When Life Rewrites the Script.

Steem greetings, @everyone, and welcome to my blog as I share my reflections on life in different shades.

Life truly comes in different shades, some bright and inspiring, others painfully humbling. Sometimes, it takes one unexpected encounter to remind us that no one really knows what tomorrow holds.

A few days ago, I met an old undergraduate coursemate. Back in school, she was brilliant, vibrant, and full of dreams. The kind of person you would easily imagine becoming a top lecturer, businesswoman or entrepreneur. We sat in the same lecture halls, shared assignments, laughed through stressful exams, and spoke endlessly about the future we hoped to build.

But life, as always, had its own script to write and we danced to the tune. I saw her by the roadside hawking plantains in a tray with a five-year-old girl, her daughter.

At first, I walked past without recognising her. Then our eyes met, and in that brief moment, years collapsed into silence, we both recognised each other instantly.

There was an awkward smile, followed by the usual exchange: “…how have you been?”, “…long time!”, and “…life happened…” But behind those simple words were stories untold, stories of struggles, disappointments, survival, resilience, and courage.

As I stood there watching her attend to customers while occasionally adjusting the child on the small stool beside her, my heart became heavy with reflection. Not because she was selling plantains, honest work is honorable but because life can turn so unexpectedly despite our dreams, plans, and qualifications.

It reminded me that success is not always a straight road; sometimes, people are fighting silent battles we know nothing about, sometimes the person you envied years ago is now praying for the opportunities you currently complain about, and sometimes the loudest laughter hides the deepest pain.

Life is indeed in shades. One moment, you are sitting in an air-conditioned classroom discussing ambitions and graduation plans. Another moment, reality places people on entirely different paths. Some rise quickly, some struggle quietly, and some simply do whatever they can to survive and care for their families.

What struck me most was not defeat in her eyes, but determination. She still smiled, she still pushed on, she still showed up for her child and that alone deserves respect.

That encounter humbled me deeply and it reminded me that we should stop judging people by their current circumstances. To stop assuming everyone’s journey will look the same, appreciate every little privilege, extend kindness more freely, and above all remain grateful.

We really do not know what people are carrying behind their smiles. So today, be kinder, check on people, encourage someone out there, support someone’s hustle without mockery, celebrate progress, no matter how small, and never become arrogant because of your present comfort.

Life changes, tables turn, and situations evolve. Life is indeed in shades; sometimes bright, sometimes dark, sometimes beautifully uncertain. But through it all, may we never lose our humanity.