Jesus! I Finished My 1st Degree!

I’m sure every reader can sense the excitement in my voice. I ended my 5-year L.LB program today in the University of Lagos and truthfully, the real implication of that hasn’t fully settled in. 

Some days ago, I thought about when I got into the university in 2011. I was young and clueless. I didn’t know where my life was headed and I wanted to rewrite my past. I got into school thinking about how to gain back all the years I had wasted, how to come out with a first class, how to stand out, and how to still be myself. 

Looking back to that time and to this present time, the Boro inside me hasn’t changed so much.

The space between 2011 and 2016 has just been a mind-blowing period of development. And I am truly thankful to God. 

Just last week, I suffered from some slight (nevertheless wrong) bouts of depression. They say it’s the price creative and arts-inclined people have to pay for their genuis; I don’t want to agree. But that week as I studied for my exams, I felt like I wasn’t there enough in my life.

But today as I walked down to my room after my final paper, I thought about who I was when I walked through the gates of UNILAG and who I am now, and it gave me a lot of hope for who I am becoming and who I really want to be. 

For one, I had no dreams when I came into UNILAG. I was throughly dreamless. I was prepared to take life as it came and I strongly believed that those who made it to the top of any ladder, were simply destined to. 

Now? Now, I am a walking being of visions. I have dreams that even I am too scared to think of. It’s funny that some of the things I have achieved were once my lofty dreams. And it keeps me going to know that the things that were once my lofty dreams are now my conquered goals; I have hung my hat for them and they serve as testimonials framed on my wall. 

I mean, in my 5 years, I got my blue belt in karate (which takes about 1.5 years), I was blessed to be involved in the most genuine charity programs and literally and tangibly bring smiles to the faces of people, I worked over 5 paid jobs, I became a photographer and got better with every shot I took, I made some cool money doing freelance photography and writing, I served in church every year and loved it!, I made new awesome friends (and well, lost some), I got adventurous and took a two-day trip to a French-speaking west African country to teach English, take care of kids and just have fun for over a month, I learned ridiculous things and did away with bad habits, I ignored the voices in my head and sometimes listened to them. I won awards and sometimes did nice things that no one ever got to see. I have known God more and I have come to know that I still know nothing about Him, compared to all that He is. I even found someone to love.

And no, I am not forgetting this blog. This blog that has been like my baby. If there’s nothing about myself I’m proud of, I’m proud of this blog. The number of original content I have churned out keeps me believing in God’s creative power in my life. 

I am stepping out into the ‘real world’ almost like I stepped into UNILAG 5 years ago – absolutely clueless of the nitty gritty details of how the next five years will go for me. 

But just like a child, I am trusting!