Hathele

Aunty Eka, thank you for not giving up on me 10 to 11years ago. Even when everything seemed I was useless, a thief and everything worthless, you still stood by me and believed in me. You went as far as telling all who cared to listened  to you, that so many may have misjudged me. Those were days I lost everything worth living for, and preferred death to life. There was no integrity left for me to fight for, as those who stood against me were stronger and well placed. Yet, God shined His light through you. God bless you for yesterday and today. I have never forgotten what you said to me one night when you came back from NYSC Camp. You said: "When I first gained admission, I slept in a church and rain dripped in. After two weeks, the hostel team later gave me a worthless and rat infested place to stay since I resumed late and could not afford to pull strings. So, I cleaned the place and made it my heaven. With the place transformed, every rich kid wanted to live with me ...

I remember my days in GSS Jaji. I was always mocked for having a small waist, and a very flat stomach that made it look as if the abdominal region of my body was empty. Despite knowing this painful fact, I always tucked in my shirt to my pleated skirt.   I was often mocked. If twelve young girls were walking in a straight line, ten will take two steps back to laugh and gloat at my small waist. To them, I was bold and indifferent; but inside, I always felt so terrible, that I would want to be buried in an earthquake. Yes, I grew to hate my stomach, my fingers, my waist, my teeth, my face and even the shape of my head. I always wished I could die and it would be better off. I always prayed to die so badly, but then...I remembered! I remembered how my dad forced us to eat Oats and Eggs so as to be healthy. I remembered how He constantly reminded us that we had all it takes to be better. It was just too ridiculous, That i could not see the possibilities! Most times, my dad ...

I have been a teacher for the past 6yrs and I have tried to make my students (including bullies in my class) feel equal. One time, I taught in a secondary school well known to be dominated with cultism. Truth be told, I do not know how I manage to combine discipline and love, but I try to. I try to let them know that they are worth my effort and everything is towards making them better. One time, A student came in from another class, and showed interest. And so, i allowed him. Then later, i discovered that he was seriously dividing and distracting my class with so much confidence, like he owned the place. Therefore, I asked him to leave my class. The student refused and surprisingly, the class bullies and all the students in the class told him to bounce out. He shamefully left the class, and later apologised to me privately. I am very far from the best, but I believe they believed that i believed in them. And so, they had much interest in what I had to offer. Most time...