1 – DO NOT PANIC (IT’S NOT THE END) - The first
thing a lot of people do when they get the news is to go berserk, please for
heaven’s sake, take it easy , I understand that over here in Nigeria may be
Africa, we are graded based on the paper, but the truth is YOU ARE NOT DEFINED BY THE PAPER, your worth more than the paper ,
your more valuable than an academic degree , so please don’t let a course grade
define your entire existence. I had a couple of friends who went into smoking
and alcohol just because they taught that their future had come to an abrupt
close.
"But Takashi u don’t get it, my parents will skin me, if
they find out". OKAY, chill. If you
have parents who are super optimistic, you can give them the news, I know
friends of mine also whose family’s supported them through 2-3 extra years, I
mean the kids where the ones who wanted to quit not even the parents. But if
you got my type of parents – AFRICAN, EDUCATED AND ACADEMIC DRIVEN, well I
suggest two things,
1-Don’t tell em and raise your school fees yourself – may be
through friends and relatives.
2 – Get a job during the holidays and raise your school fees,
am sure by the time you’re done working to raise your own school fee for a year
or two, you aint gonna get any more extra year, that i assure you.
2 – VERIFY YOUR RESULTS (& print them)
Don’t just accept board result placements hook line and
sinker, did you write your exams properly? Are you affirmative you aced most questions?
Don’t sit in your room crying and moaning, chin up, go to the exam officers and
politely ask for course verification and result printout.
Ask for your scripts, because in case you don’t know, scripts
are sometimes misplaced and sometimes unmarked – I’ve seen it happen people!
Don’t sit there crying, crying don’t change nothing, buckle up , dress responsibly and walk to that
office to get your results confirmed and
don’t let any lecturer scare you, remember be polite, in Africa , we respect
the elderly so maintain the heritage but stand your ground POLITELY L.O.L.
3 – There’s a positive side to it (challenges are the
breakfast of champions)
Have you noticed that 100 level (1st year) students who just
got admission after school and those who stayed at home for a year or two think
differently? The one's who stayed at home for a time will cherish their
admission more than the one who had smooth sailing from the secondary school (high
school), they tend to take lectures and assignment more seriously than those
who didn’t. Why? you may ask, well they
faced trying times before and overcame them.
You are or may just be facing yours for the 1st time,
so it’s your time to overcome and not run. It is also a time for;
3a - REFLECTION; it's time
to reflect dear brother/dear sister, what were your reading habits like , how seriously
and urgently did you take assignments , tests and practical's , were you okay
skipping lectures ,PLEASE BE HONEST WITH YOUR SELF.
Take a proper look at your study time be honest with yourself;
- ·
Did you study as you ought to?
- ·
Did you join study groups or attend tutorials?
- ·
Did you ask for a friend or even a class colleague
(that may not be your friend) for a help when you encountered difficulties
during study or you rather stuck to your clicks, instead of seeking for
knowledge?
- ·
Did you go over past questions / and read them
thoroughly?
- ·
Did you teach anyone that which you knew? Anything
that is taught is retained longer than that which is just learnt or assimilated.
- ·
Did you follow the exam instructions properly?
- Did you answer the question head on when you where
suppose to discuss, or discussed when you were supposed to be direct, solve
when you were supposed to derive, or derived when you were supposed to solve?
- ·
How about your handwriting, is it legible ?– a 60 year
old lecturer in spectacles won't have to the time or patience to mark an
illegible script when he has 128 more to mark
"Hey Takashi don't tell me that, i read all through the
semester and i still failed", all right, here are some small but very helpful
tips
3a1 - SPEAK
WELL OF YOUR SELF: e.g., "this course is an a Course", "i don't
fail", "I am intelligent", "I understand math 102, chem. 512,
physics 404" etc, the point is whatever you say will stand, your words are
more important than 15hours of study, because the wrong words will in a single
second can bring down an entire duration of study. USE YOUR WORDS WISELY.
