This often comes as a shock when I say I don’t have that one ‘friend’ in any setting, whether it’s at work or in my personal life. In my case, I have friends and this bit is quite interesting because I’m not particularly friendly or keen on expending energy on making friends.
Here’s a confession, I’m a shy person.
So, I think I’m incredibly fortunate to have the people in my life that I consider friends, close ones at that. However, this article isn’t about me; it’s about one person at work that I think has impacted me in one way or the other. I won’t lie, they’re many, and writing this with just one person in mind feels like a betrayal (please forgive me). All that said, I’ll go with Kayode.
Why? Vibes!
I could write about work buddies who push me to do better, or those who help me learn new things. In my case, this would most likely be everyone, so I choose to write about the ones that make me laugh. Mirth is priceless to me and if I get to laugh amid everything happening daily in Nigeria, that’s a blessing.
Like the other content person on our team, he’s the one I work closely with the most because when I’m done writing, he’s the one who brings my ideas to life, visually. So, we share a lot of common ground.
Also, you realise that when you’ve worked long enough with certain people, you eventually bond. It’s hard to keep a certain distance after tons of brainstorming sessions, late nights or weekends at work, bar or beach hangouts, chilling in each other’s home, playing FIFA, etc.
Well, unless you’re a sociopath so thank God most of us aren’t. Or are we? Anyway, a topic for another day.
But that’s not the fun part. The fun part was discovering that we’re often on the same wavelength even when it has nothing to do with work.
Kayode just gets it. How many people can I sit with and talk about Rick and Morty for hours with? Who will serve me new episodes of The Mandalorian? Definitely him.
Besides the fun and games though, Kay is such a good person and it’s not even something he tries to project. He helps me without even knowing he’s done anything of the sort. There are a bunch of reasons or instances I could give but I’ll go with the most recent example.
Just a few days ago, we left the office late (as usual) and he left the car park before I did. By the time I tried starting the car, I found out my battery was dead so I called him. Despite the fact that he’d left and the difficulties associated with making direct U-turns on Lagos Island, dude came back, helped me jump start and ensured I was fine before he headed back home.
No, “Ah, I’ve gone far o.”
No, “Sorry bro, can you get someone to help?”
None of that, he just said, “Okay, I’m coming.” Turned around and came to sort me out. Sure, anyone of my colleagues could have done that but he was there. He’s usually there and that’s one more thing he’s done to show that he’s someone I can count on. And that, for me, is one of the biggest blessings in life.
So, to work buddies, I say, “Cheers, keep being you and keep being one more light in the lives of your colleagues. I see you and appreciate you.”
