The Diary Game | Morning Sun, Love Yourz & A Champions League Thriller That Had No Chill - 28/04/2026
Hello hello my wonderful Steemit family! It's your friend @praizclassic01 back again with another diary entry. Today was technically a lecture free day for me — there was an elective class but it wasn't mine — so the day had a different kind of energy to it. Quiet in some moments, eventful in others. And tonight? Pure football madness. Let's get into it!
I woke up this morning feeling off. A bit moody, a little unwell — the kind of feeling where you're not sick enough to stay in bed but not well enough to feel okay either.
I remembered reading somewhere that morning sunlight genuinely helps with mood — something about how natural light triggers the body to regulate itself better. So instead of just lying there, I got up and went outside.
Out here soaking in the morning sun — free therapy
I sat down, let the sun hit my skin and just breathed for a bit. No phone, no noise. Just the morning.
And then something happened that I wasn't expecting at all.
Remember the boots situation I've been mentioning since Sunday? The guy I exchanged boots with on the football field, whose name I didn't even know, whose room I couldn't find?
Well — sitting outside under that morning sun, I saw him.
And when we talked, I understood immediately why I couldn't find him. It had nothing to do with wrong directions or mistaken room numbers. Since that Saturday we played, he had picked up a knee bone injury during the game — serious enough that he had to be taken to the hospital for treatment. He had been away receiving care and had only just returned the previous night.
I felt genuinely bad for even being frustrated about the boots. The man was injured and in the hospital while I was walking around looking for him.
I sympathised with him, wished him a quick recovery and we spoke briefly. The boots will come back — that wasn't even the conversation anymore.
And here's what struck me about the whole thing — if I hadn't woken up feeling the way I did, I wouldn't have gone outside. If I hadn't gone outside to sit under the sun, I wouldn't have seen him. I wouldn't have known what happened. I'd have continued thinking whatever I was thinking.
Sometimes the thing that feels like an inconvenience in the morning is actually steering you exactly where you need to be.
Got back inside, brushed, went downstairs to fetch water and had my bath. Then prepared breakfast.
I had made sauce the previous day so there wasn't much to do — just parboiled spaghetti and ate it with the leftover sauce. Quick, easy and satisfying.
Yesterday's sauce doing work today — never waste good food
Now this had the whole room going.
Two of my roommates had gotten into one of those classic guy arguments — who cooks better. You know how it goes. Chest-pounding, confidence, the whole show.
So one of them decided to prove his point and cook jollof rice.
What came out of that pot was not jollof rice. It was pink rice. Not red. Not orange. Pink.
The "jollof rice" in question — I will say no more
After all the noise he had made, the room had a lot to say. The banter was something else. This is hostel life — one moment someone is declaring themselves a master chef and the next their pot is evidence against them.
After the morning banter settled, those who had class left, others went about their day and the room became quiet. Genuinely quiet — the kind you rarely get in a hostel.
I put my earbuds in and let the music play.
And then Love Yourz by J. Cole came on.
Every single time this song plays, it does something to me. I sat there and listened — really listened — and I thought about how important this message is. Not just for me, but for everyone. So I want to share it with you all today.
Love Yourz — A Message We All Need To Hear
If you know J. Cole, you already know he doesn't just make music — he makes mirrors. Songs that make you stop, look at yourself and think. And of all the records he has ever put out, one has always stayed with me more than the rest.
"Love Yourz."
Released on his 2014 album 2014 Forest Hills Drive, Love Yourz is not a loud song. There's no big beat drop, no flashy production. Just Cole over a soft, soulful instrumental — talking directly to you.
And the message?
No such thing as a life that's better than yours.
That one line. That's the whole song. That's the whole point.
What It's Really About
At the surface, Love Yourz sounds like a simple motivational record. But sit with it a little longer and you realize it's something much deeper.
Cole talks about how we spend so much of our lives chasing — chasing money, chasing status, chasing the version of life we see other people living. We scroll through what others have, where others are going, what others are doing — and quietly, without even realizing it, we begin to feel like our own life is not enough.
And that feeling — that constant comparison — is one of the most dangerous things a person can carry.
Because here's what comparison does: it robs you of the ability to appreciate what is already in front of you. It makes your blessings feel ordinary. It makes your progress feel small. It makes your life — which is genuinely full of things worth being grateful for — feel somehow less than someone else's highlight reel.
No Life Is Perfect — Not Even The One You're Envying
We look at people who seem to have it all and think, if only I had that, everything would be fine. But Cole reminds us that behind every life that looks perfect from the outside, there are struggles, fears, losses and pain that nobody is posting about.
The person you're envying has their own version of your problems. Different shape, different size — but problems all the same. Nobody escapes this. Not the wealthy. Not the famous. Not the person whose life looks like everything you want yours to be.
So the question stops being "why can't my life be like theirs?" and starts being "what am I missing in my own life because I keep looking at someone else's?"
