Life is just like green tea lemonade...

Ok, so this is not a Starbucks commercial…although, Starbucks should make me a shareholder because I’m pretty sure the amount of green tea lemonade I have had should be illegal. So back to the point, before you right me off, let me make my case.

From research, I have gathered that green-tea lemonade contains hot water, ice, sugar, lemon and of course, green-tea. Each ingredient has its own value and significance, its own addition to its rich blend and taste. All the ingredients are metaphors for life experiences.

Starting with the sugar, as we all know, is sweet, therefore it represents all the good experiences we have in life. Good experiences being joy and happiness and they are to be remembered and cherished especially because they are what will help one survive and make it through all the bad experiences. Next, there is hot water, which represents trouble and stressful situations. As a first-year university student, I have the tendency to dwell on such. This is a very important aspect of life because everyone finds themselves in stressful situations at one point or the other. For me, it is mostly school related but for those a bit older than I am, it could be a very heavy work load, insanely long working hours, difficult co-workers or a mean boss. Whatever they are, the significance of the situations is not the situations themselves but noticing the silver-lining and looking at each of them as learning experiences. Attitude is key element in life, it is what makes the difference, it is what gives one an edge.

The next ingredient in green-tea is lemon; it adds a sour and tangy element and quality to the whole drink. In life, these are experiences that start out wonderful but end very poorly. Therefore, this is an important lesson to learn, in that we should never take any good experience we have for granted, we should be appreciative and realize that it is a right not a privilege. There is a popular saying that goes “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade”. This saying has two very significant implications, first, is the fact this saying acknowledges the fact that experiences like this are inevitable, because it says “when” not “if”. The second significance, which is more important, is the fact that it encourages us not to dwell on the disappointment but to pick up the pieces and find a way to make the best out of the situation.

Ice is one of the last ingredients to be added to the mixture. It is added to neutralize the effect of the hot water. In life, this is the calm after the storm of a stressful situation or more generally, these are the situations that make us at peace. These are the situations that we look forward to, the good grade after studying really hard, the bonus after putting in long hours in the office, the relief after paying off your mortgage. For some people, the calm is not just something they feel after a stressful situation, it is a way of life for them. For example, some people feel this calmness and tranquility from their religion. As a Christian, this is very valid for me, my religion gives me peace and it centers me, it makes me choose to feel at peace no matter what the situation is. Due to life being the way it is, not having a constant phenomenon that calms you means that you actually only get a very limited amount of time to feel at peace. Ice, even though it has a cooling, calming effect, if left too long, it can melt and end up taking away from the taste of the green tea lemonade. Metaphorically, this means that in life, if we dwell on the calm after the storm and not prepare for the next storm, we would likely be caught unawares and the next storm will be able to do more harm than it should be able too. Also, leaving the ice too long gives rise to mediocrity. For example, if a young woman realizes she wants to be promoted and she puts in the effort, and she eventually gets promoted, there is a temptation for her to rest on her oars. Resting is not a bad thing but waiting too long can result in her giving in substandard work in the end and being stagnant. Being at the beginning of the ladder and working your way up is better than being at the top and just staying there because those who work will meet up with you and continue to move up by creating new heights for themselves, while you remain stagnant and barren. This is why depending on religion for peace is a good strategy because the peace is constant, and the teachings discourage mediocrity in any area of life.

Finally, the main ingredient of green tea lemonade, which is the green tea, it is popular for its many benefits but it is also known for its very, very, very bitter taste. Green tea has a number of benefits which include; prevention of heart diseases, weight imbalances, asthma, allergies and immunity. Therefore, as a result of its numerous benefits, people are willing to overlook the horrible taste. Green tea represents bitter, horrible experiences that we go through in life. Just as people are willing to drink green tea for its benefits, therefore, as difficult as it will sometimes be, people should have this attitude towards life. This is because they are perfect as learning experiences. Bitter experiences, like green tea, protect one from making the mistake that led them there in the first place. Also, it helps one to step back and re-evaluate our choices. Having experienced something horrible, one would be less susceptible to be affected physically or emotionally by less traumatic events. If the bitter experience was inevitable, like say, the death of a loved one, it would help someone discover their inner strength. Sometimes, it helps people discover good qualities they possess, like the example of losing someone in the family, in such situations, the person who unifies everyone and emerges a leader is more often than not, not the person everyone would expect it to be.

Green tea lemonade to Starbucks is like us, human beings to God. This is because, just as Starbucks gives its customers the chance to order green tea lemonade the way they want it, God gives everyone the chance to “order” what they want out of life. Personally, I order mine with an insane amount of sugar and that’s the way I recommend everyone to have green-tea lemonade and experience life. If you do not seem to have good experiences, make them! Make every experience good, no matter how it starts out. Also, according to Starbucks’ policy if you taste the drink and it is not what you wanted, you get the chance to make changes to what you originally ordered. In life, if we make a choice we regret, we have a chance to make different choices and get the result we wanted in the first place.

