Life Hack Stories & Experiences

Last week, I went to a small village to cover an event. I had learned about videography, which is how to use a camera to make videos. I knew how to get good shots to make a nice video, and this was my chance to practice.

A friend of my aunty asked me to help cover her event. She had promised to pay me some money before the event, but I decided to go without asking for the money first. I wanted to focus on the experience and have fun.
When I reached the village, everything was full of life. There were children playing, adults chatting, and the smell of tasty food in the air, the canopies were set and chairs being put in place. I felt ready to capture everything as I set my camera up.

As the event began, I moved around the crowd, capturing smiles, dancing, and the joyful moments happening all around but not shifting too much from the major scene and purpose of the gathering.It was like watching a movie behind my camera and asides filming the event, I felt happy to be part of it all.

At the end of the day, just when I finished filming, I checked my phone. I saw that my Aunty's friend had sent the money she promised. Everything was perfect beyond my plans.

Later, as I looked at the video clips I had taken and was cropping the clips together, I felt proud. Each shot reminded me of the fun and happiness that day brought. I realized that by taking just an opportunity whether prepared or not could be the best option one could take.

I travelled for about a week now to visit my elder sister, it has been a while since I visited her, I decided to use my short leave from work to spend it with her. Barely few days after I left, I heard shocking gossips about me. Why didn't the person say it when I was around, human beings are just ridiculous at times. This was someone that I was very close to, we smile and eat together.

People quarreled in the compound after I travelled, and my name was brought into the quarrel, a particular girl said that her dead mother's body is fresher than mine, that I'm pretending, that I have bunch of men I flirt with, that I follow small boys, that my character is extremely bad. I began to wonder how all this talks had to do with the people that were quarrelling, it sickens me.

One of the gossipers chatted me and told me all what was said about me, I chatted the person that said it and she told me about what every other person said too. Everybody in that yard smiles and plays with me, but literally they don't like me even by a fraction, just few days away from home and a lot of talks are out already. I have been thinking about it since morning, restlessly.

It's so sad to find out that the people that you think love you so much, don't even like you at all. But then I thought to myself, this things must exist, people must talk and try to bring you down, it is not a new thing, but I didn't expect it from this kind of people that were so close to me. But I also realize that the things they said about me doesn't define me, that is not who I am, so I'll have to ignore.

As I will be traveling back to that compound in the next few days, I will be more careful how I chose my words, the people I regard as my friends, the way I relate with people. Believe it or not, not everybody that smiles with you, likes you. I have experienced that now. I am already reevaluating myself as I'm preparing to go back there soon, consciousness and wisdom is vital in this.

I have been reading up on the best way to build a career before I even entered tertiary university. So when I finally got there, I was ready. I had spent months preparing and planning for this moment if I'm to be honest to myself. I knew that getting practical experience while studying was crucial, so I drove right in, trying to mix work with school. After some time searching, I started working at a company, earning a daily wage.

As a student trying to survive the economy of Naija, I encountered a problem: saving money was tougher than I had anticipated. My daily pay seemed to vanish before I could even think about putting some aside. Frustrated but determined, I went back to the books for guidance. I discovered a concept that shifted my perspective entirely.

With renewed clarity, I approached the staff at my workplace and proposed something unconventional: I asked them to hold my daily earnings and push my pay on a monthly basis instead. To my relief, they agreed and that turned out to be one of the best decisions I had ever made.

Despite the challenges I faced along the way, this strategy significantly improved my saving capacity. My finances began to stabilize, and I felt a sense of control that I didnt have before. Though I encountered obstacles and encompassing little debts, I was on a clearer path to saving something tangible.

I had been looking forward to my trip for some days now, planning every little detail. Tomorrow was the day I would finally set off on my journey just as planned. I had everything arranged my traveling bag, and my phone fully charged so I can be busy while on the trip. But there was one thing I overlooked, my clothes!

My mom had warned me about this countless times advising I wash my clothes early enough. I totally did not get the take her advice, thinking, It hasn’t rained in days; what are the chances it will rain now I questioned myself.

Just as I finished washing, the weather changed and the sky opened up. I watched helplessly from my window as the rain poured down, soaking everything in sight. My heart sank as I realized my freshly washed clothes were now hanging outside, still very much wet with water.

I ran outside, trying to save clothes from further disaster, but it was too late. My clothes were wet, and there was no way they would dry in time for my early morning departure. I stood there for a moment, feeling the weight of my poor decision.

