Hey girl,
It’s 12:07pm on a Tuesday. I haven’t eaten breakfast and I’m starving. I’m writing this from my bed in Minna 😭. Yesterday I was talking to Victor, and we ended up discussing how important birthdays are and how much I think people should cherish the fact that they keep getting older. Then it hit me—why not write a letter?
So here I am, writing you one. You are… well, you. I’ve been trying to make this letter perfect and I’m failing woefully.
Let me start again.
Hi Aisha,
Wait oh, you’re 20. We’ve known each other for like 5 years now… or maybe less. Either way, it feels like forever.
Turning 20 might not feel like a big deal to you, but if you sit and think about it—it’s something. You’ve lived on this beautifully crafted earth with terrible people for two whole decades. That’s a lot.
Everybody will tell you to be serious with your life or to bring husband or to do whatever society is yelling at you to do. What they won’t tell you is this: make a truckload of memories, allow yourself a few bad decisions (but please, think about consequences first 😭 abeg), take a million pictures and videos, be happy, love Allah deeply, be yourself, and actually live.
Oscar Wilde once said, "to live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that’s all".
And you? You are completely beautiful. Objectively. You look so pretty when you have your glasses on and you’re reading. You are going to be a great woman inshaAllah. Never forget that there are people out there who love you, who care for you, and who are rooting for you and I’m beyond thrilled to be one of them.
Enjoy yourself. Enjoy your birthday. Get yourself a cake. Go on a solo date. Film everything and show me.
You are one of my best friends and I love you so much.
Love,
Nailah (one of the lucky ones who gets to know you) 💕