She is rude, uncouth, irritating and a bad companion. She hates everyone just as she is hated by everyone she associates or come into contact with.
She grew up unwanted and uncared for because her parents fell apart and had to be nurtured by a stepmother that couldn't care less whether she lived or died.
Her father who was, by nature, a loner, never bothered to bring her close to him nor show her any love. And she was never close to her mother who was married to another man.
Consequently, she grew up not knowing how to be a well mannered person, not knowing how to behave appropriately when dealing with people.
Conversely, she is brilliant and hardworking. She graduated with a second class upper division and is now undertaking a second degree.
This sums up the story of a poor girl who's a friend of one of my daughters. I couldn't sleep very well last night when my daughter narrated her story to me. I was sad and moved with pity for the poor girl.
They attended a training organised by the NGO that engaged them for a particular project in which she came out tops at the end of the training.
It was while they were chatting with my daughter that she broke down and started crying...my daughter consoled her and it all came out.
She told my daughter that she envied her for the care her parents were showing her. She had noticed how we kept on calling to find out how the course was, how my wife and I visited to find out how the programme was progressing. In her own case, no one called her... and early in the morning when she was ready to leave home for the venue, no one bade her farewell, no one cared to know even where the venue was. Instead, she was only warned to be careful not to wake everyone in the house while leaving.
Not that her parents are illiterates or ignorant people. On the contrary, her father is a retired civil servant and a former lecturer with a Master's degree, while her mother, who is divorced from her father is a qualified nurse.
Such a pity that an individual has been psychologically destroyed by a broken home. Her only hope is to marry a kind hearted and understanding husband.
Parents should be careful not to push their children to such extremes. Show your children love... you have no idea how little caring gestures would go a long way in stabilising them emotionally...