Dear Sleeping Beauties, Don’t Bother Waking Up: It’s Only Week 9 out of 11 Weeks
By Sanni Juliet Oluwadarapupo
You know something, there is this thing my village people know me for and they have been using it against me. Who am I to stop them, when I know I can’t win against them? You tell me why the only person that understands the way I feel at this point is the weather, the cozy feeling, relaxing breeze, the night for two I don’t get to feel, because the weather just makes it so comfortable for me to snuggle in. You tell me why, but then, who am to stop nature, when nature does its thing, no being can stop it, except the creator. So am I the creator? No, just an average uni Ibadan student still trying to figure out what this session will be like. Last last, I just know that I will be fine, I will not lose my sanity all in the name of a degree.
Just maybe, heaven saw my frustration when I had to go from one lecturer’s office to another professor’s office. I spent money on airtime, something I haven’t done in a while, now that the internet is readily available. I burnt my midnight candle and transitioned my study space to a prayer altar, just so I could get accommodation on campus. I never seem to learn right. I thought it was going to be different this time. Last time was not as bad as this, but this time, I can't even explain it. Getting a room at the sixth week blows my mind, I just pray next time the shege will not be this severe. During this phase, I have been able to develop myself and acquire one or two survival skills, which I know will be very helpful to me in the future. It still amazes me how I was able to meet up with classes as early as 7:30 am in the morning to as late as 6 pm in the evening while squatting with a friend. So yes, I guess this is heaven’s way of consoling me for all the stress I have been through.
Just when I am about to have the time of my life, my course mates appear, looking so scary, with their baggy eyelids, I don’t know who they are trying to scare but thou shall not fear. And you know the most annoying question they ask me is, how far, how is reading going? This always pisses me off, like, don’t you know what I have been through? My mental health has been hanging on a thread. So now that I need to recuperate from all that I have lost, you expect me to burn the midnight candle. Well I guess the saying is true, no one knows what you are going through, except yourself. So I understand, they don’t know what I have been through but can’t they just chill, it is just week 9 out of 11 weeks, there is still time. At the end of the day, we will all be fine.
As for me and my being, I have suffered enough to now have to undergo further torment just when I started finding peace. My lecturer always emphasizes how important our mental health is and that is exactly what I am going to do. Why attend school and still not live by what you have been taught? That would mean learning has not taken place, as it is not being replicated in real life. So I am doing what is right and necessary. My mental health is my priority. It is not as if the school waited for me during my tumultuous era, I had to find a way to cope. So why should I now?
I have lost enough, be it physically or emotionally. My mental health has been disturbed and tampered. It is revealed in my body weight and visible clavicles. It is not as if exams will wait for me. The school waits for no one. During my trying times, it never waited for me to settle down, it kept on moving, so why should I follow it now? At the end of the day, results don’t matter in heaven, they say, which is my end goal or don’t you want to make heaven?
To my fellow sleeping beauties, I understand the plight and suffering you have been through, do not be moved or terrified by those who want to intimidate you. It is just week 9 out of 11 weeks, there is still time. So grab your blanket, wear something cozy and wait for the weather to cuddle you in. A lot can happen in a day. Joseph’s story changed from a prisoner at night to a governor the following morning, a transformation of less than 24 hours. You don’t know how much you can cover before the night of your exam. This is not my first rodeo, if I can do it so can YOU!!! I believe in you.
I emphasize again, it is only week 9 out of 11 weeks, so just chill.
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