WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE MY FAILURE. 1.

"You don't have to be successful to blog,  you can blog about your failures " -Tolu Ogunlesi. 

I went to a good secondary school. Thinking about it now,  one of the best in Nigeria.  The environment was beautiful and the staff put their best into everything they did. This is why,  I wonder why I even have to write this blog post. 

I was not the bad academically, being very well above average.  But,  I had one problem;  the one that took the devil 7 days and 7 nights to gather its ingredients, 11 to study it's recipe and 29 more to cook it;  Mathematics. 

This has to be the worst subject in the whole world.  I don't remember having problems with Maths until I got to  SS1(Year 10) and got an F9 in the first term examination. I was surprised, I knew I did not like the subject but I did not expect to fail so woefully in it.  I just could not comprehend it.  My mother was worried,  she immediately offered to get me a tutor to help out but as the saying goes "the dog heading for destruction will not hear the hunter's whistle " I refused.  I told her I would study more,  take my classes more seriously and I will get better.  If only I listened...

I kept to my word,  studied more, paid attention in class and I improved! I went from F9 to E8!  Great improvement,  right?

My school changed its Principal, and the new principal carried a lot of change in her handbag. She changed the dining hall sitting arrangement, caterers,  she made teachers follow a new dress code, introduced a new way of appointing prefects,  and so on. 

The school usually appointed prefects from SS2(Year 11) and I was so sure I would be one.  I was well behaved and intelligent. What else could stop me?

Before the new principal,  prefects were chosen by a committee made up of the school heads and some teachers.  But,  the new principal decided that henceforth,  those who wanted to be prefects had to apply, by sending a letter to the schools vice principal stating which role they wanted,  and why they wanted it.  Then,  based on certain conditions like the behaviour of the student,  leadership abilities and grades,  they would then move on to the manifesto stage.  At the manifesto stage,  students had to convince the school,  well more like the committee involved that they were worth a shot. 

A memo was passed telling all SS2 students about the selection of the year's prefects. On the memo,  we were told that those who wanted to apply had to not have been in any form of disciplinary issue with the school,  had to have at least 7c's including English and Maths, had to be polite and many more...

I was sad. I had just managed to move from an E8 to a D7 in Maths. I had A's and at worst a C in my other subjects.  Did this mean I wouldn't be a prefect?  Something I had looked forward to since JS1(Year 7)? I remembered how prefects were demi-gods who were feared and much respected.  So I would never be feared and respected like that? I was so devastated. So many thoughts came to my mind; how I used to close my last button and put up my tie so I could make a good impression to the teachers even though I hated it. And how I rushed to lead assembly in the mornings so I could show leadership abilities.  Oh what a waste!

That experience taught me a big lesson; do things because you love them,  never try to please people.  I eventually got better in Mathematics,  I also passed my WAEC and NECO examinations. 
Another lesson is that, a stitch in time saves nine.  If I had accepted the help I needed I may have been a prefect. 

Does being a prefect still matter now that I am an adult?  No. Do I wish I was one?  Absolutely yes!