At this point it is safe to say that I won't meet up with my schedule to travel on the morrow, but who is to be blame if not myself. How I wish I had listened to my mum

I decided it was finally time to put on my sneakers and get on the field and jog.
My class people had organised a little jogging get together just to rekindle the relationship among us students.
I convinced one of my friends to join me, and we started with a slow pace jog.

But fate had other plans. On my second lap back, I misstepped and stumbled over a stone. It caught me off guard, and I felt a sharp pain on my left toe. When I looked down and removed my left shoe, blood was gushing from my king-toe, and for a moment, all I could think was why it chose to happen just while I was having a little fun, But despite the pain and the frustration, I refused to let it get the better of me.

I took a deep breath and remembered why I had come out there in the first place. I didnt want to end the little fun that had just started because of a little setback After cleaning up the wound, I got back on the track, even happier, I can't let my enemies triumph.

There is this compound we used to live in, it was a rented apartment, my mother, father and my siblings all lived there together. At first when we moved into the compound, my mother was so free with the landlord and his family who were our church members, she will stroll to her house any day she's at home and have a fun chat with them. I can even remember a day I wasn't feeling fine, she told me to go and help the landlord to move some trips of sand with a shovel. There was this close, and I really liked it.

But everything suddenly changed when I was away for four months in school, when I returned home, I noticed that my mother no longer goes to check on our landlord's family, and she didn't seem to be in good terms with them. She wouldn't even let me go there for any reason, I asked my siblings, but they said nothing happened, I wondered why everything suddenly changed. I didn't like it. The landlord had one male and three female children, they didn't look healthy and fit to do heavy task because of their poor genotype and blood group.

The landlord needs external help at times to get some tasks done, but my mum for reasons I don't know disallows it. There was a time that the daughter was having a convocation ceremony and invited me, I offered to assist in the little way I could, but my mum tried to stop me, I refused to let myself be stopped, I helped her out. At some point, I helped out anyway without taking permission from my mum, because I knew she won't approve. I refused to let myself be involved in whatever ever hidden dispute they have.

Life has to be simple, I can't let what you think or feel about others stop me from associating with them. My good deeds paid off, there's a time my laptop had an issue, it was the son who is a computer engineer that fixed my laptop for free, the parents bless me with money and other items every time I travel back to school, there is a time my landlord happened to be driving to the state where I school for his business, he asked me to join him and he drove me straight to my house in school, transport fare of 10k was saved. I once had a little issue in school, the son used to be a student in my school, so he called someone to assist me.

So many other favours gained, the relationship is good. No one knows where the future will take us, so it's an error to dislike someone without a reason, humans are supposed to look after each other, that's the only way a better world can be created. So many instances where I've heard people say negative things about people, but on getting close to the people that negative things is being spoken about, I discover that it's quite the opposite and they are much more nicer than their accusers. You look and care after each other, because it's natural and biblical, you might need their help tomorrow. Don't believe every negative things said about people, most of them are lies. From experience.

I got on the bus, paid my fare, and soon enough, the bus filled up with other passengers. We all settled in, and after a few minutes, we were on our way. The driver stopped three times along the route to drop people off. Things seemed smooth and normal, until, out of nowhere, a guy from the back suddenly shouted that he’d missed his stop. Apparently, he had fallen asleep and only woke up after we’d passed it. Trying to be reasonable, the driver said he’d charge him a bit less for the inconvenience.

The man went into his pocket and pulled out a torn note to pay. Seeing this, the driver lost his patience. Before any of us could react, he slapped the guy right there. We all stepped in to separate them and calm things down, and a few of us asked the man why he didn’t have better money to pay with. He explained that he’d gotten the torn note earlier from an okpa seller. It was a bit hard to believe, but there wasn’t much we could do about it.

Someone suggested he withdraw some fresh cash from the nearest ATM or POS, but he bluntly refused. At that point, it seemed like he was just being stubborn. The driver, fed up and unwilling to argue any further, told us all to get back on the bus. He gave the guy one last look, and we drove off, leaving him behind. None of us said much as we drove away, still processing what had just happened.
As we left, the driver muttered something about the man reaping what he’d sown.

I remember writing in one of my stories that, no matter how small the hustle is, you should always put in your best effort and keep pushing forward.

Recently, I was invited to feature during my faculty week, and I was given the honor of capturing every perfect moment through pictures, to takd pictures of scenes that would be great for magazines and visually appealing to everyone.

When we negotiated the price, I didn't expect to make a significant amount of money. I had already set my mind on a particular amount that I thought was fair. However, to my surprise, I was paid before the event even took place.

Being paid in advance was not the surprise or the miracle.
Throughout the week, each day, I got paid to take private pictures asides from the regular group pictures. People who had wanted themselves alone or with a special selection of people had to pay from their pockets.
Guess what? I made more money from these private shoots than the money that I was paid from the faculty and I give all thanks to God.

