I still recall the first time I met her. It was in Lagos, just outside our school, I was a young girl in secondary school then, I had so much dreams that stretched far beyond the dusty classroom windows.
Every break time, the smell of freshly made jollof rice, with rice and stew and fried plantains would drift toward the road. There were two food sellers in my school and she was one of them. She was always dishing out food when I see her, always with a quiet and humble smile, really beautiful too.
She looked really different from the others I've met. There was this calmness, a poise in the way she does everything, as if she didn't belong there, but somehow made it her own.
One day I went to buy my normal, 100 rice with 20 Naira meat as was sold that Year, I asked, "Aunty, na u dey always cook this food?"
She smiled, "Yes, it's me o."
Then I went on to complement her, "You Sabi cook o, your food dey sweet well well"
She gave me the calm beautiful smile as always and thanked me for the compliment . Then we became friends from then on.
The friendship led to deeper conversations, we were talking about my grades and all school stuff, the more I conversed with her, the more I realized how Intelligent she was.
So one day I decided to ask her how she knew all of those things about the different school subjects, the problems and solutions.
“I’m actually a graduate,” she said one day, quietly.
I blinked. “Graduate? Like university?”
“Yes. First class from one of the federal universities.”
I stood dumfounded for a while trying to connect how a graduate who graduated first class can be a roadside/school food seller. A first-class graduate who sells food under the sun outside a secondary school didn't just make any sense.
She must have seen how confused I looked.
So she added, "it's not easy, I've submitted my CVs everywhere for over a year now. Nothing. I came to Lagos here to stay with my cousin and this is how I'm trying to make ends meet. I want to learn a skill, maybe tailoring or hairdressing, anything that can help me stand in my own. I know I can cook well, but it's not enough for me to get by"
That day really changed something in me.
I was walking home in very deep thought. I couldn't shake the image of her, she was brilliant, determined and still forced to hustle because the country has only offered her disappointment after all the years she spent in school.
It made me question everything. I didn’t come from a rich family. University was a dream, yes, but a very expensive one.
So I knew I had to make a few priority changes. I made a decision.
I told myself: If I learn a trade now I'll always have something to fall back on. Whether I make it to the uni or not, I'll still be able to support myself. And if I eventually register myself in University, I won't have to depend on someone to feed or pay my school bills. My skill will take care of me, even in the school.
So I learned how to make clothes. It took some time, but slowly and patiently. I wasn't the best at it, or the fastest but I kept going. And over time I started making clothes for people in my areas and I keep getting work to do unexpectedly.
That food seller, she inspired me. She taught me more than any classroom could. I learnt from her that it's not just about getting a degree, it's about being ready for the real world, with or without a certificate.
Today yes I'm still sewing, I'm still making ends meet with the little I know and I'm really proud of myself, a lot more people are too. I'm proud that I didn't wait for life to hand me the success but worked for it with my hands.
And maybe, one day, I might decide to still go to the university. But this time, I’ll be going with a plan. A backup plan, A skill that keeps feeding me, even when society shuts the door.
I'm so happy for the choices I've been making so far, especially my decisions to learn a skill to make ends meet!
