Growth In The Gaps

The year I wrote JAMB was the most academically intense year ever for me. In my country, JAMB is an examination that high school students must take to proceed to the next level. The higher your score, the better the course you get. For example, if you aim to study medicine or pharmacy at the university, you have to get a very high score compared to other courses. Law was and still is one of the courses where you have to get a very high score in JAMB. After I gave up on my childhood dream, Law became the next thing that appealed to me. It became my new dream and I would often envision myself in a black robe and wig. Pretty interesting, right? For years, this dream stuck with me, and I did everything I could to make sure it came to pass.

I wrote down my “How to get a good Jamb score” on a sticky note and plastered it on my wall. I started reading every day. It was then that I learnt how to pull off all-nighters. I remember how I read subjects like Government from the beginning to the end. I read my government textbook from the first page to the last. At the time, we had two Government textbooks; Essential Government and Comprehensive Education. Most of my classmates preferred the former, but somehow, the latter did it for me. I read that textbook every day till I completed it. Yes, the whole thing. I did the same with literature and CRS. I was fully prepared for the exam until life decided to show me who had the upper hand.

2 weeks to my exam, an exam I had been preparing for for months, I fell sick. I fell sick to my bones. My body became very weak, and my skin was almost as white as snow. I could barely move my fingers. I couldn’t eat anything for more than one week. I depended solely on drips. Nothing was working! Whenever my mom and I talk about that day, she’d remind me that she thought I would die. It was that bad. My mom and siblings told me that I wouldn’t be able to take the Jamb exam because I was too weak. Not taking the JAMB exam means you would have to wait a year, because the exam is held every year. I didn’t want that. It sounded somehow to me. Luckily for me, a day before my exam, I got a bit better. I was able to stand, but I couldn’t walk. I told them that even though I was sick, I didn’t want to miss that chance. They saw that I wouldn’t change my mind no matter what they said, so they decided to let me have my way.

The next day, my mom took me to the exam center. I couldn’t walk and she had to carry me on her back. While other people queued to go in, I was given special treatment because I was sick. I entered the exam hall and typed in my registration number to start my exam. It was as if the questions were dancing. For the first 10 minutes, I managed to answer the questions well. But the headache got out of hand, so I stopped and put my head on my lap. My body was literally shaking. I closed my eyes and managed to sleep. It felt like I slept for hours, but the sleep wasn’t even up to five minutes. I woke up and continued with the exam. I managed to answer more than 70% of the questions and when I couldn’t take it anymore, I submitted without answering all the questions and left the exam hall. I didn’t even cross-check my answers. I got out and threw up.

When the results came out, I did better than I expected. I didn’t answer all the questions, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to get my desired result for law. And yes, my JAMB score wasn’t enough for Law. So, I decided to take a gap year. I stayed at home for about a year before taking the next step. I applied for a teaching job, although the experience was ugly, I learnt a few things. The teaching job helped boost my confidence level and I think that was where I learnt how to teach students well. After the gap year, I proceeded to the next step and things have been going well so far.

Taking a gap year does not mean you are weak. It doesn’t mean you are a failure. Sometimes, taking a gap year is a good move for growth.

This is my entry to the Hive Learners’ prompt. The topic is: GAP YEAR. Is taking a gap year a good move for growth? Or is it simply an excuse for procrastination?

Images in this post are mine.

Thanks for reading.