Dominion Okon @grandmaster

The first time I had to leave my state for the first time, to another state for my university education, where I didn't have any relative. It was a moment I will never forget, I had to tearfully say goodbye to my friends and colleagues at place of work, I cried like a baby. My parents asked me where I'll sleep before renting a house for myself, I told them not to worry and travelled without any hesitation.

During the journey, I refused to let myself get bothered with how I'm going to sleep, bath or go about things, I just kept thinking about my family and friends, and how much I was missing them already. I arrived the state late in the evening and got to the university gate by 8 pm. Walking into the university, it was so cold, and quiet, with street lights shining on a long and wide interlocked path.

I found myself where to sit and relax, it's been a long journey and I was really hungry and tired, but saw no where to buy food nor snacks, and it was certainly not gonna be a night for a premium rest, because I had nowhere to sleep. I called my family to tell them that I had arrived, my father asked if I had where to sleep, I answered yes and told him I was fine, because I didn't want to stir up worries and unnecessary tension.

I went there with my school bag which contained my clothes, cup, sponge, soap, toothbrush, and my documents, it's funny, the way my house had a basic set of house tools. I felt safe inside the school environment, so I looked for a convenient, safe and hidden spot which was the veranda of the school library, laid some clothes on the floor and slept on it. The night very cold with cold breeze blowing in a turbulent manner, I couldn't sleep well, but I sha slept.

The school security came to me and asked why I was sleeping there, I narrated my story to them and they left me in peace. Very early in the morning, around 5 am, I woke up and took my bath in a running tap I found there, I used my cup as a scooper to pour the water on my body, brushed my teeth and changed my clothes, and once everywhere was bright, I quickly bought snacks to eat and went about my registration and clearance activities.

At the end of the day, I returned to my sleeping spot and this time a very heavy rain fell, it was terrible cold throughout the night, I was shaking. The same security met me again and I told them I wasn't able to go in search for a house to rent, and they understood. Woke up very early again, bathed, brushed and once it was morning, I decided to go and find a house, I prayed to God that I didn't want to walk up to 15 minutes before finding a house to rent.

Surprisingly, I walked straight to a house that had only one vacant room, God had answered that prayer, faster than I imagined, I rented that house. My landlady asked when I'm moving into the house, I told her I've moved in already. There was nothing in the house, so I slept in the floor, at least it was better than sleeping outside in the cold. I gradually purchased the house equipments I needed, and began my university journey in earnest, I find this story inspiring. I wanted to see how unique my survival skills are and how best I could take care of myself. I did great.

The past few days have been very tough, I have an exam that is coming up in a week's time, and I've spent almost all my time preparing very hard to make sure the exam doesn't humiliate me. I started making the study very intensive to the extent that I will even forget to eat and rest, only one agenda on my list, and that is to read without ceasing.

I started feeling sick and always weak, my eyes almost red in colour, started losing focus anytime I try to study, sleep always showing up in a very funny way. Still, I force myself to study and get to sleep very late in the night, which will result in headache and some sickness symptoms when I wake up in the morning. I made myself restless, day and night, I wasn't comfortable anymore.

It can't be malaria, I took malaria medicine about one month ago, so I decided to try something new. I made a new schedule for when to eat, sleep, play, and study. I tried as much as possible to make sure I don't exit limits. Wake in the morning, clean up, bath, eat, relax a bit, study for some time, rest, bath eat, read again in the night and sleep. I suspected I had forced myself too much to focus on studying alone, ignoring food, play and rest, I had to correct it.

In just few days, I was fine, no more sickness symptoms, and I was able to concentrate more whenever it was time to study. Studying is good and expected of a student, but I discovered you can't ignore sleep, food and some leisure time, all are very important, or else it will take a toll on you and you might end up breaking down. The body can't take so much stress, sitting in one place throughout the day and night made me look like an HIV patient, but the moment I stopped neglecting sleep, food and leisure time, I was fine and studying became even more effective.

Once upon a time, few years back when I was staying with my uncle, after I managed to learn how to drive his Hilux without any assistance, he gave me some basic driving tips that will helpful to me and ensure safety, I analysed all and spotted out one of them not to be completely true.

The man had been driving for years, and a young learner like me who just started driving, doubted this one tip he gave me. He told me that driving speed along a wet road, or when rain is falling, is very dangerous as the tires might slide on the road when the brake is applied, making it difficult for the car to stop. I doubted this, because looking at the tires, it has enough sturd, even the road is very rough, so I couldn't imagine water that is not slippery like okro water, to be capable of reducing friction that much.