The Lesson
Gratitude is not a feeling that arrives automatically when things get better. It is a choice — a daily, deliberate decision to look at your life and find what is good in it, even when things are hard.
The morning sun that lifted your mood.
The roommate who comes downstairs to help without being asked.
The leftover sauce that made breakfast easy.
The quiet room that gave you a moment to breathe.
The small things that are yours.
No such thing as a life that's better than yours.
Not because your life is perfect. But because it is the only life you have — and there is beauty in it, if you choose to look.
J. Cole — 2014 Forest Hills Drive. Love Yourz lives on this album.
After the music, I picked up my book again. I'm currently reading "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill and I'm already halfway through it. Every chapter has something worth underlining.
For those who haven't read it, here's a quick summary of the first three chapters:
Chapter 1 — The Power of Thought & Desire
Napoleon Hill opens by establishing the foundation of the entire book — that everything begins in the mind. He introduces the idea that a burning, obsessive desire for a specific goal is the starting point of all achievement. Not a wish. Not a hope. A burning desire. He uses the story of Edwin Barnes, who desired to work with Thomas Edison so badly that he made it happen despite having nothing to offer at first. The lesson: decide exactly what you want, and pursue it with everything you have.
Chapter 2 — Faith
Hill talks about faith not in a purely religious sense but as a state of mind — a deep, unshakeable belief in yourself and your goal. He argues that faith can be developed and strengthened deliberately through repetition of thought and affirmation. When you truly believe something is possible for you, your mind begins to find ways to make it real. Doubt, on the other hand, is the enemy of achievement.
Chapter 3 — Auto-Suggestion
This chapter introduces the idea that what you repeatedly tell yourself — consciously or unconsciously — shapes your reality. Hill explains how to use deliberate self-suggestion to program your mind toward your goals. By consistently feeding your subconscious mind with positive, goal-oriented thoughts, you begin to attract the ideas, people and opportunities that align with what you want.
Three chapters in and already the book is making you examine how you think, what you believe and what you're telling yourself daily. If you haven't read it, add it to your list.
Currently reading — Think and Grow Rich. Halfway through and already taking notes
Later in the day I strolled to the field. The 100 level team from my department had a match and I went out to watch them play.
The 100 level departmental team in action
Good to see the younger ones getting their game time. That energy on the field reminded me of why I love football so much — it brings people together in a way very few things can.
Champions League Semi Final — PSG vs Bayern Munich
Now. THIS. MATCH.
I got back, had my bath, got comfortable and settled in to watch the Champions League Semi Final first leg between PSG and Bayern Munich.
I have to be honest — I went through a lot watching this one. The network was terrible. I kept moving around, changing seats, changing positions, doing everything short of climbing out the window trying to get a stable connection. But nothing was going to make me miss this game. And it was worth every bit of the struggle.
Because what happened in that match was nothing short of extraordinary.
9 goals. NINE.
This game had absolutely no chill from the first whistle to the last.
Bayern drew first blood early — going ahead in the 17th minute. PSG responded quickly and levelled things up at 24 minutes. Then PSG took the lead at 33 minutes. Bayern equalized again just before halftime at 41 minutes — making it 2-2 at the break. But PSG struck right on the stroke of halftime at 45 minutes to go into the dressing room leading 3-2.
If you thought the first half was wild, the second half was something else entirely.
PSG came out and scored twice in two minutes — goals at 56' and 58' — to make it a staggering 5-2. It looked like it was over. Bayern were being torn apart.
And then Bayern Munich did what Bayern Munich do.
They came back.
65 minutes — Bayern pulled one back. 5-3.
68 minutes — another one. 5-4.
Two goals in three minutes. Suddenly the game was alive again and PSG were hanging on for dear life. The last twenty minutes were pure tension — Bayern pushing, PSG defending, the ball flying from end to end.
Final score: PSG 5 — Bayern Munich 4.
The final scoreline — 9 goals, pure madness from start to finish
By the numbers:
- Bayern had 54% possession and 7 shots on target — more than PSG
- PSG had 6 shots on target and were brutally clinical
- Bayern had 5 corner kicks and kept pressing but couldn't find the equaliser
- PSG picked up 3 yellow cards in what was a fiercely contested match
The second leg is still to come and Bayern go into it needing to overturn a one goal deficit. With the way both teams played tonight, that second leg is going to be something special.
What a day it turned out to be.
I woke up moody, went to sit under the sun and ended up finding closure on the boots mystery. Had a quiet afternoon with good music, a great book and lessons worth sharing. Watched my department's 100 level boys play. And ended the night watching one of the most entertaining football matches I've seen in a long time — even if my network had other ideas
J. Cole said it best — no such thing as a life that's better than yours. Today, even in its small quiet moments, reminded me exactly why that's true.
I hope your day was a good one. Rest well, stay grateful and I'll see you in the next entry. Goodnight!
Upvoted! Thank you for supporting witness @jswit.