I never saw it coming, not with how hectic my final year was, graduating with a first class as best graduating student in my department and it wasn’t until a couple of days, after seeing a post, that I also realized that I was best graduating student in the faculty as well (seeing that Dept. of Economics broke out to be a faculty of its own) I definitely didn’t see all these coming.
I walked into University of Ibadan with a bland mindset seeing that my “Canada way” dream didn’t follow through. I remember my sister telling me in my first year that she sees me leading my class. When I saw my first set of results, she was the same person that pointed out that I had the highest GPA in my class. What a wawu! Right then, I proposed in my heart to show God’s excellence in my academics and He established my steps every year, keeping me at the top of my class. The icing on the cake was bagging 2 Best Graduating Student positions. It can only be God!
Multitasking with media, fellowship, work and extracurriculars, it seemed impossible to function optimally in all, but when God holds your hand, impossible becomes possible, trust me.
In my final year, my typical week involved me attending classes and turning in all deliverables because I believe in hard-work, staying up late to work on my project and data analysis, having fellowship meetings 2-3 times weekly, full time content creation for my social media and YouTube, coordinating my team for live radio shows every saturday, working remotely for a media production company in Lagos, all whilst trying to maintain my sanity.
“How do you do it? How do you do all that you do?”,
Whenever people asked me this, I’d probably want to say “I don’t know oh, na God”, because that is truly how I’m able to sum it all. I know that I have the spirit of God in me and I am graced, so I activated and developed some things to help me excel.
Time management: Time is very precious, the moment you realize this, you’d need to consciously note that there’s no time to waste time. Do the right things at the right time, be disciplined and stick to what works for you.
Plan ahead: I love to take notes and journal a lot, so I always have reminders and to do lists set on my phone. I strategically plan my day and week, outlining all that needs to be done. Ticking things off my to-do list is always rewarding
Take care of yourself: mentally, physically and spiritually. Whenever I felt overwhelmed or stressed, I’d take a break – watch a movie, explore a new place, relax, journal, whatever works to put me in the right mental space. I also tried eating and sleeping well, if I’m utilising so much energy and mental strength, then I definitely need to refill yeah? I fed my spirit with the right things too, fruitful conversations, soulful music and the scriptures, you’d be amazed at how God gives you just the word you need per time.
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Have a support system: I’ve been told that I have an amazing support system and it’s not a lie, my family is always there for me and my squad- they’re friends that became family. Have friendships that are symbiotic and not parasitic.
Above all, realize that your strength comes from God, without Him you’d just be a labourer but with Him, you’d be a hard worker with fruitful results.
Go for the seemingly impossible. If I did it, then you can too.
OSARENNOMA OGBEIDE,
B.Sc. PSYCHOLOGY University of Ibadan (FIRST CLASS HONOURS)
BEST GRADUATING STUDENT, FACULTY OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
BEST GRADUATING STUDENT, DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
