Creative writing: Contentment as a virtue by @christnenye

After a conversation with my school roommate, she told me despite the little stipend she receives from her parent monthly, and her not affording designers clothes, shoes, wigs and the rest that she is happy.

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With alot of intimidation from all these posh girls, I wonder how she can be as happy as she is considering she has to be left out from most of girls' fashion talks in class.

She explained that it was through one incident that she saw while at home when she hasn't gotten admission to College a few years ago, then she was really feeling low and depressed after writing series of entrance exams for so long.

She said that right in front of her very eyes she saw a girl shot by her boyfriend with a gun. The helplessness in the girls eyes and the scream of pain from the girl haunted her till today.

You will be wondering why her boyfriend shot her; "had the girl stolen from him? " "had they been having a misunderstanding or fighting?" No, it was done simply for QUICK WEALTH.

The desperate boyfriend killed his girlfriend for quick wealth, so he can flaunt cars, mansion, designers clothes and the rest.

Taken aback by the scene, she had known the girl from neighborhood where she helps her mother in small business of cooking and hawking moi-moi( a local delicacy made from beans seeds). The girl was homely and helpful in her mother's business from which they survive until she started following a group of girls known as "slay queens" who wears designers clothes, shoes and expensive wigs which they got their "rich boyfriends".

Not too long she got her own "rich boyfriend" everything about her changed, she even moved in with the guy and started living extravagant life style, flaunting expensive wears and the rest.

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She began to feel "belonged" and fortunate in life without knowing the source of wealth of the boyfriend and his luxurious lifestyle.

Now, I began to think and feel it, too! why didn't my roommate join the girl and have her own "rich boyfriend" or is she my roommate addicted to poverty and the girl destined for a comfortable and luxurious life, then I remembered her saying earlier that she saw the girl shot by the "rich boyfriend" before her very eyes not even up to a month she moved in with "rich boyfriend" because the guy used her to renew the pledge he made from where he got the "quick wealth" that he flauts but the girl didn't know about that.

That gave the answer to why my roommate never bothered if she is left out in girls fashion talk in class and the intimidation from the posh girls never moved her or made her stopped being happy.

Truly, Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want but the realization that what you already have is enough.

Perhaps... the girl shot by her boyfriend didn't feel happy with herself and knew that what she had was already enough which lead to her death.

Bluntly put, most happy people don't have the best of everything; they just make the most out of the little that comes along their way. Feel contented with that little you have now and work hard for the big one you want only this gives true happiness.