I'd like to think there are two types of people.
One who lives vicariously through books and one who lives through their personal experiences. One is an introvert, the other, an extrovert.
Can you guess which category I fall into?
From the moment I could read, I have read.
My bank of knowledge is built on the very pages I have turned.
I have loved through books.
Lived through books.
Hurt through books.
Yes, I have had personal experiences too, but they don't beat the ones I amassed from books. Lately, I feel like my life is not balanced, I spend so much time alone, I have a nonexistent social life. I spend so much time reading other people's experience, no time to garner mine.
Oh well, I think that's about to change.
My third year, second semester in the university is by far the worst semester i ever had in school. When I tell you I was drowning under all those school shenanigans, I mean it. I did 10 courses during this semester, engaged in several group works, produced a short film and published a community newspaper. I was in an academic hell.
By the time, I was allowed the chance of a school break, my mental health was already on a steady decline and I was already becoming an hideous person.
I am a federal university student in Nigeria, studying Communication Art, and I can tell you, life is already so hard being a Nigerian but being a Nigerian student??... Someone just upped the temperature in your hell.
I went back home from school, completely depleted from the semester's demands and activities. I stayed a week at home resting, then travelled to Port-Harcourt to visit my cousin.
My intention for my stay in Port-Harcourt was to have fun and unwind from all the school stress, give myself a change of scenery and all that.
My stay in Port-Harcourt was fun, I might even say, too fun for me. When I tell you we were always on the move... I'm not joking. I don't know if I ever fantasized about living the fast life, I'm usually very conservative. I would much rather stay home, with a good book and a bottle of wine.
My first night in Port-Harcourt, we went to a club. I won't lie, I really enjoyed myself. The music was loud enough to dull the interval voice that berates me when I make bad decisions, so I even smoked a cigarette 
After that night I went back to the hotel, where I shared the bed with 2 other girls... For someone who likes her personal space, it wasn't uncomfortable at all.
I attended more parties, met people, visited places and every time I laid on a bed, it was to rest up for the next outing. I ate the very much talked about Port-Harcourt Bolé and it was so good! 
Bolé is a local recipe of roasted fish and plantain, the sauce that comes with it, is what makes it so sumptuous.
By the end of my stay in Port-Harcourt, I was happy to leave... I had more than exhausted my social battery and I was ready to not talk to anyone again. I ate the very much talked about Port-Harcourt Bolé and it was so good!
When I returned from Port-Harcourt, I stayed for the remainder of my break in my small hometown. I have read at least 15books from the time I came back from Port-Harcourt till now and have gone out a handful of times to get food and to help my mom in her shop.
I think what disappointed me the most about my visit to Port-Harcourt was that I wasn't able to make any friends. Everyone I met was really just all about having a good time, and while that is good in itself, I really wanted to meet someone I can connect with on a much deeper level. Anyways, guess I was expecting too much. These days, I find that, expecting to genuinely connect with people is like expecting to find a unicorn on the road- its most likely will not happen and if it does, you'll most likely think you're dreaming.
But even though I may have failed to make worthy friends in Port-Harcourt, my stay there has spurred me to want to go out more and network. Sometimes, I'm so all about my business and school that I forget that I am a girl in her 20s and that I should be living. In a couple of days, I'll be 26 years old. I'm not one for elaborate birthday celebrations, but I just want to truly live.
Staying indoors all day, and burying my head in books is nice but I don't want to be so cut off from the social aspect of life to the point that I no longer know how to behave in peopled settings.
My experience at Port-Harcourt made me realize, I really am missing out of life and at a time that life has a lot to offer me. Fine! I know I can't be truly extroverted, I don't think it will ever come naturally to me to hop parties and attend different events just for the fun of it. I am simply not built that way.
But I will take myself out, allow myself to have fun at my own pace, and maybe if I am lucky enough, I'll find good friendships too.
Anyways, school has resumed once again, and I'll be running my last academic lap for my first degree. This is my final year, and I cannot imagine that I will miss school when I'm done.
Well, before I go, I'll like to live you all with this quote from Tom Hiddleston; "We all have two lives. The second one starts when we realize we only have one"
