If there is one question that has followed me into adulthood, it is this, Would my life have been different if I had gone to another school?
I won't say I was born with a silver spoon but my parents ensured I attended the best of schools within our region from Primary to University.
When I was younger, I believed the name of a school carried magical powers. I remember the joy of saying, I am a graduate of Demonstration Secondary School, it was among the top three in Zaria at the time, so, you can imagine why my shoulders were high up in the sky.
I often heard people introduce themselves by mentioning their school before anything else, as if the institution alone could explain who they were. You would hear things like "I am a first class student from OAU", OAU is an acronym for Obafemi Awolowo University in case you're wondering or "Naturally Ahead" that's the motto of Ahmadu Bello University by the way.
Consider yourself educated, you're welcome.
For a while, I bought into that idea. But life has a way of making you see differently. As the years passed, I met people from prestigious universities who lacked direction, and I met others from schools many would consider ordinary who were doing extraordinary things. Some became entrepreneurs, others became lecturers, health workers, writers, and tech professionals.
The difference was rarely the school itself. More often, it was what they did with the opportunities available to them. Looking back at my own journey, I realize that school gave me more than lectures and examinations. It gave me people.
Some of my most valuable lessons never came from a classroom. They came from conversations under trees after lectures, heated debates in our crowded rooms, friendships that survived difficult seasons, and encounters with people whose experiences were completely different from mine. Those interactions shaped the way I see the world today.
The truth is that many schools can teach the same theories, formulas, and concepts. A biology textbook remains a biology textbook regardless of where it is taught. The internet has made knowledge even more accessible than ever before. Today, someone can learn coding, content creation, project management, or data analysis from their bedroom.
Yet school is about more than information. It is about environment. It is about the people who challenge your thinking, the mentors who inspire you, and the experiences that force you to grow. Two people can study the same course in different institutions and leave with completely different perspectives on life.
So, if I had the opportunity to travel back in time, would I change my university or any of the schools I attended?
Surprisingly, no.
Not because it was perfect. Far from it.
There were frustrating days, bureaucratic hurdles, strikes, and moments when I wished things were different. But changing the school would mean changing the people I met and the experiences that shaped me. It might mean never crossing paths with some of the friends who influenced my journey or missing lessons that later became valuable in ways I could never have predicted.
Would another university have offered better facilities or a stronger reputation? Perhaps. Did I say perhaps? Definitely.
But the person writing these words today was shaped by a unique combination of circumstances, relationships, challenges, and opportunities.
So does the school you attend matter?
Yes and No.
The school matters because it creates the environment where part of your story unfolds. But what matters even more is what you do while you are there. At the end of the day, a school can hand you knowledge, but only you can turn it into wisdom.
Image Credit is Mine.
