The gods are not to blame

I woke up thinking.

Amy, my friend, ran a marathon. She has invited me on a run. My other friend, Tolu, is doing hyrox. She also wants me to participate. While it's great to be someone whose company is sought after, I have respectfully declined their advances.

I have had to ask myself pertinent questions. In the words of the iconic housewife, Nene Leakes: Why am I in it? What is it that elicits requests from people? As we stood on platform 4 waiting for our trains on Friday, Amy gave me some insight into why. “You had the opportunity to choose to be friends with different kinds of people, but you chose to be friends with someone who runs a marathon. So this is what you get.”

(Cue The gods are not to blame Superstory Soundtrack) Who is to blame? The gods are not to blame…)

I didn’t think of it this way, but she was right. In all these things, there is no one to blame but me. And maybe my parents, because they advised me on the kinds of people to avoid, but somehow left these out.

It's impossible to met out blame on my athletic friends. It’s natural for them to want me involved in their activities. I'm the one to blame for befriending these kinds of people and am now surprised that they are inviting me to do this type of activities.

When writing your own friendship JD or looking out for friends, be careful. Keep your heart and your eyes open. Watch out for these athletic traits and flee if that’s not your bag. Nobody advised me when I was going to the friend market. This is why I'm doing what I do: disseminating unsolicited advice. It's too late for me; save yourselves.

Bye…off to prepare for a run, pilates, or HIIT, bike, or yoga class.

What baby's listening to:

Out of someone's speakers as they waited to pass the traffic light by my window is Mary J. Blige's Family Affair. It's the most popular song off the album. However, my favorite song off the album is the title track. The name says it all. Mary is fed up. It's evident in the progression of the song, the lyrics, the delivery, and the yelling. She starts yelling from 3:30 till almost the end of the song. I especially love when there's that type of raw emotion on a song. It's immediately obvious how personal and how much has been poured into this work. This art. This piece.