I love changes, and then I hate some. It was time to leave my family, friends, my city and all I was familiar with after graduation from university and move to another state for a compulsory one-year program. Our government made it compulsory and I wished I had the power to cancel the whole thing.
It was a pleasant, sunny morning as my Dad drove me to the bus station but I was sad and emotional. I'd accepted my fate.
"Cheer up, Kemi. It's just for a year and Christmas is almost here anyway. We'll see you in three months," Dad said, trying to cheer me up. It didn't work.
"Sure, Dad," I said and lapsed into silence.
I was worried because I was going into unfamiliar territory. I would be without my family and friends. This situation wasn't new to me but I couldn't wrap my mind around the duration. One year!
While on the eight-hour road trip, I prayed I would meet nice people, make new friends and the program would be bearable.
This one-year program usually began with three weeks of camping. That was the part I dreaded more. I was a city girl and not ready to go hiking or trekking or doing any outdoor activities that I wasn't used to. People who passed through this program filled our ears with terrifying camp stories. I was shivering in my boots.
Upon arriving at the camp manned by soldiers, I noticed a big crowd—numerous fresh graduates from the university moving about. I felt like a fish out of water. Some people made friends already while some knew themselves right from school.
I scanned the crowd and couldn't see a single familiar face from my university. I became sadder. I dragged my bag with me and tried to complete my registration for a bed space when I heard a shrill voice yell my name.
What? Who knew me here?
I turned and glimpsed a slender, petite lady dressed in a white t-shirt and white shorts (one of the daytime camp uniforms) running towards me. As she came closer, I broke into a smile. A familiar face!
Image credit: Kirschner Amao
"Judith!" I screamed and we rushed into each other's arms. She was my classmate in university but we were not close and barely spoke then. Our interactions were brief exchanges of "hello" and "hi". I was pleasantly surprised to see her.
"It's good to see you," she exclaimed, gripping my forearms and giving me a quick once-over. "I thought I wouldn't see a familiar face and yet, here you are. You just arrived?"
"Yes," I said, a little out of breath from excitement. "We had car trouble on the way or I could have gotten here earlier. I'm trying to get a bed space. That lady over there said there's none until tomorrow." I explained.
"Pff, ignore her. She must be reserving the limited space for her people. Come, we can stay together."
I couldn't believe my ears. Judith was heaven-sent at that moment. Anyone watching us then would assume we were close friends in school. She helped carry my bag while I finished my registration. We walked to the dormitory together and I settled in. It was not a comfortable place but we made the best of the situation.
Throughout the three weeks I spent in camp, Judith and I became close friends. After the grilling and drilling by the soldiers, we would return to our dorm with aching muscles. We would lie down together and reminisce about school days. We wondered if our relationship would have turned out okay if we had been good friends right from the university.
Our circumstance made us ditch any formalities or rules of initiating friendship, if there was any. We became friends by necessity, not by choice and it turned out to be a lovely and lasting relationship.
Our camaraderie helped us conquer the rigours of camp life and got us through one year in a new environment. There were times when people tried to take advantage of our inexperience and ignorance of their lifestyle and we stood in unity against them.
I couldn't have asked for a better friend and companion in such a new environment.