My name is Junior. This is my life story.
As a kid,I was hell bent in destroying things and bullying people I was able to bully not minding my parents warning
I grew up with this social vices and nobody was able to tame me.
It became worse when I was admitted into the secondary school that I felt everything was going to be in my favor and on how I will want it to be.
But things took a great turn when I celebrated my 14th birthday which was planned and sponsored by my loving parents.

It happened that beside our house,there is a shop where different games are played and I spent my morning time there until I was told of my mum call. I was surprised on how I left for the call not less than some seconds I was called which still baffles me today.
While with my mom,a heavy vehicle with a container forcefully made its way to where I was before I left for my momom call. At that instant my very life flashed and I was overwhelmed with great enmity for my past actions and I vouch never to be a bad kid again and my life was rebuilt again

I was a guy who loved having long hair, but in medical school, they don't usually allow high hairstyles or bushy hair. Growing hair just wasn't permitted for no apparent reason. If the girls were allowed to carry their braids or pride comfortably with their Bob-Marley hairstyles, then why couldn't the guys keep and grow their hair too?

Well, during my final year, I decided to grow a little bit of hair. I tried my best to maintain it, aiming for a look that was both disciplined and not just reckless.
After visiting a saloon after the end of last semester, I was able to pick just the perfect hairstyle.

Now, this semester, I have been questioned by some staff members about my hairstyle, but it seemed like they were targeting us without any real reason. What was it really about? The hairstyle?, they always asked. It felt unnecessary , and I couldn't help but wonder why they placed so much emphasis on our appearance when our focus should be on our studies and future as medical professionals.

Surprisingly, I had always found a way to distracte their attention up till now. How I had been able to be the only student to keep this kind of long strands remains a big win for me.

I was bullied in my primary school , I don’t know why but I was consistently bullied by other guys, So I wanted to end all this drama.

I didn’t like someone making fun of me, and of course, I was mentally strong, I didn’t want to tolerate these things.

Right from my childhood, i learned how to service? I learned how to handle tough situations, How to deal with them.
During my JSS2, I joined a boxing group and learnt how to fight.

I got my first belt in a community boxing fight, And guess what? No one could bother to tease me ever again.
This tells me one thing.

"Don’t talk act"
After my Secondary school, I tried enrolling into the Nigeria Defense Academy (NDA) because of my resistance to toughness. I woke up one morning, went to my Dad's room to brief him about joining NDA, which he accepted even though I am the only son he has. He wanted me to wear the military uniform with honor but that dream never came to pass.

One evening as we were preparing to get the NDA form, my dad asked me to switch the television from Africa magic to Channels tv news at 10pm. That news changed everything for me. Newsflash, "A Major sues Nigeria military for killing his son in training"

Why now was what was ringing in my mind.

My Father told me I must be crazy if I think after seeing this, he will allow me to continue my NDA dream fully knowing that I am the only son.

The next day, my Dad went to jamb to buy a jamb form for me. That was how I ended my dream carrier to study animal science.

Today was another practical turmoil. We left home around 8 AM to get to school. We knew it was a practical class, so we had to leave early to ensure we wouldn't miss out on anything.

When we arrived, we realized that the entrance to the practical hall was locked making us contemplate on the probability that the non-academic staff union strike and all that could have played a part.

Well, we waited there for nothing less than 30 minutes until the door was finally unlocked. The manager had shown up, but without supporting staff; we understood without being told that it was because of the strike.

We started off the practical and hoped that without time constraints we would be done quickly.
Surprisingly "in no time turned into hours", it was 5hrs.

Normally, I do not eat breakfast before going to school. It always made me feel uncomfortable and restless each time I tried. Usually prefered to eat in the afternoons on school days. However, this particular morning, a thought crossed my mind that I should get something to eat before heading to school, stubborn me never expected the practical to extend until 5 PM, though so I left with an empty stomach.

It’s saddening, but I challenged myself, I guess.
It’s not that I didn’t have an extra cash to buy food or snacks around; I just figured I could train myself, or rather train my stomach, to adjust to a different system.

(No mind all this oyibo, hunger really wipe me wetin no good today.)

I was home alone, I slept most of the day sleeping, so I decided to a little stroll when it was evening, to stretch myself a bit, just to make sure that fatigue doesn't get much of me. I didn't really have anywhere in mind to stroll to, so I just walked in any direction I felt like going. I use enjoying the cold breeze of the evening, at the same time listening to music using my headset. I felt good.

