Courage...And Meeting Dora

It's day 53 of documenting 2025.

Happy Weekend, my friend 😊 

I hope this week went well for you.

If it did, great.

If it didn't, no worries.

There's always a next week.

Well, this is going to be one of those posts.

Yesterday was episode 1 of "Duon's Not Perfect".

Today is episode 2.

But it doesn't involve midnight cola, I promise 😄

Yesterday, I took some time to reflect on how I behaved and was perceived at the tutorial center I'm going to.

And I admit, it's not looking good.

I found out that I was leaning into people pleasing and conformity.

Not so good for the first week.

But I'm getting myself in check and agreed with my mind's suggestion to set boundaries.

I talked to a friend of mine, M about it.

M lives in my community and he gave solid advice on how to deal with certain kind of people.

His words reinforced my decision to do better.

Thanks so much, M 💝

This is just week 1.

Week 2 will be different.

But my week wasn't all bad.

Yesterday, something happened.

I gave myself a push to talk to someone.

This person usually stays at the back of the class with the head of our tutorial center.

She doesn't do the normal classes with us....it seems she does some kind of special lessons.

So, she doesn't talk to anyone except the teacher.

She just observes.

Judging by her size and appearance, I initially thought she was one of the teachers.

That was, when I first started.

But yesterday, I got the chance to talk to her.

At first, I was scared.

I kept tapping at God knows what on my phone.

What if she doesn't respond?

What if she completely ignores me?

I told myself,

"Then I would just go back to my seat, where I came from."

With that assurance, I kept my phone in my bag and stood up.

I got to where she sat.

Then perched right in front of her.

(Heart pounding in my chest 😨)

The first thing I could think of was, 

"Can I talk to you for sometime?"

So I asked her.

She nodded yes.

I asked if she was a student.

She nodded yes.

I can't remember the next few questions I asked, but she nodded yes to them as well.

Not the talky type, I noticed.

Then I asked for her name.

She simply showed me her notebook.

Her name was clearly written on the front cover.

Dora.

"Wow, Dora", I said. "Nice to meet you".

I told her my name and she nodded as well.

Then she covered her face with her hands for a moment and brought them down again.

She's shy, I thought.

I asked her what state she came from. 

She smiled.

She was trying to say something but then she opened her notebook and pointed it out.

I took note of the state and asked if she has traveled to her hometown before.

"Yes..but it has been long", she replied, loud enough for only me to hear.

There was a moment of silence.

I was thinking of another question to ask as she stared at the class going on at the front of the class.

Mind you, I'm not offering the subject 😏

So it was my free period.

Then I asked if she has siblings and she turned her attention to me. Then nodded yes and smiled.

I asked how many brothers she has.

She said, "boys are more....up to 10"

At that moment, I was like, what? 😲 

I ranted playfully about how my 3 brothers always make me yell.

She laughed, more like giggled for the first time in our interaction.

That was after she said that her brothers would have received slaps before thinking to disturb her.

We talked for a few more minutes and I found out we had a few things in common.

She's the first born, like I am.

She has many brothers and two sisters...so she said.

I have three and one sister.

Still counts 😌

Minutes later, it was time for her to go.

I asked if I could accompany her to the gate.

She then asked, "don't you have class with them?".

I told her I wasn't doing Maths.

So she got up and so did I.

We got outside and I asked where she was headed.

She pointed at a blue car which I spotted instantly.

Then said her mum was waiting for her. 

I stopped a few miles from the car and told her goodbye.

She gave a side wave and got into the car, which drove off.

That simple conversation was a wonderful experience.

From the interaction I had with her, I noticed she was extremely shy.

Which is normal at first.

I think I was able to connect with her on a surface level.

But let's see how it goes on Monday.

I'm going to talk to her again.

The fact that I had the courage to talk to her, made the conversation a wonderful experience for me.

But I can't tell how it was for her.

Hopefully it was good as well.

Meeting Dora was definitely a pleasure.

That's all about how yesterday went.

Yesterday was definitely the highlight of week 1 at the tutorial center.

We'll see how week 2 goes.

Now, it's time for highlights.

Highlights from the books I read before typing this post.

Saturday's read is a random pick and I chose The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins.

Let's get into the points I highlighted.

365 Days With Self-discipline 

📌 Day 53: On Having A Burning "Yes" Inside 

"You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage — pleasantly, smilingly, non-apologetically — to say “no” to other things. 

And the way to do that is by having a bigger “yes” burning inside."

Quote by Stephen Covey

"Without the bigger “yes” burning inside of you, there’s no way you’ll continue making the uncomfortable choices over the long term for the sake of your goal."

"......but generally speaking, you’ll do well if you can discover a burning reason why you want to accomplish a given dream and unapologetically say no to anything that might threaten your chances of making it come true."

Hmm 🤔 

Burning reason....

I think a "burning reason" answers the question of a "strong why".

What's your strong 'why'?

A "burning reason".

The 5 Second Rule 

📌 What Are You Waiting For? (continued)

"The only thing relevant is you. The power is inside of you. The only way you access that power is

pushing yourself to try."

"You’ll never stop yourself from starting to worry about something. But you can stop yourself from letting those worries drag you into a parade of worries that take control of your mind. 

You can assert yourself and push yourself to think about something empowering. 

You step back into the present moment and go for what you want. And you can do it in five seconds flat."

"We are all guilty of thinking about getting involved but not doing it. We’re all waiting “for the right time.” It’s total stupidity."

"It is our feelings and fears that

convince us now is not the right time and keep us from achieving greatness."

"Sometimes there is no next time, no second chance, or no time out. Stop waiting. 

It’s now or never. 

When you wait, you aren’t procrastinating. 

You are doing something more dangerous. 

You are deliberately convincing yourself “now is not the time.” 

You are actively working against your dreams."

These are Mel's words, not mine.

And I hope they speak to you as they spoke to me.

For me, it just says,

"Be bolder, Duon....don't hold back!"

I've actually done something of that sort.

Something extremely bold for a lady.

Something that got my heart racing faster than I could think.

It was 10 days after my birthday.

And my closest friend PK, can attest to that.

Talking to Dora was also something I consider to be bold.

It's all part of the training.

And I'm going to keep doing more of those "bold" things.

As long as it doesn't take more than conquering the fear in my mind.

I hope it's the same for you, my friend.

I hope you're finding the courage to do something you never thought you could.

If no, it's okay.

You can learn.

It just starts with feeling the fear and doing it anyways.

As long as you won't drop dead if you do that 'bold' thing.

Find the courage and may success be yours 🤞

Thanks for reading, my friend 😊 

Thank you for encouraging me to write more.

It's no longer about analytics.

It's about telling my story and inspiring others.

One post at a time.

I appreciate your support in taking time to read what I have to say.

Thank you 🙏

I'm Duon Ada.

A Nigerian girl in her twenties exploring life and trying to find her purpose.

I'm documenting 2025, every single day.

And you can read the stories of former days at the main site, Documenting 2025.

I'll see you tomorrow 😉