I always get asked where my inspiration comes from, and I realise my inspiration comes from the things that bring me joy, the little things we may just ignore.

I was thinking, do we ever just sit back and evaluate ourselves, as people like being a son or a daughter, a friend or even a lover do we ever just think about the way our actions affect others, or do we just think about ourselves.

In Ethics there are many philosophers but there are two I feel like talking about. First of there is Kant he didn’t believe in the consequences of an act rather the act itself we call him a deontological thinker but, this way of thinking sounds fantastic right? First of we don’t think of the consequences of our actions, many people will love this. If we could actually live without consequence, wouldn’t life be a bed of roses?

Then there is Bentham. He believes in bringing the greatest happiness to the highest number of people. All of us may want to be like this but like Kant’s theory this one is flawed too because first of the minority is never taken into consideration. If we only think about the majority, what about the people, with no voice? How do they get heard?

These are random thoughts put together like, how do we know what love is? How can we prove we are in love? How do we justify hurting someone for another? So many questions, I don’t pretend to know the answers to any of them. Sometimes I don’t believe in love. Yes I believe in the kind of love between families and love between friends were a bond forms that makes them like family.

I always get asked where my inspiration comes from, and I realise my inspiration comes from the things that bring me joy, the little things we may just ignore. I get my inspiration from all of the people around me, their joy, my joy, my pains, my hurt and disappointment, my hope and believe that there is something better. I get it from the absolute support my friends and family give me, because it reassures me that there is still good, that there are people capable of giving without expecting. I get it from that absolute trust people have in me, the one that is so fragile that I try my hardest never to break.

My inspiration comes from life, new life, a baby who’s just born, my little niece, taking her first step and then I turn around and she’s one. It makes me stop and appreciate the moments. My inspiration comes from people that have seen the worst life has to offer, but never stop thinking that there is something better out there.

A friend of mine told me to get my heart broken a few times because if I didn’t then I would never be able to separate the good from the bad. I guess he simply meant sometimes experience is the best teacher, but I don’t believe this is always true, because I have learnt several life lessons from my friends and families mistakes.

You know I was thinking people who get hurt and turn cynical, fearful or hateful; yes they have a reason, but what bout those who pass through this and use is as a tool to make them stronger better, are they lesser humans or like our moms used to say when we were in school, “do they have two heads?”

One of my favourite quotes is ‘whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ its not easy to use in reality but it is definitely something, I try and incorporate to my everyday life. Simply because I know my past experience made me who I am, the cynical me, the optimist me, the hopeful me and the careful me. I believe there’s always a lesson to be learnt in life, it’s just up to us to find it.

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Rachel Funmilola Garton aka “Lola Rae” is a 21 year-old British singer, songwriter and dancer of Nigerian/Ghanaian and British Heritage. Lola Rae’s tries are in the genre of Afro-Pop, however her strengths also lie in her jazzy and soulful feel matched with her routes in numerous forms of dance. Lola Rae recently launched her debut singles, an uptempo dance track titled “Watch My Ting Go” and the second single ‘High’ which features Bridge of (L.O.S.).  Recently, Lola Rae has starred in Ice Prince’s “More” video as the singer love interest. Her first official music video for lead single, ‘Watch My Ting Go’, has just been released.

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30 Days 30 Voices series is an opportunity for young Nigerians to share their stories and experiences with other young Nigerians, within our borders and beyond, to inspire and motivate them.

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.