I came across a site where an hotel construction was ongoing, they just closed for the day and labourers were receiving their payments. Just as I almost walked past the site, I heard some commotion among the labourers, I turned around to see two grown men in their 40s, fighting themselves aggressively. I stopped and walked back, wondering what the problem could be that would warrant such.

I got to find out that the Engineers of the site gave both of them their wages for them to share equally, the money was shared, but unfortunately a change of 200 naira remained to be balanced to one of them, but there was no change, and the two of them refused to let the other go home with the money, or perhaps get the change the next day. They preferred battling themselves, other than looking for where to change the money.

200 naira looks too small to be fought over, but here it was enough for grown men to exercise their muscles, this is where the present economy has pushed us to, I couldn't blame them much. I felt embarrassed on their behalf, they have families, how will it look like if their wives or children passed by to see their father fighting. I was with 200 naira, I gave the money to them so they won't damage themselves further. They have families to feed, I guess that makes the smallest amount of money most valuable to them.

I was happy I could help, I watched as they took their different routes home. I didn't give because I had too much, just couldn't bear to see such men fighting over such amount of money. The incident kept flashing back in my mind after I got home, they could have inflicted damages on themselves that 200 naira won't be enough to treat them. I was happy that I was of help to them, it's a small world and a small life, let's spend the most of it happily and looking after others.

A few weeks back, I went to get some paints from the market. Some of my neighbors contributed money and asked me to buy from the same seller. The seller had various prices, but they gave me the colors they wanted. For me, I chose white. I wanted everything to be sparkling white.

After I got the paints and returned home, I gave them to my neighbors, and they all appreciated it. Some of them hired a painter to paint their houses and paid him 6,000 Naira each. While I thought about paying the painter the same amount, I decided I could paint it myself. What could go wrong? I decided to try it out.

I bought some cello tape and got started. I must say, it worked out perfectly! The cello tape helped create straight line designs, and it felt like I was a professional painter. Well, in case you need a painter, I'm here for you. 20k for one side of the wall

There is a particular lecturer in our class who always act very strict and unpredictable, leaving all the students to feel frustrated whenever he shows up. He often bragged about his seniority and authority, which only added to our annoyance.

A couple of weeks ago, he gave us homework that required extensive research. After putting in so much effort and submitting our assignments, we were disappointed to receive very low scores. The highest mark among us was just 5 out of 10. I can still remember how that assignment stressed me only for him to give me 4.

Then, four days ago, he reappeared in class and assigned another task. This time, he was even direct with his warming as he advised us not to use AI but instead to conduct thorough research, just like the previous assignment.

After thinking about going over the whole stress again just to get a low score again, I decided to use AI this time. I couldn't waste my time struggling with research again.
In the end, I scored 9 out of 10 by using AI, and honestly, I do not regret it at all.
He praised my research method in class and I felt good giving the man what he wanted.

Last week Thursday, I left the house early, determined to make the most of my day. I had school in mind and planned to read and stay productive. As soon as I got to school, I settled in, and the morning went by smoothly. I was finishing off tasks on my list, feeling good about my progress. By 1pm, I resolved it was time for a break.

One thing I’ve learned about staying productive is that knowing when to pause is just as important as getting the work done. I needed a moment to rest and recharge. I found myself in a large, empty hall. It was so quiet that I felt the need to just sit and relax. My phone battery was running low, but I decided not to worry about it too much. I thought it was better to conserve what was left for later.

Before I knew it, the calmness in the hall had me dozing off. I ended up taking an unplanned nap that lasted about 40 minutes. When I woke up, I felt like a new person, completely refreshed and ready to get back to work. Sometimes, all you need is a short rest to regain your energy and focus.

After my nap, I stayed in the hall, reading and getting more things done. The hours flew by quickly, and by evening, I was feeling accomplished. Just when I was wrapping up my study session, I got a call from my good friend. She told me she had prepared some food, and you already know what that means.

With my day’s work behind me, I headed straight to her place. We shared a nice meal, and it was the perfect way to end my day. After eating, I felt content and ready to go home, knowing I had balanced both productivity and rest well.

Yesterday, I received a call around 4 PM from an unknown number. The caller claimed that someone had referred my contact to him. Naturally, I was curious and asked for his details. He gave me another number to call, saying that the person on the other end was the one I would be working for. At that moment, it all seemed legitimate, and I didn't think twice about it.

After a short while, I called the number he provided. The man on the other line introduced himself as Mr. Anthony, a contractor who specializes in supplying anti-corrosive materials for underground pipes. He said he wanted to offer me a one-year contract. The conversation felt professional, and I started to get excited about the opportunity. Mr. Anthony even mentioned a specific location for his company and gave me the number of the CEO, which made everything seem even more official.

