In life, there are certain decisions we make because life demands that we do and there are decisions we make because our spirit feels strong enough to choose. For me, it falls into the second category. And that was my going for NYSC(National Youth Service Corps) it's a one year service for every graduate in Nigeria, as long as you're not up to age 30. It wasn't something I wanted, at least not yet. It was one of those requirements you could push for later after being done with your higher education. But then, the earlier the better.
Before I graduated, I had went through life in a way that really shook me, I was very very sick, and it's one that I still struggle to really hit it deep till today when I write. That sickness happened to slow me down, pulled me out of my plans and made me question the future I thought was within reach. Believe me, my younger self never imagined I would experience such a thing, that kind of a thing that makes you measure life and question it. So, when I happened to survive it, it felt like I was given a second chance and I promised myself to not waste this opportunity life has given me.
That was the mindset I carried through till I finished with school and NYSC came. When it came, I wasn't excited or anything, I've heard a lot about it, how it is possible for one to be posted where you won't like and all. And due to all I've experienced, I've got to know that in life, there are times we grow by doing the things we once avoided. And that decision to go for NYSC changed everything about my life, much more than I expected.
I was glad with the state I was posted to, and after the 21days camping and orientation, we were posted to different towns and villages in that state. And that was when I got the first shock. I read my posting letter and found out I was posted to a village(not much of a town), it was a place I have only heard of from stories. A place known mostly for the various mountains it housed. Coupled with that, I was to be a teacher, I wasn't posted to a factory, or bank, or an organization that will be convenient and also pay me well, I was posted to a school to teach, and it's somewhere I would be paid little. Coupled with that, I would have to rent an apartment there, get some basic things and live there for the next one year.
Now, as a teacher, I have to arrive early, stand in front of students, teach them, prepare lesson notes, set their exams, conduct test, and I also have to hold the attention of my students as they're watching to see if I knew what I was doing. Waking up very early has now become my routine, it's not negotiable. I now have to stand in front of these senior students to teach them, now I'm being referred to as, "sir" it still feels strange to me till now. Now, I have some who can ask questions as if....and that has forced and pushed me to be a constant reader too while learning to be more patient with them. I can't deny that NYSC has changed my lifestyle, mindset and the I saw myself. We also engage in community development services once every week, I'm assigned amongst those who clean environments, market places and such. All that, add up together, has forced me to be more disciplined, responsible and has stretched me much more than I thought I could be.
There are times when I think about my younger self, that version of me that believed adulthood would be smooth and straightforward, that version of me that never thought illness would try to stop/hinder/limit my journey, that version of me who didn't have the idea that I would one day be standing in an unfamiliar place as a corper, teaching, growing, learning and becoming someone he wouldn't really recognize but definitely be proud of.
Choosing NYSC was more of a turning point for me. It's a quiet reminder that I'm still here, still growing, still becoming. And if there's one big decision that has changed my life recently, it is this. Aside that it changed my location and such, it changed who I am.
All pictures are mine.
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