"We Give Back What We Consume"

Yesterday, I reconnected with a friend I had lost contact with for a long time. As we chatted, he showed me a couple of his recent writings, and I was utterly astonished.

His stories were incredible, but what surprised me even more was the kind of stories he wrote. His characters and plots were set in a Chinese context. I had to ask him how he could write a Chinese story so fluently, considering he is Nigerian.

His reply was simple: it was the kind of books he had been reading for the longest time. He had consumed so many Chinese novels that he could now replicate them effortlessly, and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

This brought to mind a lesson I’ve always known: if you consume something consistently over time, it begins to flow out of you with ease. For instance, if I consume a lot of negativity, over time, I’ll find myself not only attracting negativity but also expressing and radiating it.

This concept also applies to the "You Can Do It" mindset. As a writer, if I were to attempt what my friend is doing, I’d fail woefully because we are not consuming the same material. While I consume a lot of African literature and he consumes a lot of Chinese literature, our abilities are directly influenced by what we take in.

Dearest reader, what are you consuming? You cannot expect to score 300+ in JAMB if you spend all day consuming silly TikTok content. Whether we like it or not, we reflect what we consume. So, consume the kind of things you'd like to express and show forth.

@favvy_Okwans🖤.