SWITCH

Ain't nobody gotta go through what I'm going through, no

But it seems like they all know what I'm supposed to do so

Let switch bodies for a day

You could me be and I could be you

Juggle the pile of shit that's bound to come through

You can have it

Since it's automatic

Now, switch (Switch)

Tell me how it feels (Feels)

To be somebody else (Else)

 

I tend to believe that in life we all have a path we follow. It is not set in stone as it can have many constructs within itself; it can be a straight line or one with curves or one that loops infinitely within itself. I came (funniest thing I’ve said all day) to realize that there are many instances in life where we go through similar experiences and I am convinced that they are not similar in any sense or way.

How did I come up with this conclusion you might ask; well, have you ever been mugged? Then everything fell in place in such a way that if you told anyone you have been mugged they would laugh and say that’s made up; then your friend who also got mugged ages ago tries to co-relate his situation with yours and tells you how to deal with it. Now everyone around you has a story about how they got mugged and it was different for you but you are left dealing with all the trauma alone.

Well, I am here to tell you that yes, I have been mugged. You know, the same old story, I was walking, then I see a man, the path now has no one but the two of us. It’s a busy street but there are no vehicles this time, funny enough there’s no one on this road, and it's 8:00 Pm. So, this guy walks up to me, then miraculously this other one crosses the street and another is behind me. I really can’t tell where the other two came from but I was there in the middle holding my umbrella and Chapo since I was starved. And I was mugged!

It was funny since the night came back to life after I was mugged and kids are running through the streets and there are vehicles. And I sleep and I awake. Then I thought aaah I am good since I don’t like dwelling on lost causes for a long time. So, I leave work early and walk home, this time it's around 6:00 Pm and as I walk this guy walks towards me. My heart starts beating very fast, I am sweating, my anxiety ( why did I call it mine) is at its peak, I start shaking and taking small deep breaths, and for some reason, I am rooted to the ground and I can’t walk. Then this guy comes and says hey, you never change man, tulikuwa in the same class way back when we wore shorts and navy-blue shirts paired with red socks. Are you game for some local barbecue?

I laugh and say eeeey been a second but I really don’t remember this guy or his name but I play along and we go eat and he really does remember me and has some embarrassing folktales (damn his good memory). I later go home and for a few months, I would panic every single time a new person walked up to me. I was traumatized by that whole ordeal and I really didn’t talk about it until it just ended, didn’t get therapy for it but I prayed; or maybe prayer was all the therapy I needed…you should try it some time.

But as I was going through this whole ordeal I would meet people who had ideas on what I should have done when I saw these guys coming my way. And I’d say, “enyewe” then wonder whether this guy suffers from the protagonist complex if there’s such a thing. Then fast forward to a time I met some broken toys and funny enough people had an opinion on what they should have done to not be so broken, then they also broke and I watched them not follow their own advice.

Then it hit me, we can all be going through the same thing and experience different things. Life to me is like the word. We can all read John 5, and all of us will have a different understanding of that crippled guy, but when it comes to life we want to co-relate our problems and how we dealt with them with other people. Are we blind to the fact that we are different and yet the same but still fundamentally different (I hope the guys at the back get this)

Most of us go through problems that may seem really easy to deal with since the actual problem does not affect them directly. I went to a kesha and this preacher said it's easy to condemn a drunkard sleeping on the road until it's your dad or brother or maybe your sister or your mum. We tend to downplay people’s problems since they do not affect us and we seem to have an opinion or a way they can overcome them but I have lived long enough to know that it doesn’t work.

We all grow up differently, the same yes, but differently all the same (I enjoy this). All the choices we make, all the chatter we hear, and what we consume always construct our perception of life. Some of us know that life comes easy for them and for some know that we have to work through life to achieve. But why though? Why are we different?; What makes us different?; What distinguishes me and the other guy?; Is it what they’ve been fed since birth, or are they just lucky because I really need that luck.

It’s late and I should probably sleep. I don’t think I’ll get answers to these questions but I hope those of us reading this will somehow stop co-relating things and just be there for their friends and loved ones. Stop having a traumatic story since they told you theirs, just be there for them and listen; maybe make the mood a bit light by adding laughter or just hugging them.