My absolute favourite line from Gossip Girl is this:
"We don't need tickets; I'm Chuck Bass."
I have always wanted to say something even half as cool.
I've mentioned a few times that I have no money right now. I've quite gotten used to being constantly broke at a level that only a constantly broke person could understand. But, being broke has caused me to realise that pretty amazing things happen to me, and they are completely independent of cash flow.
Having just got back from Nigeria, it occurs to me that the majority of the coolest places I've been on have been paid for by someone else or heavily subsidised. Jamaica, Colombia, Japan - all not me. Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar, Morocco, Bermuda, Montreal, 11 US states - I actually got paid to see them.
Even apart from crazy travel experiences, there are a lot of other ways in which things just fall into my lap. I am the sort of person who gets jobs first and applies for them after. Who gets amazing opportunities to meet really famous/ really inspiring people like Maya Angelou without going out of her way. The sort of person who finds herself in positions people work really hard to be in, without putting in the effort and purely on a fluke.
And even outside the big things, there are little things that the 'having of no money' usually prevents that I still have access to. But my amazing support system of family friends makes it possible for me not to be a complete recluse. Thank you. (Or as they say in Yoruba "ẹ se" - eh sheh)
And I say all this not to boast, but to be appreciative of the good things that come my way. My new Yoruba name, Oluwayemisi, loosely translates to "God honours me."
Fo sheezy.
So while I may not have enough money to be sure of all the things that should be bought or paid for are actually bought or paid for, I do have a list a mile long of amazing blessings. So much so that I'm able to match Chuck Bass. If only in reverse.
I don't need money; I am Claire Dawn Oluwayemisi.
àṣẹ (asheh)
(Yoruba for Let it be so.)
