Hi, I am Zainab.
I’m writing this from my dorm room on the first floor, in a small city where the sun seems not to shine. I mean… it does but it doesn’t matter. I feel like I have a story to tell, although I can’t seem to put down words right now. The articles sitting in my drafts waiting to be tossed into the world are not doing a great job of motivating me either.
Two weeks ago, I was checking out JavaScript tutorials in my room while the world passed by. Right now, I’m in my room fretting about my residence permit interview. A lot has changed, but I feel like I should start from the beginning.
Like I said earlier, I am Zainab. I really like my name and think you should too.😂Back to my story… I have always been the kid everyone stares at because I’m too young to be anywhere. Let me explain. I got into secondary school when I was 8. Seems cool, right? It was… until it wasn’t. However, that is a story for another day.
I graduated when I was 14 and went through an emotionally turbulent phase while waiting to get into university. Mind you, I was accepted into Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) to study the course of my choice, Computer Engineering. But as we all know, you can only dream about starting at a federal university within 3 months of graduation. As a person who was addicted to the school environment, this was hard to understand and I often spent days doing nothing and feeling empty.
Looking back, I could have done a lot with my time but I’m too young to have regrets. I think? In September, some of my ex-classmates started school and I was still stuck at home. I mean, I was the valedictorian. I was really tired of people asking when I was going to school. I could tell they began to doubt if I really got into OAU.
February 2020, while spending my time on the streets of the Internet, I happened upon a scholarship advert. It was a fully-funded scholarship to study in Turkey. From my brief research, I realised it was extremely competitive and was closing in a fortnight.
Obviously, I didn’t apply because I knew I would not get in. I mean more than 300,000 applicants from around the world and I expected to get in? Yeah, right. However, I stumbled upon the scholarship advert on Instagram and wondered if it was a sign. Yes, I believe in signs, to some extent.😅
Then, I decided to take the leap. The worst that could happen was getting a rejection mail and have you seen my inbox?😂 Long story, short, I applied. I had to beg a teacher from high school to write a recommendation letter as I only had a few days to the deadline when I decided to apply.
After 4 months without a reply from the scholarship committee, I assumed I wasn’t selected. I did not even waste my time checking for information on the Internet. I knew the successful applicants were supposed to get invitation emails for their interview after 3 months. So, why bother?
So, you can imagine my shock when I got an invite to an interview after 6 months. Apparently, the COVID-19 pandemic had slowed down the selection process. Unfortunately, there was a catch. I had to be in Abuja in 2 days for the interview. As a child, this meant one of my parents had to take me. As someone who doesn’t really like people going out of their way to help me, it was… a bit worrying.
What if I didn’t get accepted?
…
I also didn’t take a test of English language examination which was a requirement. I was scheduled to take the SAT in April but I couldn’t due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So, there really was no point in going which I tried to tell my mum. But she told me, they obviously knew all of these and I was still invited for an interview so there was no need to panic.
So… there I was, at the embassy with my documents trying to give myself a last-minute pep talk.😂 When it was my turn, because there were about 5 of us, I submitted my documents for screening with my fingers crossed. Then the huge question came, why did I want to study computer engineering?
Maybe I’m overly sensitive, but I really find it annoying when people ask why I want to study computer engineering. I’m sure if it was a guy being interviewed, he wouldn’t have to answer that. Anyway, I told them what they wanted to hear and killed the interview. Until I couldn’t define electrical current.🥴
I left the embassy that day feeling happy. I made it to the interview and that was huge for me. I was really proud of myself. I should mention that I had already started at OAU so the idea of rejection did not seem so bad.
Exactly 2 months later, I received my acceptance letter. It didn’t feel real and it still doesn’t. I was part of the 3% of the applicants that got chosen. It was huge. It meant leaving my whole life behind, learning a new language and moving to a new country. Now, it was real and things were going to change. I wasn’t ready.
This was where COVID did me a huge favour. Due to the pandemic, we could not travel and we had to have online classes. It was my chance to make memories with everyone. I wasn’t the one to text people or go around making friends but I knew I may never see these people again. So, I spent 8 months making friends, memories.
A month ago, I received an email that basically said,” Oya, pack your things and come o.” 😂 So yeah, I’m in Turkey about to go through massive changes and I’m excited.
What was the point of this again?
1) Change is scary, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise but it is almost always worth it.
2) Yeah, sometimes we feel like we are at our lowest but it can only get better. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad for going through a rough time, we all do. Remember, a bad day or week or a few months doesn’t make a bad life. Source: trust me😂😂
3) Take that leap. Take advantage of that opportunity, a no is the worst thing that can come out of it. So, that job, internship, school or whatever it is, apply for it. You might just get selected.
3) Time flies, so make the most of it.
Once again, I am Zainab. I hope you enjoyed my story despite my not have the best storytelling ability.