About two years later, I got employed in a nursery, primary and secondary school to work as a school bus driver. On this fateful afternoon, while I was still driving the pupils and students back to their homes, rain started falling heavily, it was so big that I could not see the road clearly, yet I had to keep moving, because I was running late and the parents started calling. As at the time I finished dropping the last student, it was already late in the evening, and the rain had just stopped. I was on my way back to the school to park the bus, and I was driving fast, because I didn't want to get home late.

I was still driving with speed down a road that is very sloppy, and I spotted a car some meters in front of me that is about to use the u-turn. I matched down my brakes, the car didn't stop, rather it was sliding down the road and the tires was really making a loud noise. I won't lie, I feared I'll die that day, I was terrified to see my life flash before my eyes. The luck I had is that the other side of the road was free, and so the car made the turn just before I got to it, and then my car started slowing down and the brakes started working again. There was nothing wrong with the brakes, the car was too fast on a wet road, that incident cleared my doubt about what my uncle has been telling me. Learnt from experience, but it could have cost me my life, I should have made my research since I didn't believe the man, it's not everything that we will learn by experience, it could be disastrous, learning by research is much safer in this situation.

A very long time ago, I think I was about 9 years old as at then, something happened in our family that really touched everyone, even the smallest of us that was about 3 years old, felt it the same way we all felt it. I remember the tension in the house, the lost appetite, the sleepless nights, the tears, the worries. I'm the eldest child, and I remember having to comfort my younger siblings during that time, it was a very critical time in our family and even till today, we still remember it, how God turned things around for us.

One day, my mother's neck started swelling, it was very painful as she could not eat or drink or even swallow saliva, she was always awake at night due to the pains and crying and praying for God to heal her. She went for a test, the test result was very scary, she was told that fibroid was growing in her neck and the only solution will be a surgical operation in the neck. It was during holiday, because I remember we were always at home, assisting my mother to refill a small container with sand for her to spit saliva in, since she couldn't swallow. My mother didn't eat for days, she slimmed down and even as a kid, I lost appetite for play, food and many others.

She went to the hospital and booked a day for the operation, and about two weeks to the operation, a stranger met her on the road and told her that God sent him to tell her not to go for the operation, that she will be healed. My mother was very surprised, she never told anyone about the illness, neither did we, she instructed us not to tell anyone about it, so really it was God. The day of all other days came, where the tension, cry, lost of appetite and so on climbed to the fullest, my mother wanted to go to the hospital for check-up on how fatal the fibroid had grown and if she still had much time left. I remember I was eating with my siblings in the kitchen when my mother walked in and told us she was going to the hospital, and that she doesn't know how her visit to the hospital will be, she said this in a breaking tone as if she was about crying.

And immediately, we lost appetite, tears started rolling down from my eyes, and my siblings started crying too, my mother at this point could not hold her tears anymore, all of us cried including the last born. My mother tried to console us, but how could we be consoled when she was still shedding tears. My siblings and I immediately remembered God as the great healer and physician, and so we said a little word of prayer for my mum while tears was still flowing, that God should heal her. We watched her leave for the hospital, the cry didn't stop, and I prayed so hard that it shouldn't be the last time I'll ever get to see my mother, everyone had lost appetite for everything. She returned from the hospital with a happy and nervous mood, the test result showed that the fibroid in her neck had disappeared without traces, and she was completely fine, as no illness could be found in her. She was nervous because the throat was still swelled, but amazing the throat returned to it's normal form within two days, and she was fine as if she was never sick, the illness vanished the same way it appeared. God had healed her and kept her alive for us, since then I see it that God is fast to act when children cry and are heartbroken, it might be.

It was another chemistry practical day in the laboratory with my colleagues, with the lecturer addressing us on how to go about the practical in a simple way, at first we were nervous because it was our first time to carry out that particular experiment, but then the lecturer explained everything in details, till I understand how to carry-on the experiment without any further assistance.

The lecturer divided us into eight groups and I happened to be in group two, he then appointed one person from each group as the group leader, and I was among the people he appointed. The experiment was to be conducted per group, and as group leaders, we were asked to meet the laboratory assistant who is a woman in her 60s, sign and get the apparatus we are to use for the practical, which we did. The rule was that the apparatus must be returned complete, and in good condition, otherwise the group will pay for any damage or loss.

We started the experiment without any further waste of time since we had just two hours to make sure we finish the experiment and make our reports, I understand how to go about the experiment as the group leader, so I was leading. All of a sudden, one of the apparatus (a conical flask) we were using for the experiment went missing, I was terribly scared because I knew if we couldn't find it, that would mean that we will pay for it. And then I saw my colleague that is in another group with two conical flasks, I approached him and told him about the missing conical flask on our table and asked how he managed to be in possession of two conical flasks when we were assigned only one.

