Secondary School

I went to school the next day to get information of how my schooling would be from now on. When I got there, my headmaster told me not to worry. He said the uniform, books, tuition and every other expenses for the new school had already been paid for. The school was in the city and was a bit distant from my house so they had assigned a vehicle that would come pick me up when the new academic session begins. My feeding had also been paid for in the school so I could have more than enough food to eat. I was happy at this because now everyone at home would have a little more to eat since I wasn't going to be eating home food in the mornings. So everything had been taken care of and I didn't need to fret about a thing.

During the holiday I would go with my family to do work too so I could add my own little efforts for slightly more income.

Finally, the new academic session began. Early in the morning around 7 o'clock, the vehicle came to pick me. I had provided information about my house address and how to get there the day I went to school after I had checked my result. That was the first time I ever entered a vehicle. All my life I had been transporting by foot as Baba could afford to buy a bicycle. It was a different experience for me and I was very excited but of course didn't show it so much and maintained comportment. The journey was quick and kind of smooth as there were no hold ups and a there were only a few potholes. We arrived at the school some minutes later. The driver told me i could get down now so I did. The school was massive. I saw things I had never seen in my life. They had a garden. There was a big clock that displayed time so I knew I arrived at 7:20. The environment was so different and posh. Everything was orderly and arranged as it was so obvious that they had a particular system set in place. I saw students walking about as the actual school hours had not yet began; some of whom their parents had come to drop off in their cars.

I asked for directions to the principal's office where I could get my uniform, books and everything else I needed to begin my studies. The first girl I asked looked at me with such disdain like I was just picked up from the dustbin. She hissed and continued talking to her friends. I felt really bad. I wasn't dressed so badly but it was obvious that I was poor as my clothes were looking old and raggedy and my footwear wasn't so appealing either. It wasn't my fault and I was doing everything I could to make I and my family better. I wasn't going to let negativity stop me. I was a bit thrown off balance in my mind but another girl who had seen me and didn't like the way they treated me came to meet me. She asked me what my name was and I told her my name was Miriam. She said "nice to meet you, my name is Janet. I see you're new here, who are you searching for?" I told her I was searching for the principal's office because I wanted to collect my uniform and books so I could begin my school there. She looked happy to have me as a school mate i don't know why. But I knew one thing for sure, she was nice and humble so I replicated the same energy. She then directed me to the office and I expressed my gratitude.

I got there, knocked and was told to come in. I met the principal and told him who I was and he also seemed nice and welcoming so I felt a bit comfortable. He gave me all I needed and told me to go change in the restroom and I could come drop my clothes in the office and pick all my belongings up when we closed. He gave me a new and beautiful backpack. I never had a backpack before. We couldn't afford one so I would always put my books in a nylon bag to school. He also showed me all my books and said I could take them home little by little so it's not too heavy for me. I was given 4 uniforms, 3 school shoes and 3 socks so I could easily use them interchangeably. I was happy but I knew one thing for sure, I was going to face a lot of rich-poor discrimination but boy was a ready. It wasn't new to me so I had gotten used to it. It would still hurt a lot but it was a familiar pain.

I changed into my uniform and I won't lie it felt good and dropped my house clothes in his office just as he told me. He then gave me the books I needed both textbooks and notebooks as well as all the necessary stationeries. My name was already written on them. On my way out of his office I met my new found friend and told her my class. I was to begin JSS1 so she gave me directions to my class. She was in JSS3 and so we're Mrs. Proudy two shoes and her clique. I went up to my class and my academics began fully. My classmates didn't treat me nicely but I made a few friends most of whom were also on scholarship from other primary schools in our village so we were tagged as the scholarship gang. I was a lone wolf with the determination in my mind to beat everyone and become the best and I did just that. But I still related with my friends and was nice to people. We're nothing but pencils in the hand of the creator so who am I to be proud.

Time went by pretty quickly and I was super happy because even though they kept picking on me because I was poor, I continued to beat them and maintain the first position in my class. I knew they were jealous and it made me even happier. My sponsor was also very proud of me and although I had not met him before, I was grateful to God that someone like him had come into my life when I needed it the most. For that I'm eternally grateful. In three years, we were done with junior school. I had all A's in my BECE examination which I was so proud of and so were my family, my school and my sponsor. We got into senior school and I continued to top my class as always.