Green tea lemonade is reflective of the garbage-in-garbage-out theory. It is what you order that get, therefore accountability is not a choice it is a necessity. In as much as one can return their order and get a new one, they have to go back and ask for an exchange. Therefore, going back and asking for an exchange makes one accountable for the bad decision they may have made. They cannot blame the undesirable outcome on anybody else but themselves. Starbucks serves green tea lemonade in a transparent cup of different sizes. This is reflective of the fact that how you chose to live your life is your own decision but you cannot hide your decision from anyone. The results of your choices and actions may not be visible immediately but they will be. Also, the fact that Starbucks serves green tea lemonade in cups of different sizes proves that you decide how much of life you chose to take advantage of.

Whew! Who knew that a drink would have such similar symbolic significance with life .  So I’m not going crazy, life is just like green tea lemonade.

IT’S YOUR FAULT!!!

A wise man……or woman once said “the first stage of fixing a mistake or a problem is admitting you are wrong”. This basically summarizes accountability. Accountability can be further described as the act of taking responsibility for something or someone. Accountability does not only count when the outcome of whatever one is responsible for is positive, as a matter of fact it is more important when there is a negative outcome.

Unfortunately, in our society today there is a lack of accountability, and what is worse is the fact that it begins at a very tender age. The society has deemed it acceptable to shift blame or total deny any involvement with the situation in question. A typical example is that of a child who is caught red-handed doing something wrong but still denies it. It may seem hilarious or trivial to the parents but if they don’t correct him, he would think it is acceptable behavior and he will do much worse when he is older. Nowadays, people are too comfortable in their lack of responsibility and this had enabled it to spread across all age groups and social circles.

For example, an eighteen year old in high school applies to an ivy-league university like Columbia University and he does not get accepted. Obviously he will experience a whirlwind of emotions but his first will probably be to blame his college counselor for being ineffective or the university itself for setting their requirements unreasonably high. If he was accountable, he would have blamed himself immediately because in reality, he is the only one to blame. He could have planned earlier and put a strategy in pace, he could have studied more and sacrificed some of his time with friends to research deeper into the admission process of the university amongst a million other things.

The impression in society is that once one grows up, he is automatically more accountable because he is older and hence more mature after having a few life experiences but this is far from reality. A graduate in her mid twenties who goes for an interview looking like a scruffy mess and unable to answer questions without stuttering is obviously not going to secure the job. However when she is does not get a call back, she throws a tantrum and says things like “that job was not right for me” or “I didn’t like those people anyway, they are too snobbish” or “it was just not the right time for me”. Meanwhile, she could just admit that she could have presented herself in a better way. This is a very common problem and it is probably why many people are still unemployed. Do not get me wrong, there are sometimes when the job is not right or the people are snobbish or the time is not right. However, it becomes a problem and an obstacle when people hide behind these assertions to shift blame and not take responsibility for their issues.

In Nigeria for example, when a person cannot seem to secure employment he makes plans to start a business because he has needs to meet, probably not only his. For example, a person in this situation, in his early thirties has started a business and has been running it for a couple of years. If he experiences a few bad business years, he blames the unfavorable economy or his family for putting too much pressure on him or his workers for being incompetent. He blames everyone and everything around him except himself, the obvious cause of the problem. At this age, it is really sad that a person will still lack accountability but it happens more often than you would think. It is probably because he is so used to blaming other people that it never occurs to him to take responsibility for his own problems. Even though this it is very bad if someone is still not accountable at this age, it is still not too late to start being accountable.

I am not sure I can say that for the people who are still not accountable for their actions when they are over 40. This is because if they cannot be accountable for their own actions, then the possibility of them taking responsibility for the actions of their children is very slim. By this time, they have children old enough to do wrong things. Since they themselves are still not accountable, rather than discipline their children, they will blame it on the victims, which doesn't make them witty, it just makes them look like unfit parents.

A man in his fifties who suffers from heart failure is very unlikely to blame his poor eating habits. He is most likely going to blame his “troublesome” wife for nagging him up to the point that he suffers heart failure. This is a pity because most times, it ends up being the wife’s fault, whether it is because she nags a lot or the food she is preparing for him is unhealthy. It is unfortunate for the man because if he has a son, he will grow up and treat his wife the same way. Worse still, if he has a daughter, she will think it is acceptable to be treated that way. 

As a Christian, the story of accountability that comes to mind is the parable of the talents. In the Bible, Jesus told the parable of the talents where he summoned three men, he gave one five, the second own two and the last one talent. After a period of time, he summoned the three men again to give accounts to him of what they had done with their talents. The first and second men had used their talents effectively, so they were given double of what they already had but the last man buried his own talent, so it was taken from him and he was punished accordingly.

We need to start taking responsibility for our actions and what happens in our lives. After all our lives are our own and no one else has power to control it, except of course we give it to them. So the next time something unpleasant happens to you, PAUSE….and reflect before blaming someone else because chances are …. IT’S YOUR FAULT!!!!!

Green tea lemonade: Hi,I'm new at this so its not going to be perfect...

Green tea lemonade: Hi,
I'm new at this so its not going to be perfect...: Hi, I'm new at this so its not going to be perfect for a while but I'd try. I just want a chance to be brutally honest and speak my mind.

Hi,
I'm new at this so its not going to be perfect for a while but I'd try. I'm not hoping to make a career out of this, I just wanted an outlet. So, here it is, brutally honest me!