High school was one of the most exciting seasons of my life. I would say it determined many things about who I am today. So seeing the prompt for the weekend engagement topics to involve this made me very excited. High school years are the years where adolescents build a foundation for how we turn out to be at the beginning of our adult journey. So deciding which kind of high school to attend is very important in shaping a child's future.
Academic Life
My high school was divided into junior and senior sections, each comprising three years. Coming from elementary school, I was one of the brightest students in my class, so I thought it would continue as such. I didn't put in extra effort initially, but upon realizing the need for more effort, I picked up. I would wake up at night to study extra because I hardly had time during the day after lessons. I would sneak to the library to read. My efforts were affected by my health, which caused me to stay away from school at various intervals. The junior high school system did not give us the opportunity to choose our disciplines, so we had to take courses we had no interest in. Senior high school gave me the opportunity, and I went to my area of interest. Of course, I did excellently, having A's with lesser effort. I was one of the best to perform in that discipline. The amazing thing was that I wasn't doing well in courses related to my discipline while in junior high school, but when I got the focus and concentration on it, I excelled.
Social Life
I was that girl who was an all-rounder, so I was active in the social sphere. I was popular because of how well I did in the drama club. I was so good at mimicking characters and enjoyed making drum sounds on the table or with instruments around me, remixing songs to align with school activities, especially when I was in junior high school. I was part of a singing group called "The Harmonizers," and I was a member who advanced to being an adviser in the press club. I had a clique of friends we addressed as "The We’s." It meant to us then that we are who we say we are.
Extracurricular Activities
Our academic sessions were divided into three terms. For the first term, we had the Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC), featuring competitions in solo singing, Bible reading, poem recitation, cultural dances, fashion parades, art exhibitions, choreography (small choir), and mass choir (large choir) singing. These competitions were held between four different groups, which we referred to as houses: Red (Curie), Blue (Keller), Yellow (Slessor), and Green (Nightingale). For the second term, we had games competitions featuring track (relay, marathons, etc.) and field (javelin, shot put, high and long jumps, etc.) games. For the third term, since we wrote our promotion exams, we only had football and basketball competitions but were free to engage in any of those games during the hours assigned to it. We had volleyball, table tennis, and badminton. This third term also had all our social nights for the various clubs. In some way, I had to be involved in all of it, though not as a participant. Being that I was the house captain of Red (Curie) House in my last year in school, I had to either participate or be there to motivate those participating as representatives of my house. These periods were the most exciting and memorable, and I can explain the whole process in detail. I specialized in long-distance races, javelin, and volleyball, which I still play today.
Personal Growth
Being in a boarding school taught me how to be independent and take care of myself without being told to. I learned to make everyday decisions for myself, stand up for myself, pick myself up, and keep moving. I learned to stand and address a large crowd and lead them towards a particular course. I was so shy until the day it was my turn to lead the morning assembly session and also present the news via the press club. To this day, I do well with public speaking as a result of that.
Leadership and Influence
As mentioned earlier, I was the captain of the Red House with over 150 students. Being that it was a boarding school, I was in charge of running the affairs in the hostel assigned to Red House. I had others to work with me, but we had the challenge of unity of command, so I had to prepare a roster for who takes charge and is on duty. I frowned a lot at bullying and had the opportunity to inspire others to see that having extra responsibilities outside studies is not a distraction but makes one take charge of their time and be the best at all of it.
Lessons Learned
I learned teamwork from having to work alongside other prefects, and time management as we had activities for every time. I learned to take care of the junior high school students and tolerate their excesses. I learned to discipline with care.
There is actually more to say about high school, but I'll stop here. Really, it was an experience I can never forget in a lifetime. Even when I went to the university, I could see how easy it was for me to tolerate a lot of things and manage my time and resources well. This time around, having nobody to watch over me. I'll tell every high school student to enjoy every bit of it. Don’t ignore bullying. I was bullied, and I didn’t enjoy it, so I made sure I didn’t allow it to happen to someone under my care in my possible way. I’m glad I had all those experiences.