THE RUDE AWAKENING

Hey Guys,
Its the last month in the year 2015. God has been too faithful. Looking back at the years past, I march forward in eager anticipation because Gods mercies and grace on my life literally double up each new year.
Here's an article I wrote for a blog almost three years ago, I think you might like it. I didn't make any alterations (which was very hard) even to the text size and title. Simply because you deserve complete transparency.
Also the image below is a throwback from the same year
Enjoy! P.S The story line was pure fiction.

“You are No Cinderella” That statement echoed over and over again in my head. I and my boyfriend had a very heated argument and all I could remember was this! It threw me aback and even now a week after I can’t seem to get it out of my mind.

                I have been a sucker for love stories for as long as I can remember. I believe I have an Adam from whose rib I was created, a prince charming who would hold on to my shoe until he finds me, I was so engrossed in fairy-tales that making my life one became my sole ambition. Unconsciously, I had resolved that “living happily ever after” meant success. Only for him to imply that I am not worthy of that success! Yes that’s exactly what that means. But as I sat in my room in rage it hit me, I had been setting ridiculous standards that even I didn’t match up to. I was so concerned about him doing all the right things that I didn’t stop for a moment to check if I was deserving of them.

                I wanted an Edward whereas I wasn’t ready to sacrifice my humanity for “love”, I wanted a Troy whereas I was a sharpay, I wanted a jack who would give up his life just so I can live whereas I would never date someone below my social class, I wanted a Prince charming whereas unlike Cinderella I would’ve shot my step mother and gone to jail rather than act like a fool humbly serving her in my father’s house, I wanted a Noah whereas I would never give up financial security like Ally to continue a summer romance.

                He was right; I was a selfish girl desiring a selfless lover, asking him to do things which I could never do for anyone. And just then a light bulb lit in  my head, and this scripture came to mind Proverbs 18:24a “A man that hath friends must show himself friendly” If I want a prince charming I must focus on making myself into a Cinderella and he will come. Because our attitudes and character determine the type of people we attract and also the side of people we pull out. Reality had just set in.

Camp is fun they said! -___-

Hey guys,
So as some of you might know, I recently completed the NYSC Orientation camp. I was posted to Oyo state and just like many other fresh corps members I went on a mad information hunt to prepare myself for whatever I might face in camp, I joined whatsapp groups, ransacked google, read "Eagles in Khaki"from cover to cover (its an NYSC guide given to CU graduates every year), subscribed to multiple NYSC Info BBM channels, and stillll, It was extremely different from what everyone described. Here's a little bit of My NYSC camp experience.! I'm very glad my Otondo days are over. As I publish this, I'm smiling in my  extremely cool Primary Place of Assignment(How I got posted here is story for another day *cleans sweat*) but for now, enjoy the accounts of my sufferings below;

I've made two major personal discoveries in the few days I've spent in camp thus far. It's been like nothing I expected. 

The first is that I am NOT physically strong. I didn't know the extent of my physical weakness until I arrived NYSC Batch B 2015 Oyo state Camp. In my lame attempt to carry my box on my head at the camp gate, I fell down 3 times. In between the soldiers raising their deep voices at me to my fellow prospective corp members glaring at me with pity written all over their faces, I looked ahead only to discover a friend of mine had been videoing my struggle with the box the entire time. I cannot adequately explain how much shame I felt in that moment. What a way to begin my 3 week Journey!
Haven narrowly escaped the "box carrying" tradition with no injuries sustained, I breathed a sigh of relief thinking the worst was finally over. This was however short lived as the registration process proved to be a much more difficult task.
I stood and sat on ONE queue for over 5 hours. Within these 5 gruesome hours I saw first hand the diversity of our Nation Nigeria. Nearly all the tribes in Nigeria were represented among the thousands of youths present at the camp. The differences between us were obvious, I will not state them here for the fear of being labeled a "tribalist". Underneath all of those differences however, we all shared a number of things in common:
 >> One Fatherland
 >> Successful completion of a first degree
 >> And of course we all desperately wanted to get to the front of the line. This led to shunting which in turn led to quarrels and mini-fights but then at the end of the day we all got to finish the registration process even though some did faster than others. This process for me was a reminder that Life is a Race and it's almost impossible for every runner to finish at the same time and pace.
On the seemingly harmless open field just inform of the camp gate called "THE PARADE GROUND", I made my second major discovery; I can sleep standing up!
It was our first full day on camp at about 5 AM, all prospective Corp members were summoned to the parade ground. There I was dressed almost identically with over 2000 people. I had massive eye bags, sore limbs and a banging headache from my "box carrying" the previous day. I nodded back to life only to discover one of my platoon members giggling as he had caught me shamelessly sleeping on my feet. In intense embarrassment I asked myself "Who sent me to do NYSC?".
No doubt it has been a drilling process but thankfully with each passing activity it's becoming easier to survive.
I've beat my alarm clock two days in a row to take get ready in the mornings, surprisingly the morning exercises have become my favorite camp activity and I no longer tremble at the sight and sound of the soldiers.
My favorite lines in the NYSC Anthem read; "Let us lift our nation high" and "with dedication and selflessness". In order to lift a heavy object off the ground, the easiest way is to lift it from the bottom with help from others.  Nigeria is that heavy object and lifting it up from the bottom will require humility and team work. At camp, each time we sit on the grass, run at the sound of "double-up double-up" and carry out all the other "frustrating" instructions given to us by our Instructors for the fear of being punished, we learn humility. Each time we come together in our platoons to carry out the tasks given to us, we learn team work. Both things we need in other to effectively serve our nation in this NYSC year and beyond.
I made the decision to focus on the positives in this 3 week journey. Ever since I made this decision, I've been able to smile and sometimes even laugh through the painful and frustrating moments.
So far so good! I look forward to brighter days ahead. 

Sinmisola Nojimu-Yusuf,
Gentleman Corp Member, Batch B Oyo state.