Time flies. Ten years ago, my calm, disciplined, friendly, shorter, and chubbier self was rounding up six long but eventful years of secondary school. In my penultimate year, SS2 (Year 11) I was asked to be the Head Girl. Jitters! I remember and still have the letter from my school addressed to ‘Mr and Mrs Oluwatoni’ informing my mum of the school’s decision, stating the reasons why and allowing me to choose whether I was up for the task. I was flattered, encouraged and confident that I would do my best as I always tried to do so with all responsibilities given, but also nervous.
Ten years later, I would say, I am still calm, and friendly and my aunties’ remarks since then have repeatedly assured me that I have stretched. In this world you and I live in, there are sooooo many distractions, so it’s not as easy as it was ten years ago to stay disciplined. But, of course, the pursuit remains. I make it a habit to journal, and it helps me capture thoughts that sprint across my mind and allows me to reflect on events days and years later, like today.
Today, I thought I should share some notes that I would slide to my younger self if time-travel were a thing, in hopes that you find some valuable nuggets for yourself or anyone you know. Here they are in no specific order of importance:
1. You are multi-layered, and that’s okay
A friend of mine shared this gem while we walked to our shared module, Health Policy, Process and Power. Stepping over puddles, I took in her words, reminded of the fact that what happens in senior secondary school causing students to think they can only be defined by being a ‘Science’ or ‘Art’ student is not the best. You are multi-layered, and that’s okay. You will soon — if you have not already — realise that although the structure of education, whether primary, secondary or tertiary seems solid, it is imperfect. You are more than a ‘Science’ or ‘Art’ student. You can be more than those boxes. You may have a flair for crafting literary masterpieces while also being a boss at organic chemistry and you can develop both simultaneously if you currently think otherwise. You may have an intense passion for understanding and communicating the intricacies of government while having a good grasp of plant and animal biology. Contrary to what the school system paints, you do not have to be one thing, you do not have to choose a university course and become an expert in just that one thing. You may leave university like someone I met yesterday, having studied Genetics, and have a totally different path you would like to pursue. I would not say the popular saying, ‘follow your heart’ but rather, do not let your course of study limit you.
You may have a flair for crafting literary masterpieces while also being a boss at organic chemistry and you can develop both simultaneously if you currently think otherwise.
2. Learn the skills boo!
You know one thing which I wish I did ‘with my full chest’ (Nigerian slang for wholeheartedly)? Learn any skill I had an interest and opportunity to learn. You know what else? Learn skills I had no immediate interest in but were valuable to the world, solved problems and profitable. The first is a no brainer i.e. skills I had an interest in but the latter is uncomfortable, requires effort and can be difficult. For example, coding. I can totally see my cousin’s face reading this like ‘I told you so!’ A few years ago, I was encouraged to learn to code by my polymath cousin and I still plan to learn. However, I did read an article recently titled ‘Please don’t learn to code’ on Tech Crunch and I agree with some points made. Anyway, I say learn the skills boo to encourage you simply to learn what may not come as easily to you but is a valuable skill in our current climes, solves problems and is profitable.
3. Everything good will come
Everything good will come is the title of a great book by Sefi Atta, and it is also a statement I firmly believe in and encourage you to also believe. You are probably hoping to fast-track secondary school, especially if you are in boarding school, don’t like your school or just don’t like school, period. Everything good will come. The amazing thing about us humans is that we hope for things, only for those things to come and we do not immerse ourselves and embrace the goodness of what they hold. So, I encourage you to rest, be present in all you have and are doing, stay hopeful that your dreams will come to pass with faith and work towards them and when those good things come, embrace them wholly.
So, I encourage you to rest, be present in all you have and are doing, stay hopeful that your dreams will come to pass with faith and work towards them and when those good things come, embrace them wholly.
4. Slip-ups won’t be the end of you
This. I hope you read and re-read this — slip-ups won’t be the end of you. The things you wish you had not thought, said, done, they won’t be the end of you. I say this with hindsight about the mistakes I have made. We all stray to varying degrees, at times not comparable to each other, but like each other, we all stray. How won’t your slip ups be the end of you? Well, you and you alone have that decision to make. Some things that have helped me when I have made mistakes: writing about it, talking to a trusted person about it, my faith in God, a willingness to choose the right way over the wrong, and honestly… music and books. If this is something you would like me to speak more about, I don’t mind discussing, let me know in the comments or send a message.
5. Money is not everything, but financial literacy is key to almost everything
Money, money, money!!! We all have different experiences with money. Our upbringing and current surroundings greatly influence our understanding of money, spending, saving, investing and more. Financial literacy is greatly underestimated, and it holds a key to unlocking a great, comfortable future and standard of living. While aiming for good grades, a career path, sports, music and other achievements, remember that to sustain yourself and your future family, understanding money goes a long way. You need money to eat, live, move around your country, across countries and continents and enjoy those things you dream of and bookmark on social media. Just saying. So, learn. There are resources you can use on YouTube to learn, simply paying attention to financial news, using tools such as financial literacy platforms for learning will be worth it now and in the long run.
Okay, I will leave you with these five for now. It is not all I have to say but let’s not make it longer than it should be for those who have read until this point are willing to read! Catch you with Part 2 perhaps?
