Hello, everyone.Growing up in the northern part of my country made me realize that the environment you live in can actually affect the type of food you enjoy and make your favorite. In the north, rice is a predominant food, eaten almost every day by families, and even if there is a change of food, it might be rice prepared differently. It was like every family in our neighborhood had it all planned out: you eat rice during the day and then eat something else at night, and funny how we never got tired of consuming this particular food despite how often and continuously we eat it.  I have eaten a lot of food and loved it all. Choosing a favorite seems like a difficult thing to do, but we all have a particular food that, even when sick and we are served this particular meal, we could still eat a spoon or two with no questions asked. For me, rice is that food; no matter how it is prepared, it is fine with me; just make sure it is tasty and a bit spicy. It doesn't matter if it was prepared with sauce, stew or jollof; I just go with it as long as the taste is good. I did not know how to cook, but I was forced to learn how since my parents were very busy and I had my younger siblings to look after. With this, I had the power to decide what we ate and what to cook. I always cooked rice since it was easy to prepare and could be prepared in different ways and with different recipes. I grew up to love it, so it became my favorite. Now I never get tired of eating rice; I can eat rice for a whole week and not ask for another food as long as we keep changing how it is prepared.  Funny how whenever I eat out, I only order rice, and when they don't have it, I find it difficult to order something, and I keep hearing a voice deep inside my head saying that I should just check somewhere else and not waste money on something else. Rice is my favorite, and how it can be prepared in different ways is something that makes me love it more. How rice is prepared varies from one

The impact of technology on humanity is way more than we ever expected. Despite the advantages that come with technology, it also comes with a lot of disadvantages. Cyberspace exposes users to a lot of harm; these days, people lose their life savings to these hackers online like it is nothing. With the high rate of scamming online, we all ought to be careful how we use the cyberspace as well as the sites we visit and links we click on. These days, anything is a trap and can lure a person into the den of hackers, and their accounts get wiped out. Funny how these scammers always follow the trend. Lately,  the tap to earn games have been on the increase, and I saw on Twitter a guy saying how his wallet almost got wiped out for trying out one of the tap to earn games. Back in the day, I could only have encounters with scammers on web2 platforms since I knew nothing about web3, but now avoiding scammers on web2 as well as web3 is quite tedious, and in the process of avoiding getting scammed, I have missed out on opportunities that later turned out well. Those days I was a Facebook addict and spent so much time chatting and engaging with friends online. I had nothing much to do with plenty of time, so I utilized it online. I even had a dream of becoming a content creator on the Web2 platforms and worked towards it to grow my account. One afternoon, an unknown user chatted me up. Since I was jobless and needed company, I rushed to reply, and we started talking like we knew each other from somewhere. Later tha

Some memories hurt so badly that we do not need to be reminded about them, and no matter how hard we try to forget them, we just cannot find a way to do that as flashes of this particular memory keep coming back. Fresh out of high school and really eager to further my education, and with my parents support, I just could not wait to gain admission into college, as I have had a lot of fantasies about college and even imagined how I would live my life in college. "Uncle, good evening. I just called to remind you that whenever the school where you lecture in post-unified tertiary examination (Post-UTME) registration commences, please do well to let us know." I said this to my uncle, who is a lecturer, over the phone."Don't worry, my boy; I will do just that when the time comes. You have nothing to worry about." My uncle responded as I dropped the call, smiling sheepishly. Then I believed an uncle would never do anything to hurt you, and they would do everything to put you on, and I believed uncles were completely reliable, but I was wrong. Since I had my uncle's assurance, I relaxed and was not following the news from the college I applied to. It was a mistake I made once, and I will never make such a mistake again. I was waiting for his phone call or even a text but got none, and I was forced to call him again to make inquiries. "Hello, uncle, it is me again. I wanted to know if there has been any progress since the last time we spoke, and I am sorry for disturbing you." I said it with a shaky voice since I was shy."I told you that if anything comes up, I will let you know, and besides, the forms won't be on sale anytime soon until probably next month." He responded and sounded a bit harsh, but I took it that he must have been stressed from work, and I interrupted his rest.I went back to relaxing and waiting for my uncle to update me, but while I was waiting, I did not know registration was on, and I cannot really say if my uncle did what he did on purpose or if he also wasn't aware, which I strongly doubt because, as a lecturer, he should be aware of things like that. On a Saturday evening, I

