This year has really been a rollercoaster of emotions for me. I've had moments of happiness, sadness, and times when I felt completely overwhelmed.
One thing I've learned this year is that sometimes we need to go through tough moments and face challenges to get to where we're meant to be in life.
I sat for two exams this year. The first one was fairly easy, but the second one was much harder for me.
During that period, I was struggling to feed myself. My school is a private school, and at some point, they increased the price of food, making it difficult for me to survive on the usual pocket money I received every month.
I complained to my brother, who usually sends me money, but he told me to manage. Most times, it wasn’t easy. Some days I had to go to bed hungry, and it wasn’t a lifestyle I was used to.
Still, I’ve always been a serious student with the determination to figure things out on my own. The hardship I faced at school was one of the reasons that brought me to Hive, as I wanted to become independent and find a way to support myself without relying on others.
When exam season came, it wasn’t easy. There were times when we had to sit for three courses within 3 to 4 days, which was very stressful.
Sometimes I stayed up late to cover my notes, even when my eyes were heavy and I had a headache. I pushed myself because I wanted to pass my exams and make my parents proud.
The exams eventually went well, and when the results came out, my hard work paid off. Although my results weren’t the best, I was satisfied with what I achieved. But then I faced another tough situation.
One of my teachers gave me an F in one of my courses—12%, which was far worse than I ever imagined. I knew I wasn’t that bad, so I chose not to accept the result. I called the teacher to file a complaint, and that was when he told me he couldn’t find my script, so he gave me a random score. I was unfamiliar with this kind of experience, and it was terrifying and heartbreaking because I feared I might have to retake the course. I asked my mum about the issue of missing script and it was from there she explained that it had happened to one of my sister's before while she was still in the university and she had to re-sit for the exam since her script was found this made me even be more afraid. I couldnt even tell her i have this same experience.
Thankfully, my missing script was eventually found, and I was overjoyed because I didn’t know how I would have told my mum, who worked so hard for me. The teacher told me he had marked the script but forgot to record the score. I had passed the exam, and he assured me they would correct the result on the school portal.
As I mentioned, this year hasn’t been the easiest, but I’ve learned to always stay hopeful. When I initially saw the failed course, I lost hope. But by speaking up and addressing the issue, I found a solution. I’m grateful to God for that.
When I told my mum what happened, she said it was because I don’t pray to God before doing things, which was true. That was another lesson for me—if I had prayed before and after the exam, I might not have gone through the stress of the missing script, which has caused many people to retake a course they didn’t even fail.