First day in Uni

Everyday is special but not all days are memorable. First day in university can be classified as a reference point for most people, especially for someone like me who didn’t have an ‘away from home' experience, not even once until that day so I found it very memorable.

That was the very first day I was away from my family for the whole day.
Around 5 that morning, I was seated on my plain bed without the sheets staring straight at my packed traveler’s bags placed near the door, trying to remember what else needed to be packed. Nothing crossed my mind so I just continued looking, I was clueless on what to do and what not.

My mom had packed my luggage intact hoping to zoom to my new school after church service that Sunday. I didn’t really submit myself to work; packing and sorting. Rather, I was busy with my phone chatting with my friends on Facebook that I was off to school that day.

Unusually, the generator was on to aid the packing and preparations. My little brother, whose loneliness was already written boldly on his face, sat on a chair across my room with a pen and a notebook.

Although he had exams the next day, I guessed he didn’t want to miss out on the departure moments with me. I observed he’d read some lines and then stopped to contribute whenever an issue came up that early morning and then continued studying.

Time passed quickly when I laid down to rest for a bit, I was in deep thoughts about my new life which was about to begin, I slept off for a few hours, woke up around 8 am and we began preparations for church. I really cannot explain how I got to church late that morning despite that I was up early. That Sunday happened to be our annual harvest thanksgiving in church so the program was packed and long unlike every other Sunday with short services.

The program soon ended and I got to meet my pastors, elders and some other Church members. They advised me about the new journey of life that I was about to bargain on and very quickly I returned home.
I waited for my parents at home and while waiting I left some things that I wouldn’t be needing with my brother including my share of the snacks and drinks shared at the Thanksgiving program in church. Immediately they returned, I loaded my dad’s car truck and a portion of the back seats with my luggage and we got ready to move.

Few minutes later, we arrived at my paternal grandmother’s place. She prayed for me, gave me some money and provisions and from there we arrived at my maternal grandmother’s place. I spent virtually all of my time after school with her while I was in secondary school.

Here we waited for my aunt and her husband to join us after church. When they arrived, I stocked their car with some of my luggage as well since they’ll be following us to my school( I have quite a big luggage), raw foods, provisions and other things to create more space in my dad’s car for people to sit.

My grandma also prayed for me, gave me some money as well, I could remember vividly she added raw eggs to my packages. She sat me down, took her time to warn me against bad friends and companies and also wished me well. Some other people including friends of my family came to wish me well and goodbye.
Around 12pm that day, we began the journey to Ondo City.

According to research, Ondo City is the second largest city in Ondo State, Nigeria and that was my first time going to live there. Although there were two stops during the journey, one to purchase palm oil on the road side and the other to buy roast pork and water as refreshments, we arrived in the city a few minutes to 1 pm the same day. The whole journey from Akure( my residence) to Ondo city was about 45 minutes.

We got to my new house and everyone helped me unpack my luggage and arrange them in the new building. My mom got me some fruit and bread on our way to Ondo earlier so I sat to eat those first while my aunt’s husband, my brother and my dad went in the room to fix my wardrobe.
It was new so it required a lot of time and effort to fix it.

During the time that I was eating, my aunt’s children and my mum kept on setting up other things.

To be sincere, I didn’t do much that day other than eating and listening to advice while they were around.
A lot of advice from my mum and aunt that very day in fact all of that advice was enough for a good girl to succeed in life if she were to follow suit.

It was both a happy and sad moment for me that day. I showed my course registration form to my aunts and mum and they explained some of my courses with me. They helped me understand the challenges that I might face while in school concerning my academics and lecturers and friends and others.

Finally that day, all of us that came to Ondo together prayed together in my room and they set back to Akure. I followed them to the junction of my street where I could possibly find brooms and light bulbs. I got out of the car and waved to bid them bye.

My dad had given me my monthly allowance earlier and I did appreciate him. I turned to look and watched their car go but it was too late, it was already out of my gaze.

Warm tears filled my eyes when reality hit me that I was all alone - alone in the middle of the street, a strange street at that. Different thoughts ran through my mind .

So they were gone, for real? I realized at that point that I was all alone with my God, my destiny, my life and my morals
I met a woman in her shop and asked where I could get a light bulb. She asked me to go across the road and meet a man selling electrical appliances. I did so and actually met the man but didn't buy it. I have never bought a light bulb for my allowances before, it was so hard to spend my money so I moved further and bought a broom In the next street.

I then trekked back to the junction where my father had dropped me earlier. I boarded a bike from there to my street. The bike rider stopped at the junction of my house and I walked my way back home that evening.
I got home to clean up the mess that a broken egg has caused among the eggs I brought from home and a few minutes after, my landlady called me and asked me to put her through some things in her son's school assignment. It was the first time I’ll be meeting the child so I did so.

Thereafter, she explained my role to play to me as a tenant in the compound. Right after that, a woman came in - she was also a tenant in that building and she also rented a shop outside the compound where she sells raw foods. She came in to greet the young landlady who looked 30. As women, they talked about their children and she also greeted me as a new tenant in the compound.

I went back into my room and locked the door that evening
I took a good look at the house, it was beautiful, conducive and inviting but one thing was missing and that was power supply but according to what the landlord told my parents, it’d soon be fixed and they assured us that we would soon get power supply in our street and one wouldn’t need to go to other places to get things done especially pressing our school dresses, pumping of water and all. I was also told that my roommate would arrive the next day.

In that compound, most of them were students like me, some had been there a year before and some two years before I arrived and then there was a bachelor who lived right next door to me who worked at my school as well so we got along easily.
The breeze that night was exceptionally cold and I felt so lonely like I’ve never felt before so I laid on my bed in thought of what had happened days before. I also thought about my friends that I left in Akure .

At the same time, I thought of all of the advice I got from my parents, grandmothers, and elders in church.
Suddenly I realized that I needed my books so that I could begin studying them all that night but the sound of my ringtone drew my attention away from that.

A new day has come - Céline Dion was my ringtone back then, I picked it up and it was my roommate that wasn’t around yet. We talked about my arrival at the house, the landlord and landlady, the neighbors that I met there and other things. She promised to come around the next day.
Around 9:00 PM that night, my mother called me. My dad also called me to ask about my whereabouts and how I was coping with my new environment.

After the calls, I picked up a new notebook and a new pen and I began writing
“Title: My first day in school”
I drafted the outlines and played some songs from my phone. I got carried away and left my book with the hope that I’ll continue the next day.

I listened to songs on my phone, sang along till I started yawning and right there I knew it was time to go to bed. I put out the song and went straight to my bed. I made sure that I locked the door and the windows and finally I slept around 10:30 PM that day.

Both pictures was designed by me using the Inshot app.