What Life Experience I Have Learnt.

Everything cannot be taught in the classroom in life. And out of the stuff we put up with there are things. And when we learn through experience with life, those things we have learnt are stuck in our memories. I would like to tell you something I found out the hard way-something the schools could never teach me. It transformed me, molded me, and provided strength where I knew I did not have it. It is the source of believing in me, despite all the things that are collapsing around my life.

I am a female Nigerian who is the first child in a family that is both educational and disciplined. Since childhood, I have learned that the ability to follow the instructions, be hardworking, and respect older people is a good trait. I heard that life is about education. I thought it was true, completely. So I went full blast to it. I worked and broke through to university to study Anatomy-a course that was respected by a lot of people. My family was proud of being. The road ahead of me was obvious. I believed I knew about life. Mistaken.

I do remember. I was in my second year. We were doing a long difficult practical on the human skeleton. When I was walking back to the hostel my phone rang.It was my cousin. She was shaky in talking. Your daddy get in an accident? He is put in hospital.

I froze. It did not seem to be true in the beginning. I would say, what? Meaning-what The strongest man I knew was involved in a horrible car accident. He was in a fainting condition.

I left all and went home in a hurry. It seemed to be a trip that could not finish. Fear, confusion and even prayers flooded my mind.

I broke up when I got to the hospital.
Sitting outside the emergency unit sat my mother on a plastic chair. Her eyes bleed. My siblings of a younger age were puzzled and scared. I entered a room and found my father motionless lying on machines breathing slowly.

Doctors told me that he was bleeding within. He required an emergency operation. It was a gamble and one that had to be bowled over. That was the easy bit: now someone had to sign the consent form. My uncles were not present as yet. My mother was very weak to speak with. The doctors stared at me.

Me? Only a student? Studying anatomy? I would have liked to escape. I would have rather had an older person decide it. Nobody could like that.

And the doctor passed me the form. I was trembling on my hands. What is going to happen in case he does not survive? I asked. There is no time to wait. It is either now or never.” Fear seemed to creep up my whole body. However somewhere in me I knew that I had to concentrate. I recalled what I was taught at school: the functioning of the human body, the impact of blood loss on the organs and how time is the essence of life or death.

I posed questions. I demanded to know the scan. One of the family friends was in a different hospital and I could call them. I reflected and signed the paper. That instance was the first time I resorted to realizing: I could trust myself.

The surgery lasted more than four hours. We waited. We cried. My mother took my hand, and said her prayers. I continued to look at the time, my thought letting me re-play all the decisions that I had made. What would happen should I have wrongly chosen?

Then out came the doctor. His face was composed. His surgery was successful, he said. I gave a sigh I was unaware of breathing. Tears were falling over my cheeks. Everything turned upside down the night when my father opened his eyes and said,: Thank you.

I did not remain the same after that experience. I was no longer a student. I was an eye witness of a young lady who bridged a gap when nobody did. A responsible woman when faced with fear. This experience was something that I had never learned in any textbook, but I only learned through this day that I am stronger than I assume.

That same confidence came along in my studies. Anatomy was not only diagrams and definitions. I observed its actualisation in real life. I began to assist classmates in the practicals, and unraveled things in their greater depth. I went to the extent of participating in health outreaches where I volunteered in organizing screenings within the rural communities.

School was imparting knowledge in me. But life was teaching me common sense.

I was about to become as big as I could be and then life came to test me. My father fell sick once more in my last year. This was not the first time getting lost, this was deeper. He had suffered complications which required chronic treatment.

We did not have many funds left in our family. Medical bills were coming up. I had finals to think about but I could never concentrate. I had younger brothers. I was who everybody looked up to.

I came to a point when I nearly cried during the anatomy lab. I was fed up with it. I had not had any sleep. My project was behind. I was frightened at the thought of failing. and of course I recalled that hospital room. I was reminded that I had trusted myself once, it had even saved my father. I still had that same strength.

I forced myself. I read even when visiting the hospital. I was working on my project every time that I was taking care of my father. I privately wept but publicly, I held tough. When I finally completed the degree, I did not just result in a certificate. I had a greater pride with me--as I well knew what I had gone through to get that degree. It was not only grades. It was also concerning real life and tough decisions and how to stand by yourself.

As I look back today I understand that the largest lesson I learnt those years was not in a lecture hall. It was during the silent suffering moments of terror and choice. I was taught to follow my instincts. I came to know how to think in a stressful situation. I learned to take good care--and be strong as well. That is what experience can teach you.

They do not have certificates but remain in the heart.

Having read this, there is something that I would like to tell you: you are stronger than you imagine. Life can land you into circumstances that you have never thought of. You will have no textbook to go by. The sort of teacher to tell you what to do. But then you will have you.

And when you listen you will hear that voice within you. That voice will be saying, “Have faith in yourself.” When it comes, do not run away. Not a bit of it. That is your power voice.

Now, I am still in my process. I am to prepare for medical school where I want to specialize in neuroanatomy. I have the desire to know how the brain, the body and how the healing works. I want to be a nurse working with trauma patients because they are the people, like my father, who experienced close death and received a second chance in life.

And each step is one that I take, the things that I learned in life. The classroom provided me with knowledge. However, experience was an eye opener to me.

Such experience may be when we are in pain, confused, or in a crisis. Then you emerge out of it stronger, but it depends on where you survive. Then you make it yours. But in other times you make your story your gift to the world. The lesson I will take along with me is the following: I can trust myself. And you, so can you.

I will like to invite @olujay, @pretemi and others of my followers to participate in this contest.