Ceiling Versus Insom

So, Kingatha and I do this crazy thing where we talk about stories, books, and movies alike as though they are things we have experienced ourselves. You need to see us discussing Grey's Anatomy, talking about Derek's eyes, or discussing a book character we have never met and only know through the pages we've read.

It's fun, and because of our active imaginations, we get to talk about these stories as though they are tangibly real.

So today, in a bid to explain how sometimes you have an experience that feels like the best thing that could ever exist, only to experience something even better later and realise just how ordinary the first experience had been, Kingatha pulled out the "Ceiling Versus Insom" card. It was a beautiful reference, and I got the gist immediately.

Now, for some background, Ceiling was the silly name Ifemelu called Obinze in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah. It was very cute, like an inside joke only the couple understood. Insom, on the other hand, was the silly name Ahmed Babangida called Faizan in Fatima Bala's Broken. It wasn't just cute; it was perfect, and the role that silly little yada played in the rest of the book was priceless.

Her point was simple. When I read about Ceiling, I couldn't get over their love story. Yes, it was flawed, but it was beautiful, and I couldn't stop talking about how awesome what they had was. Back then, that was my idea of a beyond-perfect love story.

But then I read about Insom, and I knew differently almost immediately. My view freaking changed, and my standards went above the roof. Those characters were just impossible, but somehow, what they had topped Ceiling a hundred times over. And that was exactly what Kingatha wanted to point out with her reference, Ceiling versus Insom.

Dearest reader, it was, in fact, a beautiful reference, and I couldn't agree more with the point she was trying to drive home.

Sometimes, we experience things that make us think, This is all there is. It doesn't get better than this. And then life introduces us to something different, something that makes us look back at what we once considered the height of perfection and realise that perhaps we hadn't seen the full picture after all.

And no, this doesn't always mean the first experience was bad, or that it wasn't beautiful in its own right. Ceiling was beautiful, and I will always appreciate it for what it was. But Insom showed me that there was a kind of beauty I hadn't even considered before. One experience hadn't become less beautiful; I had simply encountered something that changed my understanding of what beauty could look like.

And that's one of the most interesting things about living. Sometimes, we mistake what we know for all there is to know. We build our ceilings from the highest things we've seen, forgetting that there might be entire skies beyond them.

And maybe, just maybe, the point isn't to despise our ceilings or become so obsessed with finding an Insom that we can no longer appreciate what we have. It's to remain open to the possibility that there is more, that our understanding can evolve, and that something can be wonderful without being the best thing we will ever experience.

So, dearest reader, what are your Ceilings and Insoms? What once felt like the absolute best until life introduced you to something that made you realise there was so much more?

@favvy_Okwans🖤.