Ever since I knew how to read and write at the age of three, I’ve always known myself to be a silent clever girl. My parents were shocked to see me reading the Holy Bible at age three. I knew how to observe and absorb knowledge like a sponge.
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My academic journey has always been a proof of my steady dedication and unrelenting passion for learning.
I rarely participated in class but you could see it in my result sheets and the way I interacted with my close peers. There was this level of maturity and it also reflected in my choice of games.
"Hey, how do you do it?" my High school friend and classmate, Salome asked me one day. "You're always so quiet in class, but your grades are always amazing."
I smiled and shrugged. "I just focus on my studies, I guess."
There was this incident that happened during my university days. We had a particular course where everyone felt that the course was so difficult. At the mention of this course, you could see the shivers from my course mates. I however wondered why everyone complained; maybe because I’ve always loved Economics as a subject since my high school days.
Everyone complained about how the lecturer found it difficult to explain comprehensively. Well I couldn’t attest to that since I rarely attended the class anyway.
"I don't know how we're supposed to pass this course," my friend, Ellarh, said, shaking her head. "The lecturer is always confusing us."
"I know, right?" I replied. "But I'm surely going to find my way around it. I'm going to find a way to understand it."
As a matter of fact, I rarely entered this class due to the amount of students studying that course; I mean, we had the whole faculty attending that class and why bother; since the lecturer didn’t even bother taking roll calls.
Second reason being that the seats were not enough to accommodate everyone and I couldn’t stand for long due to my weak bones.
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"You were not in class today," Ellarh said, as we sat in the library studying. "Don't you think you'll fall behind?" “You’ve been missing classes!”
"I'll be fine," I replied. "I'm studying on my own, and I'm making sure I understand everything."
I could hear my friends laughing at me one afternoon, describing the level of failure I would garner in that course.
They obviously looked at me like I was crazy.
"You're going to fail so badly," Ceejay joked. "You're not even attending classes."
I just laughed and told them to watch out. "I'll surprise you guys," I said.
I knew my weaknesses and I also knew my strengths. So I focused on my strengths which was time management and I did well to gather the past questions of this lecture from my seniors and did well to ask necessary questions too.
"Where did you get those past questions from?" Ellarh asked, as we studied together.
"I got them from our senior colleagues," I replied. "I've been studying them, and I think I have a good chance of passing."
Ellarh gave a surprising laugh. “Haven’t you heard that Dr. Bagshaw never repeats his questions?”
Dr. Bagshaw was the name of this lecturer.
I looked at Ellarh and shook my head.
The day of exam came and you can already guess the result. I answered all the questions and finished before half time.
"Wow, you're a genius!" Cejay exclaimed, as we walked out of the exam hall. "How did you do it?"
I smiled and shrugged. "I just studied hard, I guess."
I aced my papers with an A. The news spread like wildfire, and soon, everyone was talking about the "silent clever girl" who'd aced the exam.
"I knew you could do it," Ellarh said that evening, even though I knew she was just flattering me. "You're always so quiet and focused. We should have known better than to doubt you."
I just gave a proud smile. It’s Me anyway. Always proving people wrong.
This singular incident turned the minds of my friends and anytime I tell them I don’t understand a particular course. They’ll just laugh and tell me they know I’m bluffing.
"Come on, you're not fooling anyone," Ceejay said, grinning. "We know you're a genius."
Well that’s me, the silent clever girl.
Looking back, I realize that it taught me a valuable lesson. It taught me that with hard work, determination, and a bit of silence, I can achieve anything I set my mind to.
I’m still that silent clever girl, you know; observing, learning, and achieving my goals, one step at a time.