WELCOME TO QUEEN BEE'S BLOG

Fashion,Beauty, Inspiration,Learning Life Lessons.......lets join hands and influence our world! !

Learning Life Lessons

LEARNING LIFE LESSONS WITH QUEEN BEE - THE REASON BEHIND IT.

Times have changed...these are words that pour out of the mouths of our elders these days. Our parents, relatives, teachers, religious leaders that nurtured us to who we are today can’t help but weep at what would become of our future. Truth be told, we have gradually tossed the core things that form a major part of our being to the bottom of the ocean - values, beliefs, discipline, morals, spiritual faith. Our parents fought tooth and nail to secure their future which is raising us to the people that we have become today...the sacrifices, the labor, the pain...the list is countless. The question now is what have we done to secure our own future? I had completely forgotten that there was a major event in church and the start time was fixed to be earlier than usual. So I got to church a bit late and met the adult section already occupied. Obviously, I was left with no choice but to sit at the youth/student section upstairs. That was my first time, and the two hour experience I had still remains fresh in my memory. I kept asking myself, ‘is this the extent to which we have deteriorated?’ The sermon was ‘on point’ and the preacher focused on how to handle challenging times, he equally touched on areas that pertained mainly to our youth. But to my greatest surprise, it appeared as if something else was of more interest to the young ones around me. Without exaggerating, out of over 50 people that sat in the upper auditorium, less than ten were actually paying attention to the sermon. Majority were busy with their phones, discussing and laughing at the same time. The scenario keeps playing in my head and it hurts to see the direction our children have chosen for themselves. I flashed back to how it was growing up with my siblings in the 80s and how serious we took Sunday School and other church activities. In fact, Saturday mornings were for chores, afternoons were for home works, evenings were for church prep activities (drama practice, choir practice etc), each person had a category they belonged to and we took up such responsibilities with joy and excitement. On Sunday we would join our parents to church and over lunch discuss what we learnt in church and share bible stories and passages. Sunday evenings were shared with family and close friends. We would sometimes sit in the living room and watch TV programs together. And Oh, did I mention that those TV programs were not just for entertainment. Children had the opportunity to benefit morally, spiritually and academically by watching those programs. I remember the likes of Tales by moonlight which taught kids so many moral lessons via story telling. Speak out and Kidi Vision 101 were popular segments that served as a standard for Nigerian children’s education and inspired children to strive to be more eloquent. The Math and Science Schools debate competitions were of huge impact to kid’s academic performance. Even the entertainment segment still circled around educating the children. The dramatic performances of ‘80s and ‘90s television were focused on the development of Nigerian’s cultural heritage in kids. I remember how fulfilled I felt seeing one of the plays I featured in being aired on NTA, it felt like I had touched the lives of so many students by merely utilizing my talent and my parents were so proud of me. Even musicians such as Onyeka Onwenu, Sunny Okosun, Mike Okri, Christy Essien to mention but a few used their music as a medium of telling youngsters the importance of leading a good life. Do you know most of the bible songs and Christian movies sold today were sang and acted in the 70s/80s? I am always dazzled each time I have to sit with my daughter to watch and listen to these same songs I enjoyed when I was just about her age, and I find myself constantly saying to her, “Oh! that was mama’s favorite song.’ ‘Mama used to love this scene.’ It is quite unfortunate that these days, young people are more exposed to things that have a negative impact on their growth and development. What scares me the most is the level of excitement the derive from them. I still cannot believe the popularity and uproar that arise from certain Television show that makes one question the actual essence. It is true that the development of GSM has gone a long way in curbing out communication problems in the country. But let us not sweep the negative effect it has had on our kids under the carpet. Morals and values have been replaced with abuse, envy, discontentment, anger, pride, boastfulness, laxity and other ills brought about particularly by the invent of social media They say, the best way to finding solution to a problem is first recognizing and acknowledging that there is a problem. Research has proven that smart phones are man’s new ‘best friend’ and the rate at which our youngsters cling to their phones is alarming. I remember seizing the phone of my child minder some time ago because it distracted her from reading for an exam she was preparing for. Hmm, she cried at my bedroom door all through the night. As a nation we thought it could be controlled, parents and teachers thought same as well. We all thought we could at least protect our children from the negative ‘claws’ of modern technology in smart phones,. But let’s be honest, did we really succeed? Is it too late? The answer is No! Once there is a will, there is always a way. We may not be able to completely shield them from the negative trolls of social media, but what we can do is introduce platforms, programs, activities...anything at all that can impact positively in the lives of our kids to social media. There is no denying in the fact that the world has gone ‘E’, our parents ‘70s/’80s strategy may not work effectively anymore. So, the onus lies on us to re-invent these strategies, come up with more innovative ideas and make them readily accessible to our kids even if we have to use their most preferred platforms - facebook, instagram, twitter and so on. Learning Life Lessons with Queen Bee (L3) is a platform that was created to share real life experiences and lessons learnt from them with everyone particularly our youth via social network. When I was a child, these experiences were easily shared verbally by parents, family members, relatives, friends, teachers etc. The communal living of the typical African community made this very possible and impactful. But that has long been gone, people are either extremely private or just too busy to share, and who suffers the most? Our children, our youth, the future leaders of tomorrow. They grow up with little or no clue as to what to expect in life and how to be fully prepared to face its challenges and come out of them successfully. No wonder the likes of depression, suicide, violence that never used to be heard amongst us is growing at a very alarming rate. But our belief is that things can only get better, even as we place our hope on God for a complete transformation, we also have a part to play. This is a clarion call for people all around the globe to wake up and come up with new ideas to drive this purpose. And here is just our own humble way of contributing to a positive change. We are taking it Social Media too! So I encourage everyone to join us, let’s use our smart phones to pass on knowledge with the aim of educating, encouraging, teaching, comforting, advising, counseling, and grooming each other. To every single experience shared , there is a lesson learnt and a difference made! Cheers to change! Cheers to a new beginning! Cheers to a better tomorrow!! Cheers to a brighter future!!! Cheers to everyone!!!!

  Comments1