SC-S29/W2- Nostalgia Of The Liitle Me : My School Days

Anytime I sit down and reflect on my school days, I'd just laugh and ask myself, Did I go through all these? On a Monday morning, I left my house as early as 5 AM to attend a 7 AM lecture, but on getting there, the hall was filled with people. I stood outside. How? I was even thinking I would be the first since I was early enough. Were people sleeping in school? I even tore my shirt while struggling to mark attendance. "The struggles..."

When I sit back and remember these moments, I tend to learn a lot of things and wish I had the opportunity to redo my school days.

I thank the contest host for giving me enough categories to express myself. I'm a testament to school passing through me and me in school. Starting with the day I will never forget.

• The day I'll never forget: I had a lot of these days, but I'll mention one prominent one. As a fresher in the university, I was skeptical about a lot of things, including people. They usually tell me how rough the university is and why it's necessary to lay low. Here with me was my Infinix Smart 5 Pro, one of the best phones then. I don't usually take it out so that people won't know or think I have money.

I usually put it inside my large bag and then bring it out in secret to use without notice. I even covered the back camera with a piece of paper. One day in the laboratory while trying to carry out an experiment in the lab, my phone was inside my bag, and my bag was where everyone kept their bags. I don't even know what told me to remove my phone and use it as a calculator because no one wanted to give me one at that moment.

5 minutes after removing the phone and calculating what I wanted to calculate, the lecturer stopped us from writing. I took my script with my phone to submit in front of the class. On walking back to the class where my bag was, I couldn't find it again, and it was only my bag that was missing. I wept in my heart. What if my phone was inside?

How would I cry and be consoled? My textbooks and notebooks were gone in a flash. Someone who has been observing me for a while thought the phone was inside. I thank God for that day because it's very impossible to go to school without a smartphone in this century. A few days later, I saw my books scattered on the floor of the laboratory.

The person took the bag and left the books in the annoyance of not seeing the phone. I wasn't happy I lost my bag and books, but I was very happy my phone was intact. How would I have explained it to my parents?

• My first day in school: My first day in school was a complete mess because I nearly gave up. We were told to do screening exercises with the faculty officer. After waiting under the sun in a queue from 8am to 2pm without sitting, the queue was dismissed when it finally got to my turn. I begged the man, saying that I was coming from a far place and I had stood for hours. He didn't give me listening ears.

This was the first day I set foot in the four walls of the university to validate my studentship before being given access to pay school fees. I wanted to give up. I am just starting, and it's like this.

	My first day in school

• Funny experience that still lives in my heart: There was this class we had in the morning by 7 AM. I was there by 6 AM and was lucky to be in front of the door while waiting for the lecturer to come. Back in the day, we did struggle to sit in front so that we could hear what the lecturer said. The door to the hall was opened, but the protector prevented us from entering since it was locked.

When the lecturer came, everyone started pushing, and this pushing prevented the lecturer from seeing enough space to enter the hall. He decided to use the back door instead. All those in front knew they'd sit at the back if this happened, and their coming early would be in vain. One mother who is also a student didn't buy the idea.

She used her bare hands and bent the protector so that she could enter and sit in front. It was just so funny. She bent the protector and made a big hole. Everyone used that hole to enter the hall. You need to see the struggles. My hand was outside, but my body was inside due to the pushing. It got to a point where people tore their clothes on the bent metal. Even at that, they didn't give a fuck. As long as they were in front, they'll patch the clothes later. The student mother was given the name Wonder Woman. I never expected that.

If I want to tell you how I felt in my four years of studying in that university, you'll pity me. In fact, your struggles can't be compared to what I passed through back then.

• My fears: I'm this kind of person who doesn't like reading in quiet places. That's why I don't go to the library, and I do read in advance. So I've always had this fear of failing a course because I don't read until it's 2 days to the exams. Most people ask how I do it, and I don't read at home. I go to school where students make noise because that's the only way I understand.

I always fear failing because of my attitude towards reading, but anytime the result comes out, I do better than most people who studied enough. I also did fear kidnapping or being blocked by cultists. I never wanted to experience such till I left the school.

• Excitement: I had a lot of exciting moments, but I'll state one that matters to me the most. My sign-out day. After spending 5 years in school, it was a day to write my last paper. No more 7Am lectures, no more tedious reading, no more night classes and tutorials. I was just so happy that this day finally came. On our sign-out day, we usually wear a white shirt, and people will sign on it.

You also get to make money from families and friends that day. Seeing my friends, whom I started my school life with, graduating with me on our finals was enough excitement. We were just so happy that we won't be called students again. Graduates instead.

