This Friday, F talks about the very known campus story of final year boys predating on first year newbies. As a one time newbie herself, she narrates her story. She touches on peer pressure, cultism and materialism in the age 20's.
I sat for a while thinking of how to spice up my 20s story. Wondering what could be an interesting story to tell. Should I talk about my rape experience when I was 16 and how it’s affecting my mental state even till this day? Do I discuss my daddy issues or financial issues? What aspect of my life would keep people glued to their screens reading my story? After a while I decided to write about my first year in university.
Not like anything special occurred, just the things 80% of people can relate with. Starting with the first week of school, an 18 year-old girl who left home for a different state, a school about 20 hours drive away without traffic (Siri, play me Away, Away, Away by Oxlade). If you are like me, you ran away with no friends, no family and no idea where you were going, literally! Asking for address to places I have never heard of — since I’m a pretty shy person, I was willing to risk getting lost than asking a stranger the direction to anywhere. Then there comes your first set of friends — the ones you are so careful about (once again, if you are like me). The warnings of my mother and siblings rang in my ear — “Be careful o! Mind the friends you make, don’t waka waka everywhere, stay in your house o!” They always repeated this with a calm but strained voice. The kind of voice that plays over and over in your head when you are about to do something stupid. I remember that moment sapa knocked on my door and I went to open. For those of you that are confused about the word “sapa” it means being broke and not the “I’ll be okay very soon” kind of broke but the kind that made you calculate the money in your account before buying water.
There were times when I’ll sit on my reading chair, with my bowl of garri and groundnut with small sugar I bought with my last 20 naira and flashbacks of the money I spent on sharwama and chicken flooded my mind. If only I didn’t waste my money on all those unnecessary things I wouldn’t have struggled that much financially. Either way, it didn’t stop me from smiling and acting like nothing was wrong. Only my roommate knew wetin I dey pass through. We all experienced that final year rush. Didn’t we? Final year boys trying to win over first year girls and brag among themselves at the end of the semester. They tempt with big words and fancy cars. But, I was quick to pick my slippers and zoom away before their words started having an effect on my poor heart. Some of the girls in my department weren’t so lucky and fell head first into their traps. One of them happened to be the only close friend I had in school. She was crazy about this boy. Ahhh! It was so bad that she caught him cheating countless times and turned a blind eye toward it. “He would change” — she often tried to convince me and also herself. I was so convinced he used spiritual means. He inevitably ended things with her and she was devastated, she missed 3 weeks of school and spent all her money on ice cream and data, watching romantic tragedies on Netflix. I felt bad for her, I felt bad for all of them as quite a reasonable amount of girls passed through the same fate and needed a shoulder to cry on.
I on the other hand was living my best single life, nobody can stress me abeg! I personally didn’t have any problem with cultists but I wish I could say the same for my friend. They assaulted and harassed him because he refused to join their gang. It got so bad that he was tempted to drop out. They ended up leaving him alone for reasons still unknown to me. I often watched how girls bragged about how no one could touch them because of their boyfriends and the position he was “blessed with” as they said. I was intrigued by the ignorance of these girls and prayed for them to wake up from their trance. Most of the problems in university were because of peer pressure, something I couldn’t escape from either. I saw girls with their flashy clothes and hair that I often wondered “where una dey see this money?”. I was later enlightened on the secret behind the money and quickly lost interest in making it the same way. I don’t judge them, everyone understands their individual problems and know how far they are willing to go to solve it. Maybe I wasn’t really motivated enough, who knows? People forget the reason why they are in school in the first place but the first semester exam quickly reminds them where they stand. I read but do you know that fear of not being good enough? It hit me hard. See me sweating under AC. I was so scared of disappointing the people that mattered. That same reason made me start reading on the first day I got my textbooks. All in all, I wrote the exam and well, I survived. I can’t say the same for few of my mates.
The partying and travelling finally showed the end result as their “F” stood bold on their portal result. A bad start to their days in school. The first year of school wasn’t bad, I wished I had done some things differently but I don’t regret it. Can you relate to any of these?
