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Remove These Three Words From Your Mouth: You’ve said them a thousand times. You said them when you were a kid. You said them last year. You’ve caught yourself saying them recently as you watched the world tear apart your carefully made plans. It’s not fair. These three words are favored by kids and angry adults alike...when we want things to be otherwise, when we are caught by surprise, when we—the people who pay our struggles, who try to always do what’s right but get stuck with the consequences of something that wasn’t our fault. We advise that you strip those three words out of your vocabulary. Because they are impotent and meaningless. Because they don’t do anything but make you upset. No one promised you that the world will be fair. Certainly the Stoics never did. No, the Stoics told you that life was going to be hard. They warned you that fortune was capricious and cruel. They told you that bad things happened to good people. They told you to get ready—that preparation, acceptance and endurance were the only options on an unpredictable planet. Remember what Marcus Aurelius said: It’s choosing to feel harmed that adds pain on top of events. Trying to project standards of fairness or order onto a pandemic? Onto cancer? Onto something as random as the economy, the climate boyfriend behaviour? This is only going to make you miserable. This is only going to set you up for disappointment. You’re feeling that right now. Because you forgot that it’s not things that upset us, it’s our judgement about things. So stop thinking about what’s fair or unfair, awful or awesome and focus on what is. ___ (C) #DailyStoic #SocialFaculty #SocialAndSmart PS: These pictures of our fave @thacutegeminme are too beautiful, it's not fair 🤩 https://www.instagram.com/p/CBDIg4GhSaz/?igshid=pl9way8gmmhw

So, The Craziest Thing Happened Yesterday. Ambulance Came To Pick Me. Turns out someone can not tell his brother something and his brother will keep it a secret. I mean, I'm asymptomatic and I know because I've been positive for 8 days. Yes, I did a test. Don't ask me how I got a test kit but I did it and it was positive. Since I've always been my own master of self medication; I treated the nonsense virus like I treat everything else, whether typhoid, waist pain, chicken pox or even depression; I treat them as malaria and they disappear. I'm NOT advising you to, it's a family secret. So, yea, they came to take me to quarantine. My brother called them and said "Hello, please o, somebody is positive in this house." Lol, imagine, that was exactly how he said it. Next thing, they were already chatting on Whatsapp and this boy is not telling me anything. It felt like there was a ransom on my head and my brother had suddenly turned against me. He sent them my test result and these guys attached to our local government must have been less busy or looking for something, otherwise; I don't see why they arrived at our house only forty minutes later. They did their own test in their van and many hours later, my brother was negative and I'm still positive. Abeg, Just Let Me Take My Laptop And Phones, Please. I've always been a lockdown person anyways; been in my room for six days straight without coming downstairs. Isolation no dey fear me. I'll continue my programming lessons in peace and quarantine could be a new frontier for some social experiment. We left and the thing is now turning to another thing. First, these people took me somewhere and someone interrogated me about test kits and possible affiliations with China. How did my brother remained uninfected? Then they got worried about which Isolation Center for me because they found out I'm a bit popular and outspoken against the government on the Internet; so, they must have decided to take me to one of the special Isolation Centers. It's now two days here and things are getting pretty interesting in a tragi-romanti-comedy kinda way. I'll share Part Two tomorrow. ___ (C) #QuarantineQuagmireDay1 #SocialFaculty https://www.instagram.com/p/CAQnIURh8-L/?igshid=1gqhbqwhs153e

