Being alive and surviving takes a lot of effort and energy, Individual knowledge in most cases is not enough to survive in this chaotic world. going through daily activities filled with choices that determines the outcome of our future, filled with uncertainties and doubt, we drift among those choices till we eventually pick the one that is most suitable to the situation at hand.
As humans, after the careful deliberation on what to do and what we should not do we find ourselves in the mist of wrong choices, navigating life can be extremely challenging and difficult without the knowledge & wisdom of some individuals who are capable of lessening the burden of those uncertainties, which will reduce the possibilities of wrong choices.
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As a child, growing up was a little challenging, despite the fact that I lived with my parents throughout my primary school days, I was kind of lonely. My parents were business minded individuals and they care about me and my siblings as much as they could but they were never really around for long. As a result of this, I had to force myself to start navigating my life by myself and making tough choices especially when they are not around. I had an elder brother but he left for boarding school while I was still in primary 3, which made things a lot worse, he was the only elder figure I could have relied on.
Instead of discussing with others about my needs or seek other peoples' knowledge & wisdom before making decisions, I prefer to keep things to myself and decide on my own, After all I felt I was more than capable of making my own choices. It became worse after I graduated from primary school and decided to join my brother at boarding school for my secondary school education.
The reality of boarding school is more chaotic than what people believe it to be but as a hot headed kid I knew how to deal with bullies, I was intelligent and I knew how to make use of my knowledge for my own needs. I was cunny and dubious when needed. as I grew older I became very dependent on my own knowledge without caring about anyone opinion or perspective because as that point my confidence in the capabilities of my instinct was extraordinary.
After I graduated from secondary school, the first WAEC exam I did, I failed literature which hindered me from getting admission that year though I passed jamb but it was of no use without O'Level result, on getting back from boarding school, my late maternal grandmother was staying with us. She comes and goes once in awhile before I left for boarding school but this time, she was staying with us fully.
The following year I took NECO I passed, that year I scored 280 in jamb, I was aiming for UNILAG then to study mass communication but I was not given admission, I was offered leisure and tourism at yabatech and Gateway Polytechnic offered me mass communication but what I wanted was UNILAG. I was willing to forfeit my jamb score for that year because I believed I could do better, at least I know better. moreover at that time we youths were really hyped about getting admission into school like UNILAG, to us it is like a dream come true.
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My parents could not convince me otherwise, so my grandmother stepped in, she didn't know much about Nigeria educational system but she knows a lot about life. She called me into her room, from my grumbled face she could sense that I already knew what she wants to talk about. She started with Yoruba praise poem to ease the tension in the room a little because she knows how determined and stubborn I could be whenever I sety mind on something.
Though I knew it will be extremely difficult for me to refuse her request but her words were more appealing than the request. out of every thing she said the part that got to me the most was when she said "school is a place to acquire knowledge, it doesn't matter which school but what matters is how you make use of the knowledge acquired to achieve your goals and objectives" she added, when you are successful, no one will ask you which school did you attend but all they want to know is "how you became successful"
After our conversation, I thought about all she said, then it struck me how sure am I about getting admitted next year? because the truth is Nigeria exams are unpredictable. Well I took her advice and accepted the admission I was offered in gateway Polytechnic. I was not too happy about it but it felt the best choice for me at the moment.
The following year, my junior brother took his common entrance exam for admission into JSS1 which cost a significant amount of money, my elder brother was doing his final year project and my dad had some complications in his business and work place, so things was kind of tight and rough that year. if I had waited for another year, even if I was offered admission in UNILAG, my dad won't be able to afford the acceptance fee, accommodation and other school expenses. which means I will have to wait for another year. I guess after I realised that her advice worked I became more tolerant in accepting other peoples' opinion.
When I was about to write my National diploma final semester exam my grandmother died, it was quite painful but her advised saved my educational pursuit, if not for her, I would have waited two extra years at home. glory be to God I have also completed my Higher national diploma last year and currently preparing for service, it is quite sad that she is no longer here to witness how fruitful her advice has been, regardless I will be forever grateful for her advice.
This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled "Ripple through time" in hive learners community.
