For someone who had lived a comfortable life growing up, I thought everything was all rosy in the outside world. My first semester in the university was one I never want to experience in my life again.
For universities in the south where I come from, you could order food and other stuff online and it would be delivered to your doorstep in an instant. Poor me thought that was the same thing happening in the northern part of Ghana. As I was preparing to leave home for my first semester in school, my mom asked if I wouldn’t take cooking utensils along. I told her I’d just order food because I wouldn’t even have time to cook since I’d probably be busy and all of that. She told me to have it my way because she didn’t want to argue with me.
I went to campus and everything was different. I couldn’t believe my eyes because I didn’t expect to be greeted with something like that. The university wasn’t that big as those in the south and it was a bit secluded from the main town. Night came and I couldn’t order food so I stepped out to see if I could get some food. I came across a kenkey joint right at the junction and I decided to give it a try. For one, it didn’t taste like the usual kenkey in Accra and the pepper was more like tomato sauce.😂 I didn’t have a choice so I ate it that way. Believe me when I tell you I couldn’t sleep that night because I had a serious runny stomach.😂 The rest was history.
The days that followed weren’t easy on me as I didn’t have any utensils to cook and I also didn’t even know anyone to borrow from. Good being so good, my roommates arrived during the week. Two of them were continuing students and one was a first year student like myself. Funny enough, we were both in the same class with our IDs following each other. It was more like God brought us together.
We already met before and so meeting again wasn’t something new to us and we bonded so fast. I discovered one indomie joint so I had been eating from there most of the time. This roommate and friend of mine realised that and suggested we start cooking together so I can stop eating outside because she could see I didn’t like the food. We had the same schedule and we were a bit close at that time so I agreed.
Every week, we would contribute some amount of money and get foodstuff. We would cook together and eat everyday. I was more of a cooker so sometimes I would just tell her to rest so I do it. And that was how I was able to survive through my first semester in university. Even though I don’t say it enough, she saved my life during those days in school because I couldn’t see myself surviving on food from outside.
The next semester, no one told me to bring cooking utensils.😂😂 I knew better and so I came with a whole kitchen. But me getting my stuff didn’t stop us from eating together. We didn’t really have enough utensils then so I thought me bringing mine would help and it did.
Even when we moved to different hostels in our subsequent years, we were still eating together. Sometimes she would come to my end to eat and vice versa. Our hostels were really close so it wasn’t much of a problem. For someone reading, you wouldn’t fully understand how much she offering to eat with me from the same bowl helped me during those days but it did a lot.
Now, we have grown to be more like sisters because of one act of kindness towards me. This inspires me a lot to extend a helping hand to others, especially those in need because you never know how your help would impact their lives.
Anytime I walk out of my house, I make sure to help those in need in one way or the other. Whether it is helping carry their luggage, giving out money or goods or even just talking with them. It doesn’t take much to be kind to someone and no one ever died from being kind. As they say, what goes around, comes around and I know that this act of kindness from my friend and sister will soon be repaid to her in a million folds.
all images belong to me.
