The Awakening...

I saw the third prompt topic from the Hive Naija community and was still deciding which should I go for; was it during my primary, secondary or university days? Then, I stumbled upon @beckyroyal post sharing memories of her secondary school days, I was taken back to 17 years ago when I was in my Senior Secondary School days. What a memory to remember and reminisce on. One thing I love to do is to be taken back to memories while narrating stories that concern me and how things went for me.

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I attended a public and government school in Lagos which was known to be the best government school then, don't know about now. I went to Agidingbi Grammar School, located in Ikeja, Lagos state. I could still remember the colour of the uniform was a brown skirt and checkers shirt. The senior students wore skirts while the juniors wore brown gowns that had a cross style at the front. It was a beautiful uniform that I loved, but something I was deprived of then was not cutting my skirt to reach my knee level because I'd so much loved students who had the freedom to do that especially the ones proving to be big girls.

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My parents were the strict and disciplinarian ones who wanted us to be of good behaviours, never to copy what others were doing. My skirt went past my knee, almost touching the back of my legs. Sometimes, I just had to hold the tip of my skirt to walk freely, not until I explained to my mom who only made small adjustments. I was a gentle student in the class and the one who abides by the school rules. I don't like being in trouble and I hate going to offices to beg for mercy, so, I tried to comply with the rules by all means. My uniform was always washed and neatly ironed with the pleating revealing on my skirt. I ensured to stay neat all the time. There was a time I almost got picked as a prefect but dodged it because I hated responsibilities then.

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Before moving to senior secondary school, some students including me were transferred from a different junior school and there, we were divided into different departments; art, commercial and science. My friends were all sent to commercial classes while I was taken to art class. Being the silent and gentle student who doesn't easily interact with others, and the fact that I have made that relationship with my friends from the previous school we were transferred from, I quickly changed my department and joined them in commercial class. It was when I got home that I explained to my Dad to follow me to school the next day to explain to the school management that I wouldn't cope in art class.

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I became a commercial student just because my friends were there and another reason was to mingle with them and be able to be closer to them. I also made another friend who was kind of a gentle girl like me. Even though I was so gentle to the extent that if you put water in my mouth, you would meet it there, I was not serious with my studies. I allowed the oppression from my friends who were always talking about boys to overwhelm me and I was always worried about my look and personality. There was a time, I looked into the mirror to see what was wrong with me. I had the mindset that I was ugly because no boy in the school ever talked to me except for a boy who was also of a short stature as mine and very handsome. I mistook his friendship with me to mean another thing and would always lock myself around him every time.

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I never loved reading as I was always forced to take my book to read because I was always with my phone. It was that time Mtn extracool existed and I would stay up from 12 am to 5 am talking to random numbers I would dial. When teachers come into the classroom and I wasn't in the mood, would move out to the next class that aren't doing anything. I wasn't serious, yet I am always in school very early in the morning so I wouldn't be caught among the latecomers, but studying and becoming serious were far from me.

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When the West African Examination came, I failed all subjects with Fs and Ds. That was when it dawned on me how I was not serious with my studies but allowed myself to be influenced by my friends who were always talking about their boyfriends and because I wanted one for myself which would prompt me to keep dialling different random numbers; when a female picks it up, I cut until a male voice respond from the other end. I was insulted and embarrassed by my family and was told to repeat SS3. I became shy to do that because I saw my friends who graduated with good results but mine was different.

I was taken to live with my aunt in Ibadan, Nigeria where I enrolled in another public school but only did ss3 with them. I became more serious then, did another WAEC and got good grades. It was then I became a changed person and focused more on becoming better.