Anonymous: Nobody will be giving you money again.
Hearty: What are your plans after this BSc? I know God has plans for you. So, have you been thinking about it?
Anonymous: (Whispers with a hint of laughter) Yes, I’ve been thinking about it.
Tag: Once upon a finalist
Kenny: I started thinking, “What can I offer to society?“
Hearty: Was your heart inclined towards what you’re going to do after you leave the school.
Kenny: So many times. In my 400 level, which is the final stage in the school, I started thinking, “What can I offer to society, and what can I do to help myself too?” So, I started putting some things together. If I don’t do this, I will do that. Let me go into this business.
Prayers, prayers… On returning Home
“Ah, Yemisi ti de patapata!” An excited acquaintance or neighbour would echo when told the news of your seemingly final return home from school. And after that would follow a stream of prayers which you have to shout “Amen” to. Not doing so might mean contempt of the human and the prayers. The prayers would go like this, in no particular order, but a lot of these would make up a befitting stream of prayers for you, preparing you for life after school, especially if you are a lady.
Preparing for Life after School
After a long day in the Botany final year lab, my seatmate, the Class Rep, turned to me. She asked about my plans for life after school. That discussion wasn’t urgent yet, so we had a pleasant conversation. She had lots of career trajectories: hard and soft skills full ground. And while the option of pursuing her Master’s degree was open, she was also being careful not to follow the obvious path. That path spelt ‘academia,’ and she wasn’t sure she wanted to go that way. Nigeria wasn’t smiling at anyone who went down that lane.