APART TOGETHER.

I’m catching up on black-ish.You know the American comedy series by Kenya Barris,yeah I’m sure you do. I like it I really do.The series is very much in tune with its message, it’s black-ish. The Johnson family is black and resides in a predominantly white neighbour hood with their children attending top of the chain white school. It’s an experience like no other.

I’m currently on episode… okay I can’t seem to reminiscence but what I’m aware of is that Junior the second child is being taken to Universitu. You guessed it right,it’s a predominantly white Ivy league school because the dad can afford it and also because the kid is smart. The whole family is present,from the grandparents to his youngest sibling who is a few years old. My parents did not accompany me to university.Infact if my memory serves me well,I took the bus from my village to Nairobi where I took shelter with my siblings and that has been my life for the past 3 years.

Today I graduated.I aced it,I mean how else would I do it? How I longed for my parents. No naah ash ,mine are not an irresponsible lot nope,they just couldn’t make it. I also did not want them to travel because they are pretty old and if you are new here then let me put you to speed there’s a deadly virus floating around by the name COVID-19. It’s real,I would know.

Today my parents and I were together but apart and it felt alittle bit icy mainly because if conditions were favourable maybe they would have made it. Mine is a dog bite man story,most students are thrown into foreign higher learning institutions by their parents in search of a better future. What our parents are not aware of is that the Mpesa messages at the end of the month are not as warm as their hugs neither is the foreign, thick crust vegan pizza as fulfilling as the Ugali that we normally have at home as a family. It is not only difficult but heart wrenching to be apart from our folks at this tender age. Unless you are from a generation that glorifies struggle,I don’t think that at 22 anyone should be living alone by chance, it should be a choice .

I’m glad for the lessons learnt,I just wish that I did not have to be apart from my parents for so long.