He told me that he went back to the laboratory assistant to get another conical flask, I doubted it and told him that I will go to the laboratory assistant and find out if he is telling the truth, he told me to go and ask. I went straight to the Lab assistant and she told me that we are to use the one conical flask she assigned to us for all the experiments, I wanted to be sure so I asked if she had given any of us a conical flask just few minutes ago, and she said she didn't. I was enraged, went back to the guy and asked why he lied to me, he couldn't say a word, I yelled at him why he would have the intention of jeopardizing this practical for me and trying to put my group into problem. He knew that any loss or damage of any of the apparatus will be paid for by the group, and he still didn't care about the penalty we would face. I was really angry, my tone was so high that my fellow colleagues starting pleading that I should calm down, the guy couldn't say a word, his lie had been exposed, I took the conical flask and return to my group's table.

It took me sometime to bring back my concentration in the experiment, as I kept wondering such level of wickedness the guy displayed, he obviously thought that I won't be able to meet the laboratory assistant and ask about the conical flask. I used to hear some of our colleagues saying bad things about the guy, and I was never closed to the guy before, but on that day, the guy had proven the things I had been hearing about him to be true, he didn't even apologize. He had put himself in a situation where his heart will skip anything he sets his eye on me till we graduate and I don't think I will ever have anything to do with him, not to talk of recommendation, some people are just naturally wicked and are to be avoided at all cost.

A long time ago, after I completed my secondary school education, I was not so sure about what comes next in my life, the only thing I had in my head was that I want to proceed to the university to study Civil Engineering. I don't think it would have turned out to be a smooth and successful run if changes were not made.

We grew up and lived in villages (developed ones) our whole life, never even seen a bank as at then, and there was a lot I did not know. My father knew what was ahead; I want to be a Civil Engineer, and that is not achievable with a village based life, smartness and exposure are very vital, and so he sent me to live with my uncle who lives in the city.

I endured a little while of taunts and laughter during the early days of living with my uncle who has grown up children, because I must admit, I really behaved like someone who has never been to a city before, I would spend all my time looking at buildings, cars and many others whenever I went out with my uncle, of course I had never lived in such an environment.

I remember going to the bank for the first time with my cousin, and I found the entrance door to the bank very amusing, the way it opens and you step in, the back closes and the front opens for you to step inside the bank, same process while going out. While my cousin was still inside the bank, I went outside and came back inside the bank, up to four times, just to pass through the door that I referred to as a spinning door and saw as fun.

I was very fast to adapt this new environment, only three months with my uncle and I drove his car without anybody's assistance, learnt to move around on my own and I explored places like airport, stadiums and many others, including the bank. I didn't need anybody to follow me around or guide me on how to navigate my way anymore. I met very important and prominent people and built connections with them. I learnt a lot to the extent that it can truly be said that I'm ready to take on the course I'm studying now, I acquired lots of knowledge on areas I never knew before, developed myself when it comes to boldness and other basic and necessary attributes to the best I can.

My father till date is proud of the decision of sending me to live with my uncle. A good and fertile ground to kick start my Civil Engineering journey.
At times I imagine how I would have behaved like if my admission into the university is what brought me to the city for the first time, tragic.

Once upon a time, there were two friends who lived together in a community, they were very good friends who have been co-existing peacefully for a long time. One of them was named Frank, and the other was named Abel. They were living happily until they decided to go and find the purpose for which their lives were destined for, so they went to see a spiritualist.

On getting there, the spiritualist told Frank that he is meant to be king over the community, and that sooner or later, he will be king. The spiritualist went as far as kneeling and bowing before Frank, and hailing him as the soon to be king, and this made Frank very happy. The spiritualist told Abel that he doesn’t see him becoming much in life and that he will have to bow to his friend when he is crowned king.

Frank left the place with excitement, while Abel left very sad. Frank began to boost of himself in the community and people starting hailing him king, and so he didn’t see the need to find himself work to do or try to improve his life, he lazily waited for the day he will be crowned king. Abel on the other hand left the community to another community to start his life afresh. Abel went into business and with time, his business grew very big and he became wealthy.

Many years passed and Frank remained idle, still waiting for the crown. One day, Abel returned to the community to see how things were going, and when the people in the community saw Abel and how wealthy he had become, they all decided to crown him as their king, that he will make a great impact in the community when it comes to business and investments. Frank objected and said he is the one to be king, people told him that he is too lazy to be king, and that he sits around from morning till night doing nothing. And so, they crowned Abel as their king. Frank got to realize that life has principles, he did not give himself value, he did not develop himself and was lazy for years, and these is not supposed to be how kings plan their lives. Frank on the other hand understood that every stage, position, destination in life have their requirements and criteria that you must meet up with.