I was looking forward to my NYSC (National Youth Service Corp) and was excited about it. The feeling was special because I had always admired that uniform even as a child. I saw myself in it and bringing that dream to life made my joy boundless.
Out of excitement, I grabbed my phone and decided to text my childhood friend who had shared that dream together. I had finished typing when I suddenly felt like it wasn't the right thing to do.
Kemi and I were really good friends; we had dreams of doing so many things together, including serving the nation after school. But as life would have it, we got separated after secondary school. She got admission into a polytechnic while I had to wait for some time before getting admission into the university.
She completed her first degree in the polytechnic even before I got into the university but it didn't change anything. We still had our plans intact despite the time differences between our education.
My admission went through, and I expected Kemi to continue with her HND, but she couldn't. Her parents didn't have the capacity so she decided to work and furthermore, but that didn't happen. Kemi got caught up with so many struggles that ended her education dreams.
"She should be happy for me," I muttered and hit the send button.
I got a face with a rolling eyes emoji as a response and was curious why she sent it.
"What's up, dear? Is anything wrong?" I replied.
"Nothing, I was just surprised you are still excited about this NYSC thing. It's been years," She replied.
I knew where that response came from but I didn't want to just assume that she wasn't happy for me.
"Yes, I know. It's been years but I still want it."
"It's a good thing but don't have high hopes about NYSC.
There is actually nothing special about the whole program," Kemi replied and there was this notification showing that she was still typing.
I waited for her text before typing because I was eager to know what else she had in mind.
"Do you remember my cousin who I told you served the other time?" Kemi asked.
"Yes, I do. The one in Abuja?" I replied.
"Yes, he didn't get a job after serving and even regretted it. He wished he had spent that whole time searching for a proper job," She replied.
"Really? That's terrible," I replied.
"So think about it properly before channeling efforts into the processing. Just look for a job and move on," Kemi replied and I thanked her for the advice.
We caught on each other's lives and I felt good to know her family was doing well.
After the chat, I couldn't stop processing what Kemi said.
Sometimes, there could be truth in words that look like hate, but not this one. She just wanted to discourage me from doing that thing without her.
While thinking about the brief chat, I remembered sometime last year when she went to see her friend who returned home from serving the nation. Kemi wore the corper's cap, snapped a picture of herself, and posted on her Whatsapp status with the caption, "Old dreams don't die."
"If old dreams don't die, why discourage me?" I muttered and just tried putting everything she said behind me.
My image
Weeks passed and that dream came to reality. I posted a picture of myself in uniform and Kemi was the first to request for all the pictures I took. She flooded her status with my pictures and different sweet captions.
I began wondering where the advice she gave me weeks back came from. I didn't hold grudges with her and just let it slide.
