Happy new week fam! Good interpersonal relationship skill is an attribute that almost everybody I know claim to possess but do we truly possess it? The ethics of socialisation that counts for good interpersonal relationships are seemingly popular and one is expected to show friendly gestures to someone you just met or have barely known for 10 hours at a stretch. And after all the façade of friendliness, you hardly remember the name of the person some hours later. For someone like me, if I exchange numbers with someone, I would just save the number with the name of the place where I met the person and anything I can relate with about the person.

Funny enough, when we later get close and it happens that they see the name I saved their numbers with on my phone, I could either be proud or ashamed of my fairness or unfairness with the the names I used to save their numbers. Most times, it is the latter (ashamed).

I remembered the time I ran into someone I had known before and he was like, ‘Do you still have my number?’ I was actually not sure if I had it but if I really did have it, I am not sure I wanted him to see the name I used to save his number. He saw the hesitation on my face, and said ‘OK, let’s see’, he stretched out his hand to collect my phone and type his number. Of course, my phone brought his number out with the name I saved it with. For my mind, I was like ‘ohhh, he don catch me oo’. The man just smiled and read out the name I used to save his number his name and said, ‘So you have it’. I gently collected my phone and quickly ended the conversation. Guess, you’re saying Ifeoluwa is cruel abi?

But I have been trying to get better now, especially when a dear friend of mine commented about my (cruel) habit of name saving. I am sure before then she had seen the name I saved her number with and was not too pleased. Of course, I am not lawyerly at all, so I failed in defending myself. That day, I changed her name to a more suitable name on my phone and some other people’s name also got affected.

Don’t get it twisted, I am in no way against interpersonal relationships just that it’s more preferable to really mean the relationships, friendliness. Don’t be a superficial liker or lover. If you say ‘Hello, good morning’ or ‘How are you?’, please,mean it! When you meet people, know them. Here is YES to true interpersonal relationships, no more facade of interpersonal relationships.

Enjoy your week without reservations.