Curfew-Students who are on holiday share in my distress over the use of this word. I get very sad at the thought of having to leave everyone at a party or hangout just because I’m afraid I won’t be able to beat curfew and risk getting into trouble.

For many people just like me that have tasted the wrath of an overly protective parent, you know first-hand that it is not fun, not one bit! I never like to assume that everyone has experienced certain things, so allow me to explain for those of our dear friends that haven’t encountered this.

You know you’ve got curfew when your heart pumps faster after you see a call from mum, the rate doubles as you realise that it is a little over 5:00 pm and it was your last warning but you got carried away by all the story telling that you forgot to check the time.

You start to come up with as many stories as you can, to patch up this lie of yours. I call this story building since at this point you are as creative as can be. Your friend advises you not to pick the phone call suggesting that then mom will think you are on a "moto” heading home. You take her advice as you rush out to grab the nearest means of transport.

If you said your morning prayers, a moto will appear from nowhere but in case you didn’t, you start to weigh the different ‘progies’ you have within the week that you can afford to trade just to show how apologetic you are.

On the ‘ride’ home you revise your intro carefully while quietly praying that she is convinced by your story. You even contemplate buying something to appease her like a snack maybe, just to divert her attention. On arriving at the gate you softly whisper to inquire  whether mom is home – that is if you can’t see her car parked in the front yard, if she is not home you sigh with relief and thank the lucky stars for your life.

If she is, which she most likely is, you once again resume praying that she is not in a bad mood, with your revised intro you proceed to quietly enter the house. I may have left out the part where every single time you need to have a different alibi. So aside from the fact that we curfew-bound kids are naturally smart, we also learn how to be creative. This however is not always fun especially because your parents are never persuaded by your made up story.

Now imagine someone thinking about this every time they are with friends, the tension alone is enough to keep a person from enjoying time with friends. Those people you see constantly checking the time and leaving events earlier than everyone else are not boring or aren’t having as much fun as the rest of you are. They are just people who know what it means to have curfew and trying to abide by the rules even at the expense of being labelled boring.

However mean and sad this may all sound, curfew isn’t an entirely a bad idea. In most cases it is a loving parent trying to keep his/her child away from the bad wolves of this world and for many others it’s just to help their children to stay clear of bad company. There are times you would look back and thank God that you did not hangout with a certain crowd besides that, staying out late is never a good idea especially if you are a girl.

Nonetheless we are sometimes blinded by what we think we are missing out on that we get carried away and get overwhelmed by the idea of having curfew. Having curfew also means you get to spend a lot of time with family where you are safe.

One of my biggest dilemmas is parents who think that by locking your daughter in doors will stir her clear of bad company. Chances are they have already encountered the said bad guys. I believe the best way to deal with this is by building trust with the young lady. Empower her and remind her that the choices she makes will be her own and whether good or bad they have results.

This may work for some and not work for others, either way like it or not there will come a time you would have to let them out of the nest and it is upon that trust that you have built that she will thrive.

Just to be clear here I am not saying that people should disobey the curfew put in place by their parents, respecting your parents is a commandment from God. I just think young people should know why parents put such rules in place because they have your best interest at heart.

For our loving parents we just thought you should know that it is often hectic to uphold the standards that you want and we aren’t always up to no good, sometimes we are doing things that can help us or elevate us in one way or the other.

We also think that trusting us with our own future will do a lot more than you may think. Just saying.

The author is a student of University of Rwanda’s College of Science and Technology