• Struggles: In Nigeria, people do say ... "After the reggae, na the blues.". This means before the end, there was a beginning. The struggles in school weren't bearable as a student. Battling at night classes was one of the struggles to overcome failure. We would leave our homes and go to school at night just to read till the next morning.

Most times we'll take turns on who will sleep first, and then we'll wake the person after an hour for another person to sleep. I do attend tedious tutorials just to get a first class because that's what I was chasing; that was my dream. I worked very hard for it. I would leave the house by 7 am and return late at night by 10 pm, from lectures to tutorials. My parents began pleading that I should take it easy on myself, but I gave deaf ears.

At some point, I broke down totally while trying to give my best shot. To attend lectures and tutorials, you must fight; otherwise, you won't hear the lecturer. To write exams, you must finish early; otherwise, they'll steal your bag if you finish late. The pay fees... The struggle wasn't here.

I wasn't close to any lecturer in my school days because it's advantageous and has disadvantages as well. I didn't want to be known by any lecturer. My friends were my backbone. I use this medium to mention @nsijoro, who cared for me while in school. He accommodated me when I had nowhere to lay my head. He treated me like a senior brother.

	My Friends and Supporters

We were always together in lectures, tests, and exams, and we graduated together. @dwings and @whitie, who were my comic relief, advisors, and motivation. @dwings always encourages us to read no matter how tough school is. We learned seriousness from him even when we were careless about school at some point. We shared our challenges, fears and problems together. Reading in school at night usually brought us together.

I learned from their personality, especially @dwings. His humility and ability to ignore situations to avoid making them serious did shape my character. He usually overlooks offenses so as not to create a scene.

Life isn't a bed of roses. It will always teach you something. My school life taught me not to allow the imperfection of others to cause me to stumble, and it's not all friends you must trust like a friend. Set boundaries. Let me start with not being molded by people's talk. There's this friend of mine I had.

A lot of guys do insult me because I was the only one she liked. She was the most beautiful in the department, and guys feared talking to her because they felt she would turn them down. I was body-shamed, insulted, and mocked to the point that I had to stop walking home with her so that I'll have peace of mind.

This was the worst mistake I made in school because as I did that, she started performing poorly in school. She was depressed and had no one to talk to. I was the only one she was comfortable around because of my character, but I chose to allow what people said to influence our friendship.

She carried over 2 courses when she learned that I wasn't comfortable around her because of what people said. They were just jealous of her. I allowed their jealousy to influence me. After rewriting my wrongs, I learnt that you must value those who value you and even in the face of threats, you can't just leave someone who cares about you because people are saying negative things and the likes. I couldn't stand up for her. *I was a failure then.

The first friends I had before I changed my circle were envious of me because I was popular. Their jealousy made them attempt to steal my phone in the laboratory, which they didn't succeed at. They were like knives behind me while I was just free with them. You must always learn to change your circle of friends if you notice anything fishy or you correct them because they can be your downfall. So I learnt the importance of;

• How my school days influenced my dreams? My dream was to graduate with a first class and become a lecturer, but my exposure in school made me see things differently, especially for the course I was studying. I felt that chasing first class was a total waste of time because Nigeria don't value educationist they say they should. So instead of breaking down, denying my parents and loved ones of my time with them, I stopped the chase.

I discovered that there was more to life than just chasing first class. It's not what most people don't know today. They end up becoming graduates without jobs. Some don't even use the first class or certificate. They get employed in something else. So everything isn't just about school in Nigeria. I felt I wasted my 4 years. I now find inner peace and satisfaction helping people make money online without my certificate.

• Personality: My pursuit for first class made me develop a measure of pride. I wanted to be the top, to ride over others, to feel others are inferior to me. Anyone who attempted to top me in class, I would be envious and start developing hatred. That was me then. It was when I was exposed to life at school that I saw that I was stabbing myself with so many pains. I wasn't humble. Dropping the chase was my first step to a good life.

My personality and way of treating others changed. I was the loveliest of them all. I committed myself to helping these ones I considered as inferior. I was more into putting people's interests ahead of my own. With that, my prideful life came to a halt.

• Values: Living in the hostel in my first year taught me different values from different people. I should be responsible. This was a value I learned from the senior colleagues there. They were always responsible in their daily activities and committed when it came to balancing pleasure and academics. I learned from them that it's always good to extend help to anyone when you have the help.

That's why I don't keep Steemit to myself. I always ensure I help those things that don't know about it. This shows that I love them. Slow to anger was another value learnt. Life in the hostel then shaped who I am now. That's why everyone loves bossj23. Unlike most rich and popular people who pride themselves on every occasion, I am always there to serve people and make them happy. I'm committed to helping people change the values in their own lives the way I was helped.

So both the things I faced in school and the people I met in my school days shaped me to become the person I am today.

I invite @lunasilver @solaymann and @okere-blessing