When I got admitted to the University of Ibadan in 2018, I was ecstatic and dreamt of graduating top of my class like I did in secondary school. I had already mapped out plans to start reading from day 1 in order to make a good first impression to my lecturers and coursemates.
It all ended as a dream when I met with my roommates the hostel management gave me in 100 level. They were high class babes and loved to party a lot, and were loved and admired by other freshers like myself for their outspokenness and classy outfits. It didn’t take long before they formed a clique of sophisticated and outspoken babes.
My roommates and their cliques always gathered in our room for gists and sometimes, they asked for my input. That day, they were talking about the grades they would love to graduate with, to my surprise, all of them noted that they wished to graduate with a second class upper. My roommate was so vehement with her stance that I got convinced graduating with a first class was nothing after all. When it reached my turn to answer, I became ashamed to speak my truth. How do I tell this high class of people that I wanted a first class when they all settled for a second class?
Then and there, my orientation about school and life shifted. The yearning I had for academic excellence died, I settled for a second class upper and didn’t put in much effort to be better.
The day my foolishness became known to me was when I saw my 100 level semester result, it was littered with a lot of B”s, some C’s and an F. I saw the F and something died in me, never in my life have I failed a course. I instantly felt lightheaded and wanted to throw up till those around started talking loudly about how almost half of the class failed the course. That information comforted me as I went in search of my friends.
Then, I saw her, crying silently in a hidden corner of the lecture room. Since we just saw our results, I presumed she checked hers and saw she failed. With an intent to console and offer solidarity, I told her I also had an F in the course, so she should stop weeping. With a weird look on her face, she told me she wasn’t crying because she had an F but a C. I was stupefied. She was crying more than the bereaved! I went from feeling sympathetic to feeling angry with her, and then myself for being so foolish. Here I was, satisfied with my F while another was weeping over the C I wished I had.
Right there, I promised myself that that was the first and last F I was going to have in school, and I kept to that promise. I started reading aggressively, and always submitted thoroughly researched assignments and term papers. Because I didn’t have an impressive foundation, it was difficult for my CGPA to stabilise till I was in 300 level. In 300 level second semester, I was 0.5% closer to graduating with a first class. Seeing that I never was on a first class, the possibility of entering it in my final year was very slim.
The faith I had in myself was shaky, but I persevered. I chose to borrow only courses that had high success rates and focused squarely on my compulsory and required courses. Surprisingly, I had distinction in all the courses I took in my final year, including my final year thesis.
When our final results came out, all my 100 level roommates graduated with a second class as they wanted, and I graduated with a first class. I finally entered a first class in my final year after all my years of determination and hardwork. I wanted a first class, strove to achieve it, and all the universe conspired in helping me achieve it.
Peoplesmind
