Hello, everyone.
Welcome to my blog and another wonderful edition of the Hive Learners' featured post. I was born and brought up in the northern part of Nigeria, and one thing about the northerners is the existence of a kind of brotherhood, and if you are not from the north like the rest of them, you are treated like an outsider, and if possible, even what is rightfully yours will not be given to you all because you are not one of them. This is a character possessed by many northerners, especially those that are not exposed yet. As long as you are not a northerner, you are an outsider and are always treated as one.
designed in canva.
Sometimes to achieve a goal, you must go all out and do everything possible, even if it means going out of character. In so many cases, I have gone out of character to get what I want. Sometimes it ends well, and sometimes even going out of character does not give you what you want.
My dad wanted the best for all of his kids, so he wanted me to go to an all boys boarding school, just like my sister went to an all girls boarding school, one of the best schools in town and well known for their academic excellence. I was a bright boy, so their entrance exams weren't an issue. I applied twice, and my entrance exam result was always good, but when their admission list is released, my name is never on the list. We had to give up, and I enrolled in a private school. The shame after telling all your friends you would be going to a boarding school only to end up in a day school.
I was almost done with junior secondary school 1 (JSS1) when my dad came in contact with an old friend, and he told him about our ordeal, and the man shouted that my dad should have called him earlier. His son is in the school too, and is my classmate, and my dad started asking questions about how they were able to pull the strings that got his son into the school. That's when he shared the secret. He said his son had to change his name from John to a Muslim name, which he's currently using in the school; that's how he got admitted.
My dad came home and shared the news, asking if I still had interest in trying again one last time. I agreed, but with doubt in my heart. I changed my name from Godwin to Jibrin, which is a name my childhood friends have used to tease me till date. After every process, the name I used appeared on the final list, and that's when I realized what we had been doing wrong all along. I left the private school for boarding school and had to start all over again. It was painful but worth it.
I really wanted to be a student of that particular school because of the respect that comes with being a student of the school. Whenever they are around, the rest of us become invincible, so every parent that can afford the bill strives to ensure their child or children study in the school. I had to go all out to get what I wanted, and I did get it, and I am glad I did.
Thanks for reading my post.