Hello steemians. Best regards to you all.

Glad to participate in this week's accelerator contest. It is a great opportunity to go down memory lane.

As a child who grew up in the southern part of Nigeria, we were told many fables. At the time, we believed most of them and lived in fear or caution. Some of these tales were either told by our parents or guardians, teachers, even our peers.

For this contest, I'll like to share some of them which to an extent helped build my thinking ability and sense of reasoning.

---

What were the lies you believed while growing up?

---

While growing up, I first heard from my peers that Satan lives under the ground.

They said, if you dig the ground deeply, there are chances of you getting to see him.
Some of our nursery rhymes seemed to affirm this. One of the rhymes had this words:

"...Up, up Jesus,
Down, down Satan..."
Of course I believed. Sometimes, I'll dig the ground, hoping to see Satan himself.

They also said, if you scribble anything on the ground and keep it overnight without erasing it off, Satan will come and take your handwriting and exchange with his, making your handwriting ugly and disorganised ('jargajarga' as we use go call it). At that time, we were usually so careful not to write on the ground and leave it unerased. Especially one's name. If by mistake we forget to clean, and our handwriting gets to change, we'll be so worried.

---

What was your reaction after finding out the truth as an adult?

---

Thinking about it now, the whole thing sound so lame.
But I discovered the truth about the first tale while still a child. Some logical thinking helped me realise it's a lie.
At that time, if I hear any of my peer saying Satan lives under the ground, I will laugh so hard and then try to explain to the person but not without making fun of the person. Children stuff.

As for the later, low-key, I stopped scribbling things on the ground and allowing it stay overnight. Nor allow people write my name on the ground. I don't even know what I was afraid of.

I just realised about a month or two ago that I'm over that fear, when a colleague at a site I work scribbled my name on the ground. It was funny as it made me recount childhood memories but I wasn't even interested in erasing it off. Forgot it there until the next day when another colleague drew my attention to it and we shared a laugh. Don't know who finally cleaned it but I didn't. I deleted the pictures of it I took due insufficient space on my phone.

I don't understand how such lie got to be, but it instilled some level of fear and curiousity in me. Now I feel silly for ever believing such.

---

Do you subscribe to telling lies to young minds in a bid to protect them or you choose to call a spade a spade?

---

It depends on the situation. Some lies are meant to protect and also help to make the young ones learn certain things on their own.
But generally, I think calling a spade a spade is a better considering how smart kids these days are.
So I'll say, whichever works best but there should be a limit not to instill deep fear and come off as a liar.

---

pixabay

---

---

I'll like to invite @manuelhooks, @rejoice001, @imadear to read my entry and also share some of the lies they grew up believing.

---

Thank you for reading. Have a wonderful day!