I am sincerely grateful for the gift of a new day, I really had enough rest this morning and a time to myself. In this part of the world we are currently on a holiday as a civil servant because of the nation wide strike action, so, I have another day to myself. I will love to participate in this week ladies of hive contest by sharing my experience as the "New kid" in Lagos.
I was living with my parents in Ogun State, before they decided that I should relocate to Lagos to stay with my grandparents because I was been over pampered by my Dad being the last born. On my arrival, my grandma registered me in New City primary school Mushin and I had to retake primary four class so that they can know my performance. I was so tall compared to other kids but my spoken English was bad. Although, I could write in english but I couldn't communicate well and I was good in mathematics.
Being a village champion then, in my former school I was never bullied or embarrassed because my mom was also a teacher in my school. In my village, speaking vernacular was never a crime but in Lagos it was different. I remembered the day I was introduced to the class and they all laughed at me because I was stammering to respond. They called me names which I don't even understand. If they speak English to me I will respond in Yoruba and because of that my name was always on the vernacular speakers list and I have to pay fines. I became a gentle and quiet girl because I don't know how to express myself in English and I don't want to use my pocket money to pay fines.
I always look forward to break time where everyone is free to express themselves and play. Being a new kid, I was the errand girl for the school prefects and because I don't want them to laugh at me I will obey and that continued for a while. There was this particular day, one of them asked me to buy biscuit for her with my money and I refused. She slapped me and I slapped her too and that led to a fight. Before I knew it, the headmistress saw us and took us to her office. She asked what the problem was, the girl lied that she gave me money to buy biscuit and I lost her money and refuse to buy her biscuit, when I was asked to defend myself I was so afraid to talk because of my bad English and that was how I lost to her. That got me angry and I was determined to revenge. On our way home I waited for the girl and her group. I was ready to show them that they have hurt the wrong person. They were four girls and I flogged them with the came I stole from my class teacher's table. I warned them never to try any rubbish with me because I will always find them after school hour to beat them again. They ran away and that was how I was able to deliver myself from them.
The following term we had another new student in our class and she was to seat next to me. Her name was Adeola, she was from Ogun State too but understand English better than I do and that was how we became friends. Adeola really helped me by encouraging me to speak English more to her and corrects my errors and that was how I gained confidence in myself and was able to overcome my challenges. I had more friends because I fought for many of my classmates. Being the "New kid" humbled me and gave me the opportunity to learn and speak English fluently.
Thanks for reading.
