Hello Great Minds!
Welcome to my blog!
3 days ago I came across this writing challenge organized by @futurethinker, but I couldn't submit my entry immediately because I have many good and seemingly bad memorable experiences that I was having a hard time choosing which experience to write on. But thanks finally that decision has been made and today I will be sharing my most memorable experience,its actually not a cozy experience but it taught me a great deal.
My experience that left an indelible memory:
My most memorable experience happened when I was in senior secondary school class 1,I attended Federal Government girls college,Umuahia. Abia State in Nigeria. As at the time I had this experience,I was still considered a junior girl because we had other students in senior secondary class 2 and 3.
Bullying was a norm in my school,senior girls would make junior girls wash their clothes,clean their rooms,fetch their water and go to the dining hall to get their food to the class or room depending on their current location. Did I just say bullying? Bullying sounds so kind,the word is wickedness. Senior girls were wicked,if you fail to do anything they ask you to do they would gang up and beat you either with their hands or plastic clothe hangers,they will also make you cut grass in the field for days or wash the toilet for days and many other mean things that could be done to a person.
The structures in my school are not very close to each other,It is quite a distance from the hostel to the dining hall and another distance from the dining hall to the classroom. On many occasions on my way to class from the dining hall,I have managed to escape from senior girls that would be siting in class waiting for any junior girl to pass by so that they can send her to the dining hall to get their food. I was pretty stubborn then,its either I pretend not to hear them call me and walk fast pass them or I answer them and when they ask me to do anything for them. I would bluntly refuse by saying I cannot do it because I came to class early to read and I can't sacrifice my time to go all the way to the dining hall which was quite a distance to get a senior girl's food!
One day,after my evening prep class,I was on my way back to the hostel and to get to the hostel I have to pass the place where students fetch water because at the time the tap in the hostels were not functioning. I heard a group of senior girls scream "hey you red house girl come here". As usual,I snubbed them like I dint hear them and continued my walk to the hostel,they followed me immediately,they were 3 of them and when I noticed they were following,my mind skipped.Immediately,I got scared and in my mind I was like 'today is my day',how do I escape from this mess?. I ran as fast as I could and I decided to run to the yellow house part of the hostel instead of going to my red house. Immediately I got to yellow house,I removed my red house wear(clothe)so that they won't be able to identify me in yellow house with my red house wear. As soon as they got to yellow house,one of them said "yellow house girls! did any red house girl enter here?if you are hiding her better bring her out or you will be in big trouble with us". While she was talking the other two girls were looking for me.Unluckily for me they found me on someone's bed,how they did till today I can't explain.They dragged me out and 3 of them beat me till I was helpless,I could hear my body sound like a drum that was being played as they were beating me,I was so helpless that I couldn't even talk. They said "next time,you will not disobey your seniors,you would have peacefully taken our water to our rooms,this is what you get for disobeying us and wasting our time. They left,I was shaking and I was in so much pains, for the next 3 days I had a terrible fever and I slept in the school clinic for that period. It became an experience that left and indelible memory because till date the memories are still fresh.
What I learnt from this experience:
Image source
1)Compassion: Because of this experience,I promised myself to show compassion to junior girls when I become a senior girl .I dint like the idea of abusing junior girls by bullying or punishing them unnecessarily. So,when I became a senior girl the incident motivated me to show compassion,I promised myself not to lay my hands on any junior girl and I tried in my own little way to help any junior girl that is being bullied in my presence.
2)Obedience:I learnt to not be stubborn always and that sometimes for peace to reign,its better to give way and like the saying goes "obedience is better than sacrifice"
All thanks to @futurethinker for organizing this challenge. I sincerely appreciate this opportunity to share my memorable experience as it has never crossed my mind to write something like this on steemit.
