As the year is swiftly drawing to a close and we only have a few days left in 2024, memories of the events of the whole year are coming back to me one by one. This year was a rollercoaster and I feel that a lot of things that happened to me that I didn't have any hand in causing them to happen, happened for the plot. Life was just hitting me with different things back to back, trying to build me into a tough soldier and I am grateful for the lessons learnt but I could have learned the easier and softer way, you know.
But, such is life.
Though there were a lot of obstacles, there were also successes to be celebrated. Each obstacle and success made the whole experience memorable. There is one experience that I had this year which is not one I am going to forget for a while.
In the first semester of the previous session, we were taking an introductory course in mathematics and seeing as my major has nothing to do with mathematics, it came as a shock. My class also had to take two courses in computer science and we found out that the school management was trying to ensure that students get an idea of some courses unrelated to their field of study.
The lecturer that taught us mathematics was a very fun teacher. He taught us really well and he would take extra time to explain each topic so that we'd understand. And once again, I was faced with one of my biggest fears that I thought I had escaped from after secondary school.
Throughout the semester before exams began I was in a constant state of worry, though I never let it show because a lot of factors surrounding that course caused me to worry. Firstly, it was a joint class meaning that the lecturer never taught just our class and so there was quite the population and this will surely be a problem on the day of examination and because of this factor, lecturers tend to lose sympathy for the students and they become really wild. The nice person that taught in class during normal days of the semester will not be the same nice person on the day of examination.
I really prayed to have a smooth experience on the day we'd write mathematics because it was really important to me that I pass the exam on the first attempt.
Fast forward to the day of mathematics examination which also happened to be my birthday and as predicted, it was chaotic.
The population doubled due to the surprising number of students rewriting the course and as expected, the lecturer and his band of invigilators were harsh on everyone and they were unnecessarily rude and they punished a lot of innocent students for nothing and one invigilator tried to send me out because I forgot my ID card but her plan did not succeed.
During the exam, we were rushed for no reason in particular and I was unable to finish. The environment was not conducive at all and my brain was scrambled and when the lecturer took my script even when I was still writing, I began to panic internally.
It was a horrible experience for everyone and I already accepted the fact that I was going to write the course again because I wasn't even sure I answered the questions correctly in my scattered frame of mind and because of how the exam went I was so sad and I was unable to enjoy my birthday.
At the beginning of the second semester the results were released and I passed the exam excellently. I really couldn't believe my eyes. I really answered the questions correctly after all and inspite of my state of mind that day. Seeing my results helped to restore my depleted self esteem and the joy I lost on my birthday was restored.
Thinking back now, I can only laugh because once again, mathematics, my old enemy, gave me a good scare. And once again, I said “Goodbye”, hopefully forever this time.
Season's greetings! 🎄✨
Image is mine...