where I landed. The truth is, I dreaded going to live with my auntie under the same roof. One, she is a lady and two is something I can’t talk about…(Yussif pauses and smiles again).

I have been staying with my auntie for almost a month now and I must say things have turned out really good. You have to understand that nothing is perfect and for that reason, grading anything is relative.

For every unfortunate situation, there are some beneficial pegs in there. Look harder and you will find them.

Leaving my uncle’s place was a very hefty blow to me because it meant I had to find another accommodation. It became a headache.

As an aspiring journalist, in fact, I am already a journalist because I write for both national and international consumption. Even though I am still in school; I need access to information all the time.

Some may argue that the internet is at our fingertips for that matter we don’t really need television. True, but consider periods when you have no bundle to surf the internet, yeah, that’s when you find the power of television and radio.

One of the pegs of staying with my auntie is that I always have access to not just local television stations but foreign ones as well. I watch CNN, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg and the likes. Never have I been so abreast of international news like the past three weeks.

So, in as much as leaving my uncle’s place was problematic for me, it has yielded some fruits that are very beneficial. And indeed, my auntie and I and get along just fine. She even prepares tea for me sometimes… (Another nostalgic smile)

Anyway, she will move out just next month which means I also have to move again. I can’t follow her to her new place so if you have accommodation somewhere near the Ghana Institute of Journalism, please, rent it out to me and I will give you my already secured ticket to heaven (I have two tickets) because I don’t have money.

As for Ruth, Khadija, and Mubarak, I will write a letter to you about them. Until then, Stay blessed.

A room for a secured heaven ticket, please. The competition is high so be quick with your registration.

                            YUSSIF AHMED
                            ahmed.yussiph@gmail.com