THE JOURNEY OF LIFE

STEPPING INTO THE UNKNOWN

Chapter Four

When my final year of secondary school finally came to an end, I experienced emotions I couldn't quite explain.

Part of me was happy.

I had reached the end of a major chapter of my life. I had worked through the years, made memories, built friendships, faced challenges, and finally arrived at the moment when it was time to move forward.

But another part of me was deeply sad.

I knew that things were about to change.

The people I had spent so much time with would no longer be around me every day. The laughter, the conversations, the classroom moments, the friendships, and all those ordinary experiences that had slowly become part of my life were coming to an end.

I knew we might see each other again.

Maybe tomorrow.

Maybe someday.

But it wouldn't be the same.

That realization hit me hard.

I cried.

Then I smiled.

It was a strange mixture of sadness and happiness—the kind of emotion you feel when you are leaving something familiar behind while stepping toward something you've always wanted.

For me, that next destination had already been decided.

Mechanical Engineering.

I had been interested in engineering from a young age. I loved the idea of understanding how things worked and creating things with my hands. By the time I reached SS 2, I had already made up my mind about what I wanted to study at university.

Mechanical Engineering wasn't a sudden decision.

It was something I had planned for.

I had imagined myself going to university to study it long before university actually arrived.

So when the opportunity finally came, I wasn't confused about my direction.

I knew what I wanted.

I just didn't know exactly what the journey would look like.

Then came my first day at university.

And suddenly, the confidence I had built disappeared for a moment.

I was nervous.

Very nervous.

Everything looked different.

The environment was bigger than what I was used to. There were unfamiliar faces everywhere, new surroundings, new responsibilities, and the feeling that I was entering a completely different world.

I had to remind myself that this was what I had been preparing for.

Still, preparation doesn't completely remove fear.

Sometimes you can plan for something for years and still feel nervous when the moment finally arrives.

My journey to school made the experience even more memorable.

Because of the location of my university, getting to school involved travelling by boat. The journey could take roughly an hour and a half, depending on the circumstances.

For someone beginning university, that alone was an experience.

I remember getting into the boat and heading toward school with some of my roommates.

And somewhere along that journey, I met someone who would become one of my closest friends.

She was my course mate.

We happened to be in the same boat, and somehow, we connected almost immediately.

It was just the two of us together in that boat, and before long, we had started talking and getting comfortable around each other.

It was one of those friendships that seemed to happen naturally.

No long introduction.

No complicated beginning.

Just two people meeting at the beginning of a new journey and somehow becoming close.

She became the first friend I made on my way to university.

That first journey remains special to me because I wasn't simply travelling to school.

I was travelling toward a new life.

When lectures eventually began, I discovered that the academic side of university wasn't as unfamiliar as I had feared.

The teaching was manageable.

In some ways, it felt like revision.

Many of the things we encountered at 100 level connected to knowledge we had already encountered during our earlier education. My school also had a system of dictating notes to us, so I was able to adapt to the academic routine.

I felt sharp.

I felt prepared.

But university wasn't only about academics.

It was about responsibility.

In secondary school, I could spend much of my time playing with friends and enjoying myself.

University was different.

I had to learn to mind my business.

I had to understand that the university environment was much bigger and that I couldn't involve myself in everything happening around me.

I became more careful about the people I associated with and the things I did.

I didn't want to lose sight of why I had come to school.

I had a purpose.

And I wanted to protect that purpose.

My goals became clearer.

I wanted to graduate with excellent grades.

My target was either First Class or Second Class Upper.

But deep inside, I had already made a promise to myself:

I would graduate with First Class.

I wanted to make my mother proud.

I wanted to look back at all the sacrifices that had been made for me and know that I had made something meaningful out of the opportunity I had been given.

I also made another promise to myself.

I would not allow bad friends or distractions to take me away from my purpose.

I would not enter university and forget why I came.

I would stay focused.

I would chase my dreams.

But there was another challenge waiting for me.

Money.

Life on an island came with its own realities.

Things were expensive.

Even basic necessities could cost significantly more than what I was accustomed to. Something as simple as sachet water could cost around fifty naira, while a bag could cost around one thousand naira.

It made me understand that location could affect everything.

Many things had to be brought from the mainland into the island, and that added to the cost.

Financial challenges became part of my university experience.

But I couldn't allow them to change my destination.

I had already come too far.

My family encouraged me to continue.

They knew I had always been stubborn and determined. They knew that once I set my mind on something, I could be difficult to stop.

So they encouraged me.

And I kept going.

Then came one of the experiences I will never forget.

The helipad training.

That day was something else entirely.

We went through intense physical activities that tested our strength, endurance, discipline, and determination.

We jumped.

We climbed ropes.

We went through water.

We passed through mud and sand.

There were different physical drills that pushed us beyond what we thought we could handle.

By the end of it, I looked completely exhausted.

I remember looking at myself and thinking I looked like chocolate and caramel mixed together. 😂

It was a lot.

But somehow, we made it through.

When the training finally ended, I felt something I couldn't easily describe.

Pride.

Not because it had been easy.

It wasn't.

I was proud because I had endured it.

I had started the day wondering how much I could handle, and I finished knowing that I could push myself further than I had imagined.

When I finally got home, I was completely exhausted.

I was tired in a way that made me want nothing except rest.

But beneath the exhaustion was happiness.

I had succeeded.

Another challenge had been overcome.

Another lesson had been learned.

And another piece had been added to the person I was becoming.

University had only just begun, but already, it was teaching me something important:

Growing up means accepting that nobody can walk your entire journey for you.

People can encourage you.

Family can support you.

Friends can stand beside you.

Teachers can guide you.

But eventually, you have to take responsibility for the direction of your own life.

I had entered university with uncertainty about tomorrow.

I still didn't know exactly what the future would bring.

Nobody does.

But I had faith.

I believed that if I worked toward my goals, stayed focused, avoided distractions, and allowed God to guide me, I could achieve the things I had dreamed about.

I wanted to succeed.

I wanted to become great.

I wanted to make my mother proud.

And for the first time, those words didn't feel like childhood dreams anymore.

They felt like responsibilities.

I wasn't simply dreaming about the future.

I was beginning to build it.

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