TOPIC TODAY: As 2025 is coming to an end, do you feel "broken" or "bent"? Does a year of failure mean you are a failure, or do you believe like Eoo that you still have your full value?
SCENE: The Bar. The music is low. Everyone looks a bit tired as the year 2025 comes to an end.
NNE (Slumped in her chair):
Honestly, 2025 "showed me shege." I feel like I’ve been running a race for 12 months and I’m still at the starting line. I’m tired, I’m broke, and I feel like a failure.
OLA (Sighing):
You’re not the only one, Nne. This year stretched everyone until we almost snapped. The economy, the stress, the disappointment... it was a lot. Most of us are entering the new year feeling "broken."
JENNIFER:
It’s a collective trauma. When you work hard and see no results, your mind starts to tell you that you are the problem. But we must remember that a bad year is a situation, not an identity.
EOO (Takes a clean 1,000 Naira note, crushes it into a ball in his fist, then drops it on the table):
Look at this note. I have squeezed it. I have stepped on it in my mind. It is "cracked" and "broken."
JIDE (Picking it up and smoothing it out):
But look... even though it’s wrinkled and ugly now, it’s still 1,000 Naira. You can still use it to buy bread. The value didn’t leave just because the paper got folded.
EOO: Exactly my point. That one is us. 2025 might have crushed you. You might feel desperate or "finished." But a crumbled note still has value. Being "broken" or not achieving set goal does not mean you are useless. It just means you have been through the fire.
NNE (Small smile):
So, you’re saying I’m not "trash" just because my plans for the year didn't work out?
AMARA (Joining in):
You are not trash, Nne. You are a survivor. The fact that you are still standing here, ready for the next year, means you haven't lost your worth. The system tried to break us, but we are entering 2026 with our values intact.
NNE (Slumped in her chair):
Honestly, 2025 "showed me shege." I feel like I’ve been running a race for 12 months and I’m still at the starting line. I’m tired, I’m broke, and I feel like a failure.
OLA (Sighing):
You’re not the only one, Nne. This year stretched everyone until we almost snapped. The economy, the stress, the disappointment... it was a lot. Most of us are entering the new year feeling "broken."
JENNIFER:
It’s a collective trauma. When you work hard and see no results, your mind starts to tell you that you are the problem. But we must remember that a bad year is a situation, not an identity.
EOO (Takes a clean 1,000 Naira note, crushes it into a ball in his fist, then drops it on the table):
Look at this note. I have squeezed it. I have stepped on it in my mind. It is "cracked" and "broken."
JIDE (Picking it up and smoothing it out):
But look... even though it’s wrinkled and ugly now, it’s still 1,000 Naira. You can still use it to buy bread. The value didn’t leave just because the paper got folded.
EOO: Exactly my point. That one is us. 2025 might have crushed you. You might feel desperate or "finished." But a crumbled note still has value. Being "broken" or not achieving set goal does not mean you are useless. It just means you have been through the fire.
NNE (Small smile):
So, you’re saying I’m not "trash" just because my plans for the year didn't work out?
AMARA (Joining in):
You are not trash, Nne. You are a survivor. The fact that you are still standing here, ready for the next year, means you haven't lost your worth. The system tried to break us, but we are entering 2026 with our values intact.
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