I thought I could be smarter

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As a little child, I fantasized about so many things. One of my many fantasies was to become a musician or an actress, but just like most African homes where parents dictate what their children will become, my parents wouldn't hear of it, especially my dad.

"You're going to be a surgeon. A great one at that, so quit this imagination and focus." My dad would always tell me and even though I disagreed with him, I'd nod a reply for peace to reign.

At such a young age, I had seen so many surgical movies which were the only movies my dad had made available at home. He felt that if I constantly watched the movies, I'd be intrigued by the procedures and maybe, it would get me to change my mind. One of these days, I went to my mom. Since it was still going to be a long time before I got into the university, it would be nice to fix things now.

"Mom, do you think that being a doctor will be good for me? I don't think I'll look good in a hospital dress." I whined and complained to my mom.

"Jenny, I'm pretty sure you'll be amazing and that's because you won't be just any kind of the regular doctor. You're going to become a cardiologist." My mom said to me.

"But mom, come to think of it, sticking knives in people's bodies isn't a great idea," I said again.

"You won't be sticking knives into their bodies. You'll be saving lives. You'll operate on people's hearts and save them. You'll do just great." She assured me.

The thought of holding a scalpel and cutting a person's heart open was horrifying. I gulped down the water on her side table and left the room.

A few months later, I got into high school luckily for me, it was a boarding school and I didn't have to live with my parents therefore, they wouldn't even notice if I did sciences or arts. I was very relieved to be far away from home. During one of the visitation periods, my dad engaged me in a conversation.

"Jenny, now that you're here, you'll have to focus. Science isn't a child's play and you need to be attentive at all times so you can make good grades. Do well to understand your core subjects which are Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. These are the courses you need to focus on as an upcoming medical student." My dad advised.

I stared at him and gave him a reassuring smile with a nod.
"But Dad, what if I end up being a lecturer which is better than being an actress or a musician?" I asked my dad.

"And why would you end up as a lecturer?" He replied with a question.

"I was just wondering. You know that most schools tend to retain their best teachers, so what if they retain me? Shouldn't that also be a reason to consider being into arts?" I said and I saw his face twitch.

"No, Jane." He shouted.

At that point, I knew it was unnecessary to argue anymore with him, seeing that he was already annoyed by my constant pestering.

"Jenny listen, you can be into science and still be a lecturer. The good thing about science is that you can do anything you want. You mustn't be in the arts department just to become a lecturer and the goal is to become a surgeon. So, it's still possible for you to turn down the request to be a lecturer and pursue your main dream." He said calmly to me.

He probably noticed the sad look on my face and he tried to be as calm as possible throughout the rest of the visiting hours. After he left, I went back to my hostel with the thought of our conversation.

"Well, I could be into arts and he wouldn't even notice. All I have to do is to pretend, and be good at it." I thought aloud and felt like a genius for having such a thought.

All through my high school education, I deceived my parents and while they thought I was into sciences, I focused on my arts courses and excelled greatly. Soon, I took the joint admission and matriculation examination (JAMB), and I scored 260 in my results. I was very happy and I didn't hesitate to share the news with my parents. The next day, my dad decided to visit so we could celebrate my success and that day, the devil came.

"So after everything, you still did well in sciences." He exclaimed with joy.

My heart sank as he mentioned sciences and I silently prayed that he doesn't ask to see the results himself. It must've been the devil because, at that moment, my physics teacher came out of the blue and walked towards our table. He was known to be a party crasher.
I glared at him so he could move away but he ignored me and came to us.

"Are you by chance, the father of Jane?" He asked my dad while shaking hands with him.

"Not by chance though. You must be one of her teachers. Am I right?" My dad replied with a smile.

"Yes, I am. Your daughter is a very brilliant girl and she has always topped her class since her first day in school. If only she was in the sciences, it would've been very wonderful." He finished his statement with a frown and my heart sank.

My father turned towards me. He seemed to be confused.
"What is he talking about, Jane?" He asked me.

"Dad, let me explain." I stammered in reply.
My dad turned back to the teacher and sighed loudly.

"Are you saying that my daughter hasn't been studying sciences since she came here?" He asked him.

The teacher who had then noticed the tension that was building up, turned to me. "Jenny, is anything the matter?" He asked me and I was mute.

After some time, my dad who had kept his face down suddenly stood to his feet and faced the teacher.

"My daughter's Jamb result would be null and void. Also, she won't be writing the upcoming West African Examination Council exams (WAEC). She'll go back to sciences and you will personally oversee that for me." My dad said and I immediately got down on my knees and cried.

"Dad, please. Any other punishment is okay but don't do this. How can I face my juniors?" I pleaded in tears.

"You should have thought of that before you decided to deceive me and your mother." He responded and with that, he walked away.

I ran after him, still pleading in tears and I called for the physics teacher to intervene, but he stood close by and did nothing.
And thus, I spent seven years in high school, instead of the normal six years and I still did the sciences but I was lucky to have also excelled in it.

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