<p>One of my favourite artistes once said... "in life as in love, you need to remember, there's such a thing as trying too hard". Sometimes , life can go from smooth to rocky, or it could be love, but today, i'm not talking about love. I have seen too many people go through life with so much hardness. I completely understand that sometimes, you have to live like that to survive. As you live though, remember to live a little.
</p><p>My sweet uncle, though very unserious about his future told me one night-
</p><p>"When you know what's at stake, you have a different approach, a different attitude towards the things you do". I figured he had nothing at stake because he hit the bottle with a firm single mindedness, the next day harder than the day before. If you take his advice, life will seem a little more serious, in some cases, desperate, and you'll find yourself focused and ticking things off a full list.
</p><p>This is exactly how I felt when I Opened my eyes at 5:00 am today, to the shrill blast of my alarm. I screamed in my head, "I am still tired", but there I was, sitting up and getting ready to do my usual prayers. Of course, I managed to doze off four times in the 20 minutes it took me to pray. I am certain God understood. I tried those healthy stretch exercises and gave up on the third trial. I hoped I hadn't torn a ligament in my rib cage.
</p><p>Even as one leg hit the floor after the other, I could feel my whole self protesting the inconvenience of being asked, by no one in particular, to get up and be about.
</p><p>My plans kept kicking my ass all over my room in a very loud tantrum.
</p><p>Once the initial battle of getting up was won, everything seemed easier.
</p><p>Thinking about it now, i am certain that today was one of those days when I would have stayed in bed till evening, not minding that there was something called food - Now, there's another battle I'm constantly fighting. How did I not appreciate what my parents were doing for me till now?
</p><p>This adult does not eat until her last life bar is in red and blinking.
</p><p>Food, food, food!!! Please be my friend, so that I can call you up at any time with a flick of my wrist. That's the only way our relationship would improve.
</p><p>My father asked me, "Ada'm, do you eat to live or live to eat?" I smiled toothily like I always do with him and answered, "I eat to live". He chuckled, but I could see the pity for me in his eyes.
</p><p>I owe that man countless roses in his lifetime. He is the one person that knows how to get me to eat. He has my food "mumu button".
</p><p>Gently, he told me- "My daughter, don't be like me (he too does not eat a lot). Old age has made me reduce my eating, but you're young. You should eat very well now. Give your body all that it needs, so that you can be healthy always."
</p><p>Now, this is great advice to someone who doesn't see eating as a chore. Me? On some days, I want to completely cut the stomach off, but life is short.
</p><p>My mantra in life has always been to experience as much as i can. Believe me when i say it has gotten me into more problems than not. I am not stopping though. That is what all the fuss is about. When the day is done, what can we really hold on to? (I know you are single, so, i'm not asking about the who). Your experiences are gold. Live a little.
</p><p><br></p><p>Yesterday, like a fluke, i was scared of too much,
</p><p>What would it feel like to be unable to be touched, heart and mind?
</p><p>Unhealthy is the word that comes to mind all the time.
</p><p>I couldn't bear to not see all the corners i could call mine.
</p><p><br></p><p>Oh, how i love newness,
</p><p>To meet people, to make friends.
</p><p>Eat strange things and try even newer things.
</p><p>call on strange neighbours with that sweet pie in hand.
</p><p>would they throw me out or would i have made up for lost time.
</p><p>Beat up the street bully that calls my friend fat,
</p><p>oh, i'll be armed with a club and my cat ears to render a little mystique.
</p><p><br></p><p>You still think me strange, i know it,
</p><p>when you see the things i want to do, you'll think me mad.
</p><p>far from it my friend, i am just real.
</p><p>Its all on my bucket list,
</p><p>One day i'll show it to you .
</p><p>Those who have seen it think i am weird.
</p><p>I think its all normal, but who defines normal anyway?
</p><p>I just want to be happy, so happy and grateful,
</p><p>for the life I've made and the people who have graced it.</p><p>
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At the end of the month, we give out prizes in 3 categories: Best Content, Top Engagers and
Most Engaged Content.
Best Content
Top Engagers
Most Engaged Content
Best Content
We give out cash prizes to 7 people with the best insights in the past month. The 7 winners are picked
by an in-house selection process.