Hello, everyone.Welcome to my blog and another wonderful edition of the Hive Learner's featured post. Growing up with a father whose best channel has to be the news channel was a problem for me as I was never a fan. Those days out of being silly, we prayed for him to work longer so we could enjoy our own favorite channel before he came back and took full control. Funny how he was the only one that can spend all day watching this channel while the rest of us didn't even want to hear whatever they had to say. He tried to compel us into loving his favorite channel so we could love it like he does, but all to no avail.  I can't say if listening to the news was an addiction for my dad; if he cannot access the news channel on TV, he immediately switches to his radio. Sometimes I ask him what the fun is in that and what type of joy listening to the news brings to him, and he will always say that with time, I will understand. He wasn't lying. Now I see reasons why one must listen to the news, even if not consistently, but at least try to stay updated on recent happenings around you and, if possible, the world at large. Our strong backing then was that we had our mom on our side; she was our spokesperson. After some time, you will hear her ask, "So when do we get to watch our own favorite channel?"  Once this question is asked, you'll see the smiles on our faces, and reluctantly, he will agree for us to change the channel. I have never been a fan of spending time watching the news channel, but as time went on, things started to change as I now tuned in on my own to listen to news. This started during the pandemic, and afterwards came an ASUU strike. I was really eager to know if schools would resume anytime soon, as I had another plan in mind and wouldn't want a situation where I would be forced to choose between going back to school or going with my plan.I am still not a fan of listening to the news; I just do it for the information it carries, and whenever the headlines are not interesting to me, I just change the channel. Sometimes I just come for the headlines, and once I get them, I leave without

At some point in our lives, we have to make heavy sacrifices for family happiness and togetherness to continue, sometimes even putting our own happiness at stake. Moments like this are what change everything for a person. "Desmond, there is something I would like us to talk about." His mom said this as she sat down next to him.Desmond, completely lost and confused, shut down his laptop and gave his mom all of his attention, as she looked very serious and worried."Mom, I hope all is well. What exactly is the problem, and I hope I have not done anything wrong?" Desmond asked, feeling restless. "I wish there was a better way to say it, but you have to end your relationship with Ruth as you will be getting married to Rose in a few months." His mom responded with tears in her eyes."You are joking, right? Mom, you know how much I love Ruth; ending things with her will drive me crazy. I cannot do it; I really can't, mom." Desmond said as he relaxed against the wall, since the news made him feel dizzy."The decision has been made; it's for the good of the family, and if you have this family's best interests at heart, you will do this for us, no questions asked." His mom replied as she was about to leave the room."It is my happiness we are talking about here, mom, so you mean I should sacrifice my happiness for my family's business? Is that what this is all about?" Desmond "I tried to talk your dad out of it, but he gave me reasons as to why this has to happen. I am sorry if we hurt you, son." She said this as she closed the door behind her.It was this moment that changed everything for Desmond; he went from being a very happy young man to being a sadist. Depression creeped up on him, and he battled with it silently. He no longer spends time doing the things he loves; instead, he spends time on things that would help him forget his problem. Spends more time at the bar, drinking away his sorrows. "How do I even break the news to Ruth that the family I love so much is after my happiness?". Desmond kept thinking to himself but did not know he was thinking out loud.

Hello, everyone.Welcome to my blog and another wonderful edition of the Hive Learners' featured post. Every human desires to be powerful and influential, even if not for the benefits that come with it, at least to feel safe, when you are powerful and Influential automatically you are free from intimidation. No one wants to be among those who hide their faces in fear when the powerful talk, hence the desire to be among the powerful. The truth is that power, when it falls into the wrong hands, becomes a problem for people, and if those who become powerful are not careful enough, they get consumed by it and are eventually controlled by it. Power is good, but it should not be used to intimidate or exploit others.  I have had countless experiences where people who are powerful and influential use it to their own advantage. Living within the military base exposed me to seeing how enjoyable power can be and how it can protect you from being exploited while exploiting the vulnerable. Living within the base, I could see how those superiors who are power intoxicated order their subordinates around and threaten them, and the subordinates, in fear, follow every order given. Power works two ways: it either works in your favor or it works against you, but we always pray it works in our favor. Sometimes these power intoxicated people in the base extend their power play towards kids, and that is when it becomes really annoying. I love football, and I try not to miss a single day's training because it is always fun and we use it to clear our heads. Sometimes we have soldiers and officers who come to train with us, and we all give them their respect so as to avoid trouble, as many of them are those who feel they have the power to do anything, and the uniform will give them the cover that they need, and we who are just kids won't be able to fight back so that the matter does not escalate, as when it does, no one will even back you. One evening, we assembled at the pitch as usual, and one officer came and decided to be a bone in our necks. He said whoever does not go 15 laps with him won't be allowed to play that day and will be placed