Feeling optimistic, I decided to reach out to the CEO. When I finally got through, the CEO also seemed pleasant, but then he dropped a bombshell: I would have to pay for the goods to be delivered. At that moment, all my excitement turned to doubt. I started connecting the dots and realized that something was off. I had never met any of them in person, and asking me to pay upfront was a huge red flag.

The whole situation felt like a well-orchestrated scam. I couldn’t believe how cleverly they had set it up, making everything sound so real and convincing. From the referral to the professional tone of the calls, it all seemed designed to put me at ease.

I realized how important it is to trust your instincts. It’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of a potential opportunity, especially when it seems so legitimate. I’m just grateful I caught on before it was too late.

You all still remember the last ASUU strike?
We the students had presumed wrongly that it was only going to last a few weeks, but few weeks turned into months and into several months.

During the third month, my family unarranged talked about how several months had passed and how I had wasted doing nothing beneficial. Mom further suggested that if I was interested in working to earn an extra income rather than just sitting back at home and claiming that I was studying python (something she never understood) on my phone all day, that I could rather get myself busy with something and still make extra money for myself.

I took the night to think about it and the next day, I affirmed to my mom's suggestions and then she also had to reach out to one of our relative working at a foreign charcoal factory within the state.

Well, after some few minutes of negotiation my mother called out informing me that a space was waiting.
The factory work, she said: was going to add to my confidence, experience and the best part, I was going to earn extra income for myself.

The days after, I was set for the journey, leaving behind my smartphone, and anything that could distract my focus.
I went with one of my button phones instead.

After I arrived at the large factory, I met with the relative who showed me around and instructed to always call to his attention whenever I needed anything.

About the factory, there was many things to talk about: bad network, the smokey environments...
everything was just dissatisfying for me but I was kind of uhmm trying to adapt.
Gaining an experience on this field was priority at that moment.

I was sitting listening to a French song, trying to pronounce each lyric.
French can be so deceiving, the way the words look on books often has little to do with how they sound, and I was determined to wrap my mouth around each note, even if I was making mistakes. I loved the very song playing and it was always heartbreaking listening to one of my favourite songs and yet I couldn't sing a verse.

With my headphones still on, I focused on the music, trying to translate some of the words into English, that was how I made french less difficult back in secondary school.
Suddenly, a flashback hit me, transporting me back to my secondary school days, and I couldn’t help but smile.

I didn't know enough in french but I loved French back then. It didn’t matter that it was a bit tough because I had my own little tricks to read and pass all tests and exams. I would often memorise my French classes with the help of familiar french music's that I knew their translations in English. Those songs made everything feel so accessible. I would sing along with joy, effortlessly picking up vocabulary that would come in handy later.

Compositions were always the best that i loved the most because i had those french songs at the back of my fingers, i would just translate the words and join them together to create complete sentences with meaning. I could also speak french by extracting and joining words from the many songs that I know.

Back then in my secondary school days I used to be very good in mathematics but after my WAEC I forgot everything about mathematics because I wanted to do medical course in the university so all my attention was on biology

Though from time to time I still try to test my knowledge on mathematical problems but most times I fail either I had forgotten the right approach or maybe I missed it along the line but that was never a problem because it has nothing to do with my academic but just an extra knowledge

Today happens to be one of those days to prove my intelligence a very good friend of mine she had just tried all things possible to remind me that she is more brilliant than myself but trust me a wouldn't allow that

The entire process began she was asking me medically related questions and I was doing so well but from know were she jumped into mathematics funny right

Anyways I am the man here so I was ready for any of her questions and then she drop the question which happens to be matrix particularly adjunct of matrix.

Omo it was actually the last I expected but what to do I just have to refresh my memories and dive into the the solving it was from one mistake to another but more excitingly is the fact that we were able to arrive at the exact answer.

The whole experience was indeed lit and getting to prove myself once again to her that I can be the boss just mad my day

One day, I was really craving something fried, but there was no groundnut oil in the house. I decided to go with palm oil instead, which seemed like a decent backup. Things were going smoothly while I bleached the oil, but when I added salt, everything changed. A huge flame came up, nearly burning my face. I ended up dropping some of the yam slices on the ground.

In my fear, I quickly covered the pot to stop the fire from spreading and turned off the gas immediately. My whole body was vibrating, and the thought of continuing to cook was out of the question.

For the rest of the day, I couldn't even go near the kitchen. The whole experience left me too shaken to try frying anything again. That night, I ended up buying food from a nearby shop because cooking was officially off the table.