The truth is — almost relationships can hurt as much as real relationships because connection isn’t measured in time. When your heart connects with someone, it connects with someone. Sometimes, that depth is fostered over years. And sometimes you crash into another human being, and despite only knowing them for a short collection of moments, you know that they are going to mean something to you. You know that you are going to care. There are no rules. But, the hardest lesson you will ever learn is that — you won’t always end up with those you feel something deep and meaningful with. Some chapters of the book of our lives are full and dizzying in the best way — with concrete endings and concrete closure. But some chapters end quickly, sometimes in the middle of the page, sometimes even before we are ready. What we don’t often realize is that that is closure, too. Because it’s still an ending. So when you are holding all of this hurt within you, when you are gripping at all of the ways you could have loved someone beautifully and fully and with every inch of your human heart if you had just been given the chance — remember that you want to be loved and chosen. Not almost loved or almost chosen. If someone can't do that, you deserve to discover someone who can. Because the right person will be consistent. The right person will put forth the appropriate amount of effort. The right person will make everything feel easy, natural. Almosts aren’t natural. You have all of this hope, and all of this feeling, and you’re trying to give it to someone who doesn’t want to hold it. You’re trying to convince someone that you’re worthy of being chosen. But the right person will choose you. The right person will stay. Remind yourself that you deserve to feel like someone is excited to be with you, that someone is excited to commit to you, and dive into something concrete and foundational with you. You deserve someone who wants the same things, someone who wants to meet all of your hope with action. Someone who sees you. Someone who isn’t afraid of being responsible for your heart. Someone who embraces it. ___ (C) ✍: @rainbowsalt #ThoughtCatalog #SocialFaculty https://www.instagram.com/p/B_2ju0bhLT7/?igshid=sh2dlb5bvtw4

Wait. How did I get here? How did I get so comfortable in this place? What has turned me into this perfect side chick? Is it because I don't believe in relationships but love to enjoy goodtimes? Trying to remember how it started. I used to be a misty eyed 19 year old, fortified by years of reading many romance novels, believing that guys my age were much too young for my inner old self. You had to be at least 7 years older before I could look at you, but I had limits, I wasn't into 'old' men. More than fifteen years older and I'd file you into the grandpa category. As a distracted 19 year old, I was a perfect prey for the hungry men in their late twenties and thirties, men who were already in serious relationships but didn't mind having a tight little thingy on the side for the purpose of variety. At first I didn't realize I was being pawned and played but as I got older, I realized what I was and I didn't mind. You have a girlfriend, fiancee or wife? I didn't mind. You have a wife and a girlfriend? I still didn't mind as long as I got my piece. Now I'm older and hopelessly cynical and love is a luxury I can't afford. Twice I tried to stay in a relationship but I was always looking out for the cheating signs because when you have been the partner in cheating for so long, you'll just know all the signs. At this point, it seems I have just two choices. I could try to be in a relationship, one that might lead to marriage, but always knowing that there could be one or two thingies on the side just for the sake of karma. Or I could walk the path of a kept woman, always knowing that I will never be the one that matters. Nothing much to teach young girls about cheating. I think they already know most men will cheat and it's better to be the one cheated on than to be the one cheated with. If a man chooses to keep hiding and cheating with you, it means that you are very below his girlfriend or wife and there is no way in hell he can ever break his relationship or family for you. As a good sidechick, you must know your place and make no dramas; otherwise, go get your own boyfriend or husband. ___ (C) #SocialAndSmart #SocialFaculty https://www.instagram.com/p/B_rk81TBRpx/?igshid=5aoj4t6n8w54

@pettitesize is coming to SocialFaculty with a big Bang 💣 As the SocialTV Host on IGTV, the scintillating talkative and friends will be dishing out highly engaging social reality videos based on our popular posts from the page 📺 We know many of you don't like reading; worry no more, whenever you see Vi's face, she is bringing you a catchy video of our writeups to keep you #SocialAndSmart. Excited! #SocialFaculty #SocialTV #SocialAndSmartWithVi https://www.instagram.com/p/B_mgoTmBIHK/?igshid=1q0l8uppsn68m

