That Shade When it’s Valentines and You Come Up With A Good Hashtag So You Start A Blog.

Fifty Shades of Single 'Shade' Song of the Second [Click Link To Play]: "Love Me Love Me Love Me", By Tiwa Savage

Valentine's Day. Yuck.

I know the next thing you're probably going to think is #HatersGonnaHate but I have issues with February 14. First of all, it's why and when my parents made the mistake of getting married. Trust me, I'm not mincing words. Momma, being the ridiculous romantic she is, thought that since they met on Vals Day they'd marry on Vals Day and call their child VALerie. And Dad just went along with it. If they didn't get married, then they wouldn't have divorced, and maybe I wouldn't be who and how I am.

My name is Jelani Ivoh Valerie Irekwu. Yes, yes, I'm African, Nigerian, Igbo, and a girl. Let's just get that out of the way. With a name like Jelani it isn't tough to be nicknamed. At least they're nice, my nicknames: Elani, J, Jel, Jelly, Jeni, or Lani. Sha anything but Jelani. Everyone saves that for when they don't understand me. Which is almost all the time.

So yeah, I was in a lecture struggling to concentrate because I haven't slept well this past week, details to follow; and then because it's Valentine's Day today and I am tempted to watch that Fifty Shades movie and because I am tempted to be single, this blog now exists. This is literally hashtaggery at its finest.

Anyway. I'll try and be as regular with this as I possibly can, hopefully, but I'm a second year Law student at one of the most demanding universities on Earth, so cut me some slack when I'm writing essays instead of blog posts. Rome wasn't built in a day, so when this becomes the textbook for hashtaggery and singledom, you heard it here first! #CopyrightJelani 

Sha sha to the sha for shizzle... er. (#Spazz) Moving on.. Ehen. Yes o, if not that I am trying to be a Christian this year, I would watch Fifty Shades of Grey today. My boyfriend, details to follow; got us both exclusive tickets but he sold them as an afterthought, since we're not having sex outside marriage, even though we come dangerously close sometimes. 

Am I oversharing?

I have a boyfriend sha. His name is... okay I don't care if I'm oversharing. For crying out loud I'm blogging. Adaze Iredia is his name, yes he's Nigerian so clearly African, but no he's not Igbo like me. But he's Edo. Arguably close enough. I teased him so much about Adaze, because it's close to Adaeze, a female Igbo name. He didn't care though. He still liked me regardless.

So we met in high school, as you do. He's a year older than

me, and we officially met when I was in JS3 and he was in SS1. Basically Year 9 and 10, I think, or Key Stage 3 and 4 or whatever. Figure it out yourself. I knew of him, but we didn't meet until I gave into my inner geek and started playing chess as a sport. 

My first proper meeting of him was during a chess final held at my school, between him and another guy. He won in less than ten moves, and I fell in love. Or intellectual lust. Sha at the social afterwards, I semi-stalked him, then began to see him around a lot more, like you see a car you've bought on the road all the time. Ewo, I bought Adaze, lol. #IHopeYoureLaughing 

Long story short, we eventually ended up talking after another epic chess game, and after two months of dilly dallying and 'what are we' and 'having something', we're now here. I've dated him since I was 14, and I'm 19 now. He's in third year at my University studying Acturial Science, so we have that idyllic non-long-distance thing going on. Everyone is so jealous. 

I mean, he loves me. No question. And I love him. I can't even finish saying how in a PhD thesis, talk less of this first blog post. Oya one example. We had one long-distance year when he came to do his Foundation Year abroad, and I was in SS3. We planned to apply to similar universities. 

But when I lost out on the university he ended up going to, he transferred to the one I did get into, by his first year, and my foundation year. Isn't that love? #LoveNwantinti I know you probably want to smash my head through the screen of whatever device you're using to read this, but here's my take. I want to be single.

I don't want to break up with Adaze though. We have a brilliant relationship, complete with fights and imperfections. I think I just want to be able to... anyway. I don't understand myself, so I doubt you will in one blog post. But yeah, this blog is called Fifty Shades of Single because although I'm taken, sometimes I don't feel it.

And actually I'm technically not taken. Isn't it single, or married? I only have a promise ring. I'm not Jelani Iredia. Yet. Anyway, anyway. I better sign off or ring out or whatever people do when they've written too much on their blog on their first day. It's early, but I'm sure Adaze has something planned for our fifth Valentine's Day as a couple.

So I better go and check my phone, in case I have to make a choice between Italian, Italian or Italian, or be informed that we're having Italian wherever. Gosh I sound petty. I love Adaze, okay. I love my man. I also love Italian, though more generally I love almost all kinds of food. I'm not a foodie oh, this one is probably a disorder. Because I never gain weight. #MySuperPower

I should probably have some sort of catch phrase, but I can't be bothered right now. I do need to stop writing soon though, because with my natural hair I need to make time to get it to look how I want it to look. Although it's nice and soft, compared to some girls' rock hard apparitions, it never falls into place. I think I'll just put it in a bun on the top of my head. 

Adaze likes that, even though it's like my default look. Anyway o! I actually enjoyed this, expressing my feelings on here. So I'll probably be writing very soon, even though I have the craziest deadlines right now. Feel free to react and share and comment, and have only the kind of Valentine's Day that you want. No compromises. Do not be like me. 

Anyway, bye.