The winners are NOT picked from the leaderboards/rankings, we choose winners based on the quality, originality
and insightfulness of their content.
Top Engagers
For the Top Engagers Track, we award the top 3 people who engage the most with other user's content via
comments.
The winners are picked using the "Top Monthly Engagers" tab on the rankings page.
Most Engaged Content
The Most Engaged Content recognizes users whose content received the most engagement during the month.
We pick the top 3.
The winners are picked using the "Top Monthly Contributors" tab on the rankings page.
Here are a few other things to know for the Best Content track
1
Quality over Quantity — You stand a higher chance of winning by publishing a few really good insights across the entire month,
rather than a lot of low-quality, spammy posts.
2
Share original, authentic, and engaging content that clearly reflects your voice, thoughts, and opinions.
3
Avoid using AI to generate content—use it instead to correct grammar, improve flow, enhance structure, and boost clarity.
4
Explore audio content—high-quality audio insights can significantly boost your chances of standing out.
5
Use eye-catching cover images—if your content doesn't attract attention, it's less likely to be read or engaged with.
6
Share your content in your social circles to build engagement around it.
Contributor Rankings
The Rankings/Leaderboard shows the Top 20 contributors and engagers on TwoCents a monthly and all-time basis
— as well as the most active colleges (users attending/that attended those colleges)
The all-time contributors ranking is based on the Contributor Score, which is a measure of all the engagement and exposure a contributor's content receives.
The monthly contributors ranking tracks performance of a user's insights for the current month. The monthly and all-time scores are calcuated DIFFERENTLY.
This page also shows the top engagers on an all-time & monthly basis.
All-time Contributors
All-time Engagers
Top Monthly Contributors
Top Monthly Engagers
Most Active Colleges
Contributor Score
The all-time ranking is based on users' Contributor Score, which is a measure of all
the engagement and exposure a contributor's content receives.
Here is a list of metrics that are used to calcuate your contributor score, arranged from
the metric with the highest weighting, to the one with the lowest weighting.
1
Subscriptions received
2
Tips received
3
Comments (excluding replies)
4
Upvotes
5
Views
6
Number of insights published
Engagement Score
The All-time Engagers ranking is based on a user's Engagement Score — a measure of how much a
user engages with other users' content via comments and upvotes.
Here is a list of metrics that are used to calcuate the Engagement Score, arranged from
the metric with the highest weighting, to the one with the lowest weighting.
1
A user's comments (excluding replies & said user's comments on their own content)
2
A user's upvotes
Monthly Score
The Top Monthly Contributors ranking is a monthly metric indicating how users respond to your posts, not just how many you publish.
We look at three main things:
1
How strong your best post is —
Your highest-scoring post this month carries the most weight. One great post can take you far.
2
How consistent the engagement you receive is —
We also look at the average score of all your posts. If your work keeps getting good reactions, you get a boost.
3
How consistent the engagement you receive is —
Posting more helps — but only a little.
Extra posts give a small bonus that grows slowly, so quality always matters more than quantity.
In simple terms:
A great post beats many ignored posts
Consistently engaging posts beat one lucky hit
Spamming low-engagement posts won't help
Tips, comments, and upvotes from others matter most
This ranking is designed to reward
Thoughtful, high-quality posts
Real engagement from the community
Consistency over time — without punishing you for posting again
The Top Monthly Contributors leaderboard reflects what truly resonates, not just who posts the most.
Top Monthly Engagers
The Top Monthly Engagers ranking tracks the most active engagers on a monthly basis
Here is what we look at
1
A user's monthly comments (excluding replies & said user's comments on their own content)
2
A user's monthly upvotes
Most Active Colleges
The Most Active Colleges ranking is a list of the most active contributors on TwoCents, grouped by the
colleges/universities they attend(ed)
Here is what we look at
1
All insights posted by contributors that attended a particular school (at both undergraduate or postgraduate levels)
2
All comments posted by contributors that attended a particular school (at both undergraduate or postgraduate levels) —
excluding replies
Below is a list of badges on TwoCents and their designations.
Comments