It was the 14th of June, 2025. The day I wrote my final exam as an undergraduate. A day I had once dreamt of, back when the journey felt endless. I hadn't slept the night before. Actually, I hadn't slept in days. I had been pulling all-nighters like education was the only thing that mattered to me. And at that time, it truly was. The words of my class rep kept echoing in my head: “We are in the final lap. Give these exams all you've got.” So I did. I read like I had never read before. I read like my life depended on it. I read like I would stop breathing if I stopped reading. Like the world would stop rotating the moment I decide to close my books and stop reading. My room was like a game of chess, with books, coffee mugs, shoes, and snacks scattered in different corners.
That morning, I stood in front of the mirror and barely recognized the man standing in front of me. I picked up a clean rag that was lying close to the door and wiped the mirror so I could see myself more clearly. There was no difference, the man staring back at me was a complete stranger. I was no longer the fresh-faced student from first year. I tried to smile, but it wasn't as bright as it used to be. I had gotten worn out by back-to-back lectures, tests, presentations, assignments and sleepless nights. My beard was long and full. My skin had gotten dimmed from walking under the sun every day, going from my hostel to the faculty of Arts. From the Faculty of Arts to the main auditorium. From lecture room 3, to Mummy Clinton’s Resturant and then back to my hostel. But somehow, my eyes remained bright as ever. The four stressful years I spent in the university were written all over my face. “This too shall pass,” I said to myself. Indeed, my university journey was about to come to an end.
My last exam: Autobiographical literature was scheduled for 8am. It was about 7:20 am and I was already done preparing for the exam. As soon as I was about to step out of my apartment, it started drizzling. I closed the door and wished that the rain wouldn't ruin a beautiful day. I pulled off my shoe and started revising all that I read: The Autobiography of Fela Kuti by Thomas Moore and Equiano’s Travels by Equiano. What at first seemed like a little drizzle that would end in minutes turned into a heavy downpour. At some point, I got distracted and dozed off.
By 8: a.m, a message came in from my class rep:
“Find a way to school, the exam starts in 15 minutes.”
15 minutes? How did they expect us to get to school in that heavy rain? In 15 minutes! How would people who stay off campus get to the exam hall in 15 minutes? Luckily, my neighbor who had an umbrella was around. I grabbed it and stepped into the rain. It was as if the rain was coming from all directions. My sneakers got soaked. Luckily, my jean and shirt survived. The rain was not going to stop any time soon, but I knew even the heaviest downpour wasn't going to ruin my day. I had toiled day and night, worked tirelessly, and sacrificed weeks worth of good sleep and nothing could rob me of that beautiful moment. I rushed into the exam hall and just by the entrance, the exam officer was already there distributing answer booklets and question papers.
Other students had started 10 minutes earlier. I found an empty seat just in the front row and sat down to answer the questions. I read the instructions out loud: Answer question one and any other two questions for a total of three questions. Poor organization and grammar will result in a significant reduction in marks.
I started writing immediately I was done reading the instructions. I was just too excited that the thoughts in my head kept flowing effortlessly. From the head, to my ink and down to the answer booklet. My favorite question was question 1. The lecturer asked us to creatively write a bigrophagry of ourselves from when we were born till 96 years. I saved that question for the last because I knew it would take much of my time. My memories are a bit hazy and I somehow, I don’t remember the things I wrote down, but one thing I can assure you is that I allowed my creativity do the writing.
After the exam, everyone came out smiling. Not because the exam was easy, it was probably difficult for some, but because it was finally over. The journey that started 4 years ago had finally come to an end. It felt like earth stopped rotating just for us. Hugs came flying from left and right. People started dancing and screaming at the top of their voices. Felix, my friend, cried as he hugged me. “I returned the hug and whispered into his ears, “We did it, Felix. We did it.”
The first and second images are mine. The third is a cartoon version of me, created using ChatGPT.
Thanks for reading through.