I Like Girls

Hey there! Anybody home?

I’ve been away for a while at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Orientation Camp. How did it go? Well, it was a mild version of hell to say the least. Maybe one day, when I’m finally over the post-traumatic stress disorder, I’ll be able to write my 'Tales by Moonlight: Camp Edition'. But for now, the topic du jour:

I Like Girls

I’ve never been a tomboy. I also have never been a girly girl. All my life I’ve been sitting daintily on the fence.

(By the way the art of sitting on the fence is something I’ve mastered, as confirmed by Robbins Begg Consulting. Their words: "Damilola’s dominant intelligence component is Diplomatic Intelligence…" Hmm.)

I also have no sisters, but I grew up with a couple of friends who were like sisters, so I have a good understanding and appreciation of the joys and the complexities of relationships between women.

A few years ago I literally had my life ripped off from beneath me.

Truth be told, that statement has a bit of a dramatic edge, but I did feel as though I had lost a huge chunk of all that I held dear at the time. I found myself thrown into a new environment (one which I had scorned and despised, mind you), and I found myself being forced to eat. Humble Pie, that is. Initially I struggled to fit into this new environment, but soon I settled in, realising it was part of God’s plan, which was far more wonderful than I could imagine. See, God had been good enough to give me what I needed, not what I wanted. But that’s a story for another blog entry or three.

Back to the point, I believe that any sane woman needs strong relationships with other like-minded sane women in order for her to retain her sanity.

I also believe that one's friendship circle should be kept small and tight as opposed to large and watered-down (Recall #23 of my 'This is Me' post).

Here I was, settling into this new environment, with no women I could connect with. I prayed, like I always do, and said “Lord, I’m losing my sanity. Please give me two good girlfriends.”

God sighed and answered “I won’t do that dear.”

Me: God, what did you just say?

God: I said I will NOT give you two girlfriends. I will surround you with multiples. However in your core, you will have a few great women to call your best friends.

And like He always does, He gave me what he promised.

Ladies, you know who you are. This post is dedicated to you:

A friend is someone who:

1. Is brutally honest about your strengths, and kindly honest about your weaknesses.

2. Calls you in the middle of the night to share that ‘hot’ gist with you. OR Calls you in the middle of the night because you’ve told her you want to share some ‘hot gist’ with her. And in both cases you wake up feeling hung over because you lost three to four hours of sleep talking, gossiping, analysing and strategising aka doing ‘MTN XtraCool’.

3. Will not judge you, and will even agree with you when you tell her about the hot young man you plan to marry, having known him for all of three minutes. She then proceeds to give you sound reasons as to why you shouldn't go ahead and propose just yet. (Beyond the jokes though, your friend will truly listen, empathise and give excellent advice anytime you need it.)

4. Stands in a long queue and pays for your Call-up Letter/whatever ahead of time so you don’t have to wait in line when you arrive.

5. Stares expressionlessly and refuses to argue with you when you’re in a bad mood.

6. Steals your quirky quotes and passes them off as hers… And you’re proud of her for it.

7. Asks after your welfare and celebrates your progress without a jealous tone of voice and the famous tinge of green in her brown eyes because she is secure in her own self.

8. You’ve discussed (in-depth) future career plans, as well as picnic, dinner and travel plans (complete with your husbands and children). You may even have pledged your unborn children to one another in marriage.

9. Will forgive you when you do stupid little things, like ditching her for your crush. She understands.

There’s so much more, but I will wrap up with this:

10. Above all, you can count on the fact that she is your God-given friend and the bond that holds you together is eternal.

What do you have to say about your own girlfriends?

Disclaimer (In case you missed it while reading the content, or decided to focus on the title alone): This is not a ‘coming out’ blog post. I am proudly heterosexual!