OMG. I just remembered the story of how I actually started doing well in academics, a very funny one.
So right from the start till my primary 2, I have never been a serious student. The only thing I had in my head was playing and watching TV.
I remember my brother then used to call me “empty con con," meaning I didn't have a brain, and my head was an empty container. My parents tried everything they could including my siblings. My dad made a rule in the house that at the end of each session, we all would bring our results to him, And anyone who was below average would serve a punishment—frog jump. Each D grade was worth 10 frog jumps, E grade was 15 frog jumps and F was 25 frog jumps. I was surprised how I didn't change into a frog from all the frog jumps I did.
At a time, everyone started giving up on me; even my class teacher gave up.
One thing I was very bad at was spelling. I remember a time when my dad traveled, and my mom was chatting with him, and then she asked us how to spell the word “coming.”
"C_O_M_I_N_G,” everyone chorused except me. And when they were done with what I thought was nonsense, I aired out what I considered right; I laughed first to mock them before saying with my full chest, "All of you failed it; it has a double ‘m’. It is “COM_MING". I didn't even finish when everyone started laughing at me.
And I tried defending myself for some time till my elder brother brought the dictionary. They called me 'com_ming' for some time.
During that period, I can remember how the surprise pack came out— a sweet pack with a random toy inside.
It was in every shop back then. I can remember how I begged my mom every day to buy me at least one, but she didn't like it at all. She would say, “The sugar in that thing is too much," and in my mind, I would be like ‘it is too much for you, not me; it is me that is licking the sweets_sigh.’
One day in class during a spelling and dictation session, our class teacher was so disappointed that she wrote down 20 words and said anyone who could spell them all off heart the next day would be rewarded a sum of two thousand naira. At first, I wasn't attentive as I was doing cat and dog play with my seatmate but immediately I heard the reward of two thousand nairas, surprise packs flashed through my mind and in that instant I did a quick calculation, two thousand would get me more than enough super packs and I would be left with change. At that moment, I had a life goal; I wrote down the words and started practicing silently from then on. I made sure nobody noticed because I didn't want to motivate my opponents. Besides, I was not the sharpest tool in the shed, so I knew not even the teacher expected me to make an attempt.
After school, when I got home, I continued my recitation; I would be doing whatever I was doing and spelling it to myself. My brother saw me and was like, “What is wrong with this one," and by the end of the day, I could spell the entire twenty words if I was woken up from sleep.
The next morning my mom was shocked at my attitude and zeal for school— normally I would be happy to go to school because I would see my friends and play a lot, but this time I had a different push— I could already feel the two thousand naira in my hands, I could taste the sweets in my mouth and already started imagining the toys I would get.
At school, I was my normal self and followed everyone to play. When it got to the time to spell the twenty words I sat quietly and watched everyone go first.
When it was my turn, the teacher didn't call me out to try like the others but instead asked, “Zainab, can you try?"
And I felt kinda insulted.
I went to the front of the class, and by the time I started, everyone was shocked, including the teacher. When I was done everyone was staring at me like I was a ghost.
“Wow, wow, wow," my teacher was stunned as she handed me the two thousand naira.
After school, my mom came to pick us up,
“Good day, ma; please, can I have a quick chat?" My teacher said as she rushed to my moms side from nowhere.
“Okay, hope there is no problem sha?"
“No problem at all," my teacher said as they went to a corner.
From my mom's and teacher's expressions, I knew exactly what they were talking about while my brothers were in a maze.
When we got home my mom told me dad he showered me with praise and gave me a one thousand naira note. He then promised that the next good news he gets about me in school I will get another reward. And just like that, that is how they bribed me to do better and when I got to a particular stage I didn't need any promise to study hard because I now had a reputation, and the further I went I realized that I didn't need a bribe or reputation because I work and study hard for is for myself and nobody else.
I agree with you that the correct spelling of coming is the one with two "m" 😃 😃 😃 😃
I'm glad you did very well to get that two thousand naira from your teacher.
😂😂😂 we could even throw in another m and it will be perfect.
Thanks for reading.
Congratulations @zain-ab001! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain And have been rewarded with New badge(s)
Your next target is to reach 4500 upvotes.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPCheck out our last posts:
😂😂😂
A hilarious story but one with meaning. And i agree that the person you study for is yourself. Only then can you truly understand what you are being taught.
Exactly