After my BECE, I did nothing! And the magnitude of the regret I had afterwards was enough lesson when I finished my WASSCE. As I put the last full stop on my French essay, I thought about the freedom I was about to step into. Unlike many folks, I had no bit of reluctance towards leaving school for the last time – I had a plan.
Life after WASSCE is fun. There’s no doubt about that. Video games, beach parties, TV all day, social networking platforms, among others are commonplace here. Ex-students tend to get so immersed in the fun that they soon neglect the real values of life.
YOU NEED A PLAN!
- God:
The most important being in your life, yet easily forgotten outside the four corners of SHS. Trust me, I’ve been there. For a long time, I didn’t even touch my bible. It lay down there gathering dust. I didn’t even step in church. This proves to you that even for the “Osofos” like me, God is pretty easy to forget. So you need to be careful. Never forget your God.
Truth is, it cost me a lot. People I was ahead of (in terms of biblical knowledge) just by-passed me so easily.
But that’s not even the bothering factor. How does a person who used to pray very much in boarding house continue to do so outside school? That, I must say, requires strong revelation. During my Bibleless days, I started to get revelations which would draw me back to the source of all life. I’ll speak more about them here (on the ESK Hub) later.
- Further education:
No, I’m not talking about pre-university classes. What then? Science and Maths? Nope! The science and maths quiz sure improves your knowledge after WASSCE, but how will it benefit you in the future? For many, it won’t.
Nonetheless, I’m speaking of serious skills you must acquire within this vacation. Skills that can annul any horrible-looking WASSCE grades. Skills like reading music. (Well, what did you expect?) I started learning to read music on my own in SHS, having been inspired by a junior student. The subject most despised by the very students who offered it has become second nature to me.
I am a walking proof that “ownership does not imply mastery”, for some of my own students in the game have had keyboards all their lives, and yet paid little regard to them. It’s all about the interest. If they were interested in the said instrument, they would have excelled. So you need to identify your interest.
Mine was music, but yours is perhaps sports, programming, web development, public speaking, singing or even making others happy (don’t get bad ideas; I’m talking about serious comedians).
- Books:
WHAAAT??!! I just left school!
Don’t close this page just yet! I’m not going to talk about those textbooks the bedbugs have probably chewed up.
You need to read a lot of other books. books about science and technology. Spiritual books. Story books (my dad forced me to read James Patterson, and I seriously fell in love with his books). Speaking of my dad, he was the one who told me the value of reading books. There are no two ways about it – if you don’t read wide, you’re useless to the society. Forget what people say (that Ut Omnes Unum Sint- that we’re all one), its simply not true. There’s no need to explain that here, but all men are not equal. If you’re of little use to society, you will never have the title “Honourable” upon your head.
How does a person become so valuable? By reading! I know a pastor who perfectly fits the category of valuable people. He’s a keyboardist, a guitarist, a cellist (plays the cello), a poet, a composer, multi-lingual, and highly inclined to the word of God (emphasis on “highly”).
You don’t get people to include you in their blogs until you start to read books. Even David Oyedepo the Nigerian Pastor spoke about reading. If you spend all of your time at parties and in front of the TV screen, you’re sure going to end up with little value to those around you. If you see Daniel’s name in scripture, its only because he opened up the scrolls one day and discovered an important prophecy that needed to be fulfilled.
- Social Media:
I’d be cheating you if I asked you not to join a social media platform. Actually you need to (not only because doing so would help my pocket, but because of the benefits involved).
However, there’s a condition attached. You must only join in order to connect to other people also trying to achieve the same goals as you. This means you need to join as many groups as you can related to your field of interest. If you can’t find one, create one. And when you think you’re becoming an expert, don’t be too fast to show the world what you can do.
Gather a group of people interested in that thing and teach them via social media. You’ll soon have so many people citing you as their teacher. When starting in professions like teaching, the first thing should be your own willingness to do it. Then you must do it, but not with motives for money. When you’re properly established, you can get into the money making business. Remember that the people under you have also just finished school and are probably not receiving income.
- Future aspirations:
When you’ve exhausted your list of interests, you can now quickly and very easily decide what programme you’d like to offer in university. But just so you’d know, university is not for everyone. Sure, it offers you a greater chance of success, but have you thought of this: what if your dream is to become a sportsman? In that case, you don’t need to go to university. You can rather gain a whopping 4-year advantage over your studious colleagues.
Speaking of studious, if your dream is to get into the popular forms of music, you should find your way to the nearest studio. That saves you four years of crying, and gives you four years of advantage.
That said, I believe you should be more than 80% equipped to move into the world. Remember the advice of parents (where parents refer to those who have been in your shoes before and actually care about your tomorrow. by now you should know I’m speaking primarily of myself): don’t follow bad company, don’t waste your time on the TV and read a lot; doesn’t matter what the topic is, just read (ok actually it matters). Last but greatest, forget not your maker. All the very best as you await your results!
The ESK Hub 