My first convocation at the University of Lagos.

A day of celebration and joy.

But here I am. Feeling sadder than I should.

All plans of eating someone else's achievements through food have flown out the window in realization that I don't really know anybody.

A day of hugs and kisses. A day of wishes and success.

Some people are surrounded. Some people are not.

Hunger surrounds me like a shield. Sadness breaks down the door. Loneliness hovers me.

Unilag is overcrowded. But amidst the crowd sits a lonely soul.

I came for rice. Carrying a bag full of food back home.

But I don't think I'll even have a grain.

I'll just settle for Iya Moria.

But this is not a new thing.

I’m always sad on happy occasions.

I even remember being sad at my secondary school valedictory service.

Convocation does something strange: it makes you ask questions you’re not supposed to ask.

“Am I jealous of them?”

Impossible.

It’s selfishness if I am.

Yes, I might have been a secondary school graduate of ’22 and a university graduate of ’26. But life had different plans. ’26 has become ’28.

“And it’s okay,” I repeat to myself every day.

But convocation doesn’t wait for personal timelines. It celebrates the people who made it through on time.

I need a bed. A room that longs for me.

Exam is knocking on the door. ‘Read’, I tell myself. But I can't find it in me to think, less of engaging in book knowledge.

I pray I don't become the adult that doesn't take joy in other people's happiness.

Congratulations Unilag Graduates Set ‘25

Greater heights.💐