This came to mind after my brother sent me a TikTok—two girls doing funny poses on a trampoline. It made me laugh, but it also triggered a memory from my childhood.
Not sure how old I was, but we still lived in the storey building in Uyo—so maybe around 7.
We used to go to this place called “Little Stream Farms.” Mainly for catfish, but they also had stuff to see—like a manatee (pretty sure it’s a mammal, lol).
I don’t remember the occasion, or even who we went with—just that we’d been there a few times with different families. One time, there was maybe a party happening—lots of kids around, and this big trampoline.
This tramp(oline) had no nets around the border, so it was kind of unsafe. Most parents were standing around, watching. I think my mom was watching too.
My brother and I were chilling, bouncing.
After a while, the number of kids reduced—maybe four of us left—so we had space to jump without bumping into each other.
I don’t know what made me think I could do stunts—maybe I had just watched a Jackie Chan movie or something.
Because tell me why my 7-year-old ass decided to try a backflip on a trampoline.
Just the word “backflip” should give you an idea of where this is going.
It started as a small jumping competition with my brother—who could go higher.
Mumu me didn’t know I was near the edge when my brain said, “Let’s try a backflip.”
I thank God I came out of that tragedy unscathed.
The trampoline was like 3 feet off the ground—I was barely taller than it.
One minute I was jumping, the next I was on the floor.
Chai, I was confused, my mother was shouting.
I just sat there, dazed, like: “Wetin happen?”
No more jumping after that—they just carried my ass away.
This began my fear of trampolines.
Even when my mom bought a tiny workout one years later (I think after we moved to Lagos), I was scared to touch it at first.
Moral of the story:
- The battle with intrusive thoughts is not a small something. I’ve had at least two experiences where listening to them got me in trouble.
- Don’t try everything you see on TV. It’s not real life.
Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.