Two Holidays, Two Different Experiences

I was 13 when I had my best holiday and my worst holiday happened when I was 27. The only place we traveled for holidays was my dad's village, it was a town situated in the outskirts of Abuja and had a few houses sparsely distributed. Even though development had reached its neighboring villages, the town had remained the same as I used to know it 15 years ago, the Mango trees , cashew, and orange trees planted in the compounds of its settlers. That was what I liked about the village in my childhood. We went to fetch the fruits, go swimming, and swing on trees. Childhood was fun. As children we had little expectations, all we cared about was fun and I was able to get a lot of that when I traveled to the village 2006, I was 13 at that time. We were allowed to go hunting where we hunted for rats and rabbits. At the end of the day we made pounded yam and ate with the meat we caught.

Since several kinds of fruit trees were planted in almost every house. We go fetch some fruits and eat and sometimes take some to the river and eat while we're done swimming. Our life was programmed and we knew what we'd do after another event. Having children my age made it fun, the night plays, the hunt, farming, swimming, fishing, bush meal after a hunt made it fun and memorable. I remember it was a dry season the period I visited, and it was a culture that the people of that village go fishing in the rivers surrounding the village. At first the river is polluted and the fishes try to get fresh air by swimming to the top of the river. Then We catch them with baskets and when we've caught enough for the day, we open the bank of the river that was blocked to allow the river to flow again. I didn't want to come back when the holiday was over, I knew I was never going to have the privilege to go swimming or hunting in the city.

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A lot has changed now, we're all grown up. What fascinated me 10 years ago no longer interests me. I traveled again to the village two years ago during the COVID-19 lockdown. Nothing had changed, the village had not developed, it was the same as it was 15 years ago but this time swimming and hunting was no longer a thing I could do. I needed something different but all I got was the primitive life of the people. Since I no longer find the hunting of rats interesting, I spent the holiday eating and sleeping in the house. My peers at that time had grown up and everyone was concerned about their welfare and working to make ends meet. The holiday ended with no fun, no place to go to since the village was a small town. One only kept facing issues after another and I couldn't wait to return.

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The first holiday made me realize how important and blissful it was among the group. I realized it wasn't the big things that truly gave joy but the little things we did with our loved ones. One might have assumed the city has sophisticated life but unfortunately I preferred the local life with happy people. But again, age affects what we like over time and that's why it's important for change. The children in the village may enjoy this moment but if they grow up and meet such a life, it will become boring to them. Change is important in every phase of life but we can only have sincere happiness when we spend time with our loved one.