3a2 - STUDY
WITH OTHERS: i understand how important it is to sometimes study alone,
but it is more important to study with someone who knows and understands that
course better than you. Check it
out , you could study thermodynamics for 12 hours alone and only understand 2
laws, but you could get someone with more understanding and the person will be
able to communicate 6 - 7 laws to you within 3 -4 hours. And even answer a few
exam questions with you. So you see THE EFFECTIVENESS OF YOUR STUDY IS NOT IN
THE DURATION (HOURS) BUT IN YOUR UNDERSTANDING, I'd rather read for 3 hrs
and understand an 80 page course than read for 8 hrs and understand 15 pages
out of that 80 page course. BE EFFECTIVE IN STUDY.... Read with those who know
better than you at the moment.
That's why you should realize people are your opportunities;
make friends with those who are more understanding than you at the moment. Drop every hate,
dislike or prejudice to those of other tribes, ethnic groups, religion or race.
Now you're in the university and a great deal of your success will matter in
getting along with people from different backgrounds. BE HUMBLE ENOUGH TO
LEARN FROM THEM...
3b - TO PLAN
AHEAD;
You may have a
semester a year or a year plus, and as I mentioned earlier it’s not time to blame
or indulge in unhealthy lifestyles; pause and take a look at actions and
possible choices you made that may have brought you to where you are now, and
then take deliberate conscious steps
to ensure that you deal with them now and for all time. This won’t work if you
are not completely honest with yourself.
Remember, School is not the end, after you graduate there’s
the exam of life, which will include
marriage, parenting, modeling and lots more. Make up your mind that this extra
year will push you to make yourself a better individual, son, daughter, future mom,
dad, uncle and leader. Let the circumstance birth traits in you like patience, hard
work, diligence, focus and discipline. Don’t create excuses for failure, chin up
and prove to yourself that you’re better than your past.
3c - TO ADD
VALUE TO YOURSELF;
Patience, Endurance, Humility, Hard work, Tolerance e.t.c and
who says you can't start a business now, for those have a few courses, you
could start a business right there and begin gaining some extra cash for
yourself. Off course i wouldn't advice that if you have a bulk load of courses
to deal with, for those with still a lot of credit loads to deal with , just
focus on acing those courses.
4 – BE MATURE (TAKE RESPONSIBILITY)
Only kids blame. An adult that still blames situations,
friends and systems for his or her problems, isn’t ready to face life’s
challenges. I read a book that changed my life as teenager titled ‘TOUGH
TIMES DON’T LAST BUT TOUGH PEOPLE DO’ BY ROBERT SCHULLER. It previewed the lives of individuals
who went through terrible and sometimes gruesome situations of life but still
made something beautiful out of their lives. My point; challenges are bound to
come in your walk through life, some in their marriages, some in their health,
some academics, some jobs etc, but you must make up your mind to take
responsibility for where you are at the moment and make up your mind to make changes
when and where necessary.
5 – KNOW WHEN TO MOVE OUT;
As much as this sounds like giving up, it’s not.
it’s always good to
know when s**t hits the fan, let say you got admission into school in
2005, and it’s a five years course, and now it’s 2013, that’s a 3years extra.
Dear beloved, MOVE OUT!!!,
Why spend 8 years in course that was supposed to be 5 years and still paying
the same school fees again, when with that same school fees you could have
gotten a clipper and start a mobile barbing saloon, purchased a mini generator
/ projector that could be rented weekly/daily, purchase a colour printer that
prints for people e.t.c
What would then be the difference between you and the ordinary barber? It’s
this, you are barber with a dream, a
rental man/woman with a dream, a printer/photocopier with a dream with
determination to go back to school and make a beautiful life with your dream.
Never ever give up, make up your mind to become who you’ve
determined to be irrespective of the situation that face you. I say unto you,
cheer up it's not over until you say it is. Remember, the only one with enough
power to kill your dream is YOU!!
Yours truly
F.J TAKASHI
The publishers
Abugist blog
