' I Said, A Hip Hop The Hippie...'

Rapper's Delight was the first Rap song I heard in my life, and I loved it! It was back in the day...those good old days in Lagos, when music was music,(and every generation says this by the way) when I could dance, when life was simple...

We went to this party in Victoria Island, I must have been...oops, I was about to mention my age and I know some people have their calculators out...not that it matters! Anyway, they played this song and there were two friends of ours, good looking too, though everyone was fine then...or almost everyone, they had obviously rehearsed the lyrics, we later heard they brought the record from America when they went on holiday (no You Tube remember), anyway,these guys stood in the doorway,and when the DJ played this song,they just rapped and rapped and rapped alongside...I was tripped, and so was my little sister, Feyi...

It's no big deal to be at a party with your little sister, I guess...but this was a big deal, and I am going to tell you why... Feyi was kind of a pain, in those days. Like I've said before, we are four girls, I am the third, and the ages between the first three of us is close, but between Feyi and I, it's like a hundred years! If your adding machine is still out, and you know the year the song came out, and you also can guesstimate my age, then you all know Feyi was too young to be at this party. So...why was she there?

Before I give the details, you won't believe that I can't remember why I started writing this post...I know it has to be related to You Being Able To Do It, but since the gist is flowing, let me finish it first then I will try and remember...

Back to the party, and Feyi being there. At this point you all are wondering where my two other sisters were? They were also there, but they were, or pretended to be, quiet, gentle and generally good. Feyi, on the other hand was performing the duty she had been sent there to do by my Pop...

Having four girls could not have been easy for my father, especially as we were quite popular, so he devised a system so he could know what we were getting up to when we went out to parties, which in those days was not often, and always at the invitation of someone your parents knew or at least could check out. This system had my mother or himself chaufeurring us to and from the boogies, and Feyi...as the spy!
Her role was simple...we couldn't go to any parties without Feyi, and she in turn would watch who was dancing with who...if they turned off the lights and so on...she would then go back home and report to them, and get a pat on the back for a job well done...or so they thought!

Isn't it funny how even though you have been in a similar situation as someone else before you can forget how it feels. My parents had also been young, though in those days it didn't seem like it! They had also partied, or at least kind of, sang to Jim Reeves or whoever, and probably gotten up to all sorts. They must have had their own 'Feyi' in their respective families, and surely they devised a method to deal with the person...so why would it be any different for us?

I am not going to tell you how we got round Feyi, because we did, but I am going to tell you why we must be able to remember the past...to look back, and to apply those memories positively to current day situations.

Who are you mentoring today? When last did you take somebody outside your immediate family by the hand and agree to guide them? Have you looked back into your life lately to appreciate where you are coming from and compare it to where you are now? And most importantly is where you are now where you thought you would be at this age?

I have just remembered that it was Mentoring I wanted to write about, but It's All Good! I will leave that for another time...let's look at 'Are You Where You Thought You Would Be At This Age?'

Do this simple excercise, get a piece of paper, and write down if you can remember, the dreams you had when you were younger, let's say in your teens, when 'music was music'. What type of life did you imagine you would be living when you were your parents age (which is about now!)...are you living that life, and if not, why?

You need to re-assess your life today. You need to do a self audit. You need to get back on track. Now is the only time we know. It is never too late and it doesn't cost a penny. It starts with a thought, and thoughts are free! Change your thinking to change your life. You must succeed, because believe, it or not you owe it to your Creator, to your children, to your family, to your dependants, to all those who love you, and most of all to Yourself!

You CAN Do It!