While looking for inspiration after school, I met two old men enjoying their afternoon with some tea and fresh peanuts. Right after seeing them, I wanted to picture them handshaking. I was stressed. I did not want them to misunderstand me. I mean, why would some young woman want to picture their hands like that? I tried to explain to them that I wanted to take a picture of their hands that would symbolize unity.
Guess what happened? I ended up having a wonderful time.
We had a great conversation after I took the picture. At that moment, I realized that when Amadou Hampaté Ba said « When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground, » he was more than right. During the time that I spent with them, I learned more than I would expect too.
They told me a lot about their youth, about how Senegal was, about society, about men and women, about government and so much more. Through their words, I got to learn about relations, friendship, tolerance. They are childhood friends that grew up together. They are neighbors, friends, brothers, and partners. They still appreciate each other, connect and share things after around 40 years of friendship.
They told me about love. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean love as romance, couples, etc. I am telling you about love that mostly relates to tolerance, connections, family, and solidarity. They not only gave me a hazy idea of how the Teranga Senegal is calling for is, but also of love without boundaries between rich, poor, street Childs, the teens, everyone.
They told me about life being as long as short. After everything they experienced, they specified that life is definitely too long to do everything. Nonetheless, it is also too short to do what matters. We waste too much time on useless stuffs such as anger, fights, sadness and lies while we should be enjoying every smile, moment, experience the fullest.
They told me about how elders were our patriarchs, our references, our models, our inspirations. They showed me through several examples how it changed. Today, when, we the youngsters, need talks or advice, we don’t ask our elders, we try to deal with it. Why don’t we? I understood their frustration. They went through so many things and they do not get to share and connect with the younger generations.
They told me how bad they wanted to share their knowledge before it disappears with them. They let me know how hard they are trying to connect with their grandchildren. I felt bad. They are living the generation gap. It reminded me my own situation with my grandmother. It is actually very hard to connect with our elders.
They told me about trees I might never see in my life, medicine, schooling methods, ataya, family affairs, depression, loathe. They told me so much more. They told me about life…
After our discussion, I wrote several articles that I never shared. I did not share them because I did not think people were ready to listen or to read what I had to say. Moreover, today, I realized one thing: I do not have to wait until people are ready for me to say something; I have to say it all for me.
As a result, I finally feel ready to share my ideas and my thoughts as EXTRA as they are.
Have a great time Fellas!
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