A STUPID THING TO DO

From Average to Excellence:

Shocking revelations of the life of a young Nigerian Youth 

(Part 1; Episode 2: A STUPID THING TO DO.)

Having introduced us to cogent details of the life of Macaulay, Babajide Milton, and this episode has been rightly titled a stupid thing to do. Together lets ride along with Babajide as he shares the story I titled “a stupid thing to do”.

Source: facebook.com/Macaulay.babajide.milton

 

”I started SS1 at Mercy Model College and discovered that the school had many bright students, as I was not able to get into the top 10 in class. I wandered around the boarder of 10^th position but often stayed-put at the 12^th position. I maintained that ‘comfortable’ position in a class of 43 students partly because I was the best student in Biology, perhaps because it’s pre-requisite (Integrated Science) came more naturally to me. One of the reasons for my inability to burst into the top 10 was
because I carried over the selective study habit (excluding Biology) meanwhile, most students in the school were very hardworking and studious.

                                               

In SS2 third term, I had a life-changing encounter with the best student in my class. I sat beside him during an Economics test and while we were all writing fast to beat the duration given, curiously I peeped into his script and discovered he answered a question wrongly. I was very sure the answer was wrong because it was among the topics I selected to study for the test. ‘The answer to that question is wrong’, I whispered to him. He looked at me annoyingly and responded, ‘What is your business with what I have written? Are you even sure of what you have written? In fact, who are you to correct me?’ His statement was so hurtful, it was worse than falling from a cliff. My dignity was rubbished because he felt I was not as intelligent as he was. I felt I wasn’t going to sit there and do nothing to defend myself, so I said to him quietly, ‘I know you think you are the most intelligent of us all and above mistakes, but I will shock you at the Economics exams.’ He ignored me like a piece of rubbish. After the test, he summoned the entire class and told them that I was contesting with him on Economics and that he wishes to place a bet with me. My closest friends said to me, ‘Are you insane? Do you not know who you are contesting with?’ I ignored their cowardly advice and maintained that I agree to place a bet as well. Eventually, we placed a bet of N100 each (as at 2001 for you to better appreciate its worth) and the entire class were our witnesses.

Before the exam, I knew I was in big trouble and the only way to save my dignity from total annihilation is to change my lazy study habit. I was forced to study every single topic in my Economics notebook and I spent many nights covering them over and over again so that I wouldn’t forget the key points I had studied. It was extremely difficult because it wasn’t a study process I was used to, yet, I stretched myself but never broke down, I only toughened up! On the day of the exam, I walked into the class with my eyes red and swollen as a result of lots of sleepless nights. He walked up to me and said, ‘I can see you want to kill yourself over this’, but I didn’t respond because I felt it was not necessary.

 For the first time in my life, I read all the questions and understood them all and could answer absolutely everything! The feeling was strange but exciting because I could sense that I was about to break into the top 10 which seemed impossible all these years. At the end of the exam, I went home deeply satisfied for there was nothing on the paper I didn’t answer with 100% assurance of correctness. Two days later, our Economics teacher, Mr Peter, walked into the class and said to us all, ‘I have marked your exam scripts and as always, the best among you scored 56 over 60, the highest I have recorded since I have been teaching this subject.’ We knew who the best among us was, so that statement automatically meant that my contender had won the unprecedented contest. My classmates didn’t even attack me as it was as if they expected I would lose so they rather showed sympathy towards the N100 I had lost. I was bitter and had no peace in my heart. My mind kept telling me that something was wrong so I went to Mr Peter privately in the Staff room and begged him to tell me my score. He replied, ‘I can’t tell you your score now because it has not been marked’ ‘But sir, how did you know he had the highest score?’ ‘Oh that’s because in the last 2years, only 3 students in your class have had the best scores since in Economics since SS1. I marked the 3 scripts and got the highest score for the subject from among them.’ I sighed heavily and said, ‘Please sir, mark my script as well’. ‘Do you think you can score higher than him?’ ‘I’m not saying that sir. I’m just interested in knowing my score’, I responded. He gazed at me for few seconds and said, ‘I am very busy at the moment and do not have a red pen. I would mark your script with the other scripts when I have the time. Now please leave my sight!’ I left his office feeling dejected.

Suddenly, it dawned on me that I should get him a red pen since that was one of the excuses he gave. I took permission from the security men and hurried out to get a red pen. A bookshop close to my school had just exhausted their red pens so I had to walk a longer mile to get it. I raced back to school and headed straight to the Staff room to see Mr Peter. ‘Here’s the red pen sir’, I said to him breathing heavily. He smiled at me, stunned at the fact that I could go through so much stress over a script, so he said, ‘I will mark your script now. Sit down over there’. I sat there gazing at my script as he marked it. After about 15mins, he got out of his seat, walked up to me and extended his hands towards me and said, ‘Congratulations. You scored 58 over 60. Certainly, you have taught me a lesson.’ After receiving his warm handshake, I dashed out of the Staff room and walked majestically into the class. 

I summoned my classmates and told them what had happened. They didn’t believe me so they rushed to Mr Peter for clarifications. When they returned, I was celebrated beyond words. In fact, the entire school heard about the contest and what transpired. I set a new record in Economics in the school and other students kept wondering what I could have written on paper that pleased Mr Peter, who has a reputation of being stingy with his marks. They collected the N200 from our best student who by this time was speechless, and wanted to hand it over to me, but I said, ‘No please, give him back his N100. What I have achieved here is more than N100. In fact, I appreciate him for making me discover myself.’ He insisted that I take the money but I refused. He shook my hands in the end and said to me in the presence of our classmates, ‘well-done.’ This event changed my life forever as I realised that my presumed comfort and laziness had been my greatest undoing to becoming the very best. Not long, I transferred the new rigorous reading style to all other subjects and I leaped from top 12 to top 3”.

“EVERY ONE WHO MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN LIFE HAS AT ONE POINT DONE THINGS OTHER PEOPLE BELIEVE WAS STUPID. BUT IF YOU EVER ASK THEM, THEY WILL TELL YOU IT’S SIMPLY THE BEST THING TO DO”. 

Macaulay, Babajide Milton like so many fantastic people that have been and still existing, once done something stupid! Absolutely inspiring. But is that all? Please stay glued as subsequent posts will reveal more fantastic success principles from Macaulay, Babajide Milton; an epitome of what it implies to rise from Average to Excellence.

Let’s go a step higher. YES WE CAN.

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