I grew up in an environment where I could not think of having a girlfriend. When you have to fend for yourself, you cannot think of a girlfriend. I was just looking forward to being successful in life. I was always scared too because I did not want to put a girl in the family way since I could not even take care of myself well enough.
I had my first girlfriend while I was 17. She stayed very close to my house and we attended the same secondary school. We did things together; we would go to school and come home together.
Falling in love with her was exciting. As I speak with you, I still feel that she was the right person for me. However, I have a wife now.
We dated for three years but later lost contact; there was a sort of disconnection. My parents moved out of the neigbourhood. I haven’t heard from her for almost 15 years now, but I am sure she is married too.
Marriage has made me responsible and to do the right thing at the right time. There were many mistakes I made at a time that I would not have made if there was a woman in my life. Then, there was no reason to be cautious or think of others. But now, I have to do certain things because there are people looking up to me. That alone has kept me in check whenever I want to misbehave or give up.