Things are rough out there, no one, not even billionaires can argue with that. Business is down. Quarantine here, isolation there. The streets are filled with hungry people. All plans are cut short. Families cut off from loved ones. What in the hell's butt is happening?! you might find yourself asking. Actually, you wouldn't ask that - most people just say "What the fuck is happening?" . This is terrifying, are things breaking down? Maybe. But it’s helpful to recall in times like these that, as the broadcaster Paul Harvey once explained, there have always been times like these. Keep calm and carry on. Marcus Aurelius lived through a pandemic. If you’re old enough to read this, then you have already experienced at least one financial crisis. You are the last link in an unbroken chain of ancestors who managed to make it to child bearing age. Which is to say, you come from a long line of survivors: People who lived through civil wars as well as civil unrest. People who survived man-made cataclysms and natural disasters. People who outlasted quarantines and long separations. People who had their plans disrupted. People who woke up for days and days in a row not knowing what the morning would bring, or the kind of future that lay ahead. They survived the Biafran War. They survive the Black Plague. They survived the Mongols and cold nights on the frontier. They survived without governments. They survived without electricity. They endured grief and fear and pain and change. They kept calm, they carried on. They learned, as Marcus did, that things can only ruin your life if they ruin your character. That we might not control world events, but we control how we respond. We control whether we hold our heads high. We control whether we help our neighbors. We control whether we contribute to the panic or not. We control whether we take care of ourselves and take precautions. We control whether we live up to that eternal standard of Courage, Moderation, Justice and Wisdom. Yeah, it’s tough out there. It’s scary. But we’re going to be okay. We’re going to keep going. We’re going to get through this. Keep calm and carry on. ___ (C) #SocialFaculty #DailyStoic https://www.instagram.com/p/B_UWErLBVM4/?igshid=sez2s7xyshee

Something bad just happened. You got pissed. Now, two bad things have happened. That’s just a fact. Because getting angry rarely makes things better—even if it helps you get what you thought you wanted. It taxes your heart. It causes you to be mean to other people. To “win” you had to lose your self-control. Imagine. This is not to say you should merely accept everything in life. The Stoics are not passive weaklings. It’s that we preferred persuasion, patience, and persistence to yelling. We focused on addressing root causes, not catharsis, hormones or emotions. Wanna know how much worse getting mad is than the things that caused it? “Anger always outlasts hurt,” Seneca adviced that it's always best to take the opposite course. Would anyone think it normal to return a kick to a horse or a bite to a dog? So if you want to win—at life, at philosophy, at accomplishing what you have set out to accomplish—you’ll need to rein in your temper. You’ll need to figure out the opposite course, develop more than one kind of response to things you don’t like. It’s easy to get angry, but it’s more effective to remain calm and come up with solutions. Tame your temper. Don’t make problems worse by getting angry. We always lose when we lose our temper. ___ (C) #SocialFaculty #DailyStoic https://www.instagram.com/p/B_LAbRkh7fQ/?igshid=up5aygxyljcz

It’s the strongest and the most helpful among us that often have the most trouble asking for help. The frontline responders know that their duty is to rush toward the bang, while others run away. A parent knows that they put their own interests and needs behind those of their children. The person who others rely on to be cheerful and fun can feel like they have no one to express their sorrow and pain to. Yes, a Stoic is strong. Yes, a Stoic is brave. Yes, a Stoic does their duty—without complaint, without hesitation. A Stoic carries the load, and willingly carries the load for others when necessary. But they also have to be able to ask for help. Because sometimes that’s the strongest and bravest thing to do. “Don’t be ashamed to need help,” Marcus Aurelius wrote. “Like a soldier storming a wall, you have a mission to accomplish. And if you’ve been wounded and you need a comrade to pull you up? So what?” Exactly. So what? You’re not looking for a handout. You’re looking for advice. You’re not looking to be exempted. You’re getting your wounds treated so you can get back into the fight. You’re not looking to get an unfair advantage over anyone else. You’re taking advantage of the opportunities that were designed for precisely the situation you’re in. If you need a minute, ask. If you need a helping hand, ask. If you need reassurance, ask. If you need a favor, ask. If you need therapy, go. If you need to start over, go for it. If you need to lean on someone or something, do it. We’re in this mission together. We’re comrades. It’s okay to ask for help. If it makes you better, it’s the right thing to do. ___ (C) #SocialFaculty #DailyStoic https://www.instagram.com/p/B-5LKGNh0_G/?igshid=x99e4pewvbz4