As you made your Bed - S01 E07

3 years ago

As you made your Bed - S01 E07

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 7

Bridget had been busy preparing for the forthcoming Senior School Certificate Examinations. Her parents had bought her most of the recommended textbooks. When she went home for holidays, her parents helped to plan her timetable in such a way that time was judiciously allocated to both her studies and domestic chores. Her mother and her younger sisters were very supportive. They were very proud of her. They encouraged and provided her with everything she needed for her success in her exams. She was not prevented from watching movies by her parents. She reprogrammed her evening schedule to listening to the network news, assisting in washing the dishes in the kitchen, taking her bath and retiring to bed bearing in mind that she would wake up at midnight to read her books. Sometimes, her siblings would stay up at night, reading their books. Though, they didn’t usually read as long as she did, they were determined to be the best. When her parents noticed that Bridget had lost weight, they attributed it to stress that accompanies preparation for exams and urged her to do whatever she could to emerge successful in other to gain admission into university.

When Bridget and her sister returned to school for the terms academic activity, she was happy. Being a science student, she had had dreams of growing up and becoming a medical doctor. She resolved to work hard to make her dreams come through. Mrs Nwokedi had already enlightened her children on career counselling and encouraged them to choose the course they wanted. So, they knew on time what they wanted for themselves. Chioma wanted to study accountancy. Her brothers, Emeka and Chinedu made different choices. Emeka was a very good artist, so he was encouraged to study either Architecture or Mechanical Engineering. Chinedu had interest in Mathematics and Sciences. He was encouraged to study Electrical Engineering. While their parents made sure that the children lacked nothing, the children in turn, made them proud academically. They usually took the first position in their classes. They were simply unbeatable in their different classes. Their names rang bell, in their neighbourhood. They had the respect of their peers and won many laurels for themselves and their schools.

Despite their fame and intelligence, their parents did not allow them to be carried away or to be distracted by their achievements. They remained humble and diligent. “Humility is a priceless virtue one must strive to posses.” their parents would always tell them.

Bridget wrote all her examinations successfully. The questions appeared familiar to her. She studied hard and left no stone unturned in her preparation for exam. When she wrote the last subject, she knew before hand that she would come out with flying colours. When the results of West African Senior School Certificate Examination were out, she was the best in her school. She had nine ‘A’s. Her parents were very proud of her performance. They offered her several gifts to show their appreciation and delight. Her siblings held her high esteem and celebrated her. To them, she was simply, a source of motivation as they all resolved to tread her path. The school was not left out. They sang her praises. The teachers and the principal showered her with gifts when she came to collect her result.

Bridget sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and obtained an excellent result, qualifying her to sit for the post UTME at the University of Nigeria Nsukka. She did very well and got admission by merit in the Department of Medicine and Surgery. Her joy knew no bounds when she received the admission letter and immediately began to make preparation to get into the university. Her parents bought her many things. Few weeks later, Bridget bade her family goodbye as she travelled to Nsukka to resume her university education.

Since Bridget left for school, Chioma took over the responsibility of looking after her younger siblings. She, unlike her elder sister, was strict in her approach to things. It wasn’t surprising to see her siblings attend to her almost immediately. Chioma would never take ‘no’ for answer. They knew her to be too impatient and overbearing. They would quickly grant her wish to avoid be knocked on the head. Their parents often called her attention and sometimes sternly reprimanded her for her severity in treating her siblings. Her mother always cautioned her to be lenient as a potential mother. The young woman always promised that she would change.

Chioma was very good at handling money. She was good at record keeping and helped her father in keeping some records of his business transaction. They nicknamed her ‘Our family’s Accountant.’ She studied hard to gain admission into a university to study Accounting. Her utmost goal was to make her parents proud and to attain greater heights than her sister in academics. She studied very hard to achieve that feat.

Procrastination is highly condemned in their family. Their father would always tell them that ‘Delay is dangerous,’ they should be up and doing and not to wait for examination periods before they prepare for it. He further said that starting to read after the examination time table was out was a wrong approach. He discouraged them from the act. Chioma and her siblings resolved to continue making their parents proud. She wanted to grow up and become a very reputable woman in the nearest future.