Stella had an interesting personality. She didn't seem like the clever type, but I could tell she had a good heart. Stella was my classmate in med school but we weren't close at first. Stella really struggled with her academics. She found it difficult to cope with the academic load. She only managed to pass exams by the skin of her teeth.
Whenever results were released and there was a poor grade, everyone in class knew it would be Stella's. Stella had 3 girls as her close friends. Even though they claimed to be Stella's friend, I could tell they looked down on her. They barely passed on any opportunity to demean Stella, disguising it as a joke.
One fateful day, while we were in class waiting patiently for the lecturer to arrive, I noticed Stella. She seemed really sad, so I tried to find out what was wrong
"Hey Stella, you look sad. What's wrong?" I asked.
"It's nothing. I'm fine" Stella replied, trying to shift my focus from the fact that she was sad.
I decided not to ask further and next thing I knew, everyone was looking at their phones. I was curious about why everyone was checking their phones at the same time, then I got a notification that a result had been released.
I quickly checked my result and I was glad to see that I didn't fail.
Stella started sobbing next to me. It suspected that it might because she failed. I decided to ask her again what was wrong.
"What's wrong Stella? Is it your result? I want you to know that you can talk to me about it" I said.
"Okay. I'm struggling so much with my academics. I just failed this course. Most times, I find it so hard to understand or remember things I read. I'm scared that if I continue like this I won't graduate with the rest of you. I just" Stella said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
I couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
"You know what Stella, would you like to join my study group?" I asked, because I knew she would benefit a lot from it.
In my head, I thought that maybe Stella just needed to study with people who would help her understand things, motivate her and even push her.
"Really? I would really love to join" Stella said, with excitement on her face.
"Alright then. You can join us tomorrow. I'll inform the others" I replied.
Stella joined the study group the next day.
"Everyone, as you all know, this is Stella. I told you all about her. So she'll be joining us henceforth" I said, introducing Stella to the group.
"Welcome Stella. You're going to have an amazing time with us" William, who was a member of the group, said.
Within a short period, she became like family. I got to learn that Stella was actually smart, she just needed a little push. Studying with Stella revealed to me how beautiful her heart was. She was the kindest person I ever met.
Most nights, we would stay awake, studying. It took some time for her to get used to staying up at night but eventually she got used to it.
One day, as we were about to write an exam, I looked at Stella and I could tell she was anxious. I could see her trembling.
"Are you okay?" I asked
"No, I feel nervous. What if I forget everything I've read?" Stella asked, with worry on her face.
I could see that she was starting to lose confidence in herself, and consequently, she was starting to fall apart.
"Come on. You won't forget anything. You've done your part. You've studied so hard for this exam, and we've revised everything. You've got this" I said to her in an attempt to restore her confidence.
We went in for the exam and when we came out, Stella had a big smile on her face.
"How did it go?" I asked
"It went great. For the first time in a long while, I wrote an exam in which I knew the answer to every question asked. The exam was so smooth" Stella said with excitement.
"That's good. I'm so glad it went great for you" I replied.
I was happy to see that she gained her confidence back. Stella's grades improved greatly over time and everyone noticed it.
By the time we were graduating, Stella was the best student in the clinical aspect of our training. It was beautiful to see how far she had come.
