[WE103]: I LAUGHED BUT SAD

Wow! It's the weekend already! Although I missed the last weekend's engagement prompt I make sure I get here promptly. Now, checking out this weekend's prompts by @galenkp all seemed alien to me because I didn’t know what to write maybe because I have not really been in such situations before. But thinking outside the box a little, I got a hold of ...

Laugh and cry
What has made you laugh or cry unexpectedly (or both). Explain your answers, the situation, why, when and where.

Really, at times we say life is not fair. Well, I say that that is relative, that is, it is dependent on the happening to you or your immediate environment. So obviously a situation that could make one laugh and cry at the same time could be too much happiness or otherwise. For me, it was the former though.

Prior to the time I entered the university, I have heard about scholarships and I told myself that I must also be a beneficiary of it, at least those who were beneficiaries of a scheme of the other do not have more than ahead. So immediately after I got admission to the university, I started to search for opportunities, joined several social media groups on scholarships, etc. That was all in a bid to make sure I got the updates and utilize them as swiftly as possible.

I started, at first, to register for those I was verily eligible for and some didn’t even get back to me. In my first year, I was shortlisted for some tests, and still no response. During this time, I made sure to carry my friends and those around me in school along by sending them the links to apply and even helping some to set up their accounts and all that. I even got to know about some students in my school who were awardees. I made sure to connect with them, got the necessary info, and always kept them updated about my lines of action. Still, I was never awarded one. Even, I remember one of my friends – a lady – who I sent a link to once and she said she was not interested in it. I tried to persuade her that it may come through and she said from the numerous ones I had registered for, I had not gotten any. I must confess, that got me in my bone marrow!

Long Story Short .....

... after registering from more than what I could recollect including the ones I was not eligible for. There came an SMS that I was shortlisted for an exam. This was in February this year during the time I was writing my exams in school. I did prepare the little way I could, wrote it, and forgot about it. Yes, I forgot about it. This is because from the experience of having to have written multiple tests or exams, instead of getting my hopes high I would just forget about it. As the universe would have it for me, I got the scholarship. I was given a call by a woman who identified herself as an official of the scholarship board. Man, on the phone the woman noticed I was both scared and happy a little. Scared because I thought it could be one of those notorious scammers.

Honestly, that day I got the success call, I was very happy that at last, it won't be a shameful ending. On the other hand, thinking about the stress, the disappointments and the work put into registrations made me quite sad a little. I almost cried but I am sure it would have been tears of joy. I am very glad it paid out in the end even when a friend had chastised me because it seemed I was addicted to getting at least a scholarship!!

Moral Lessons

So, I got this scholarship which I said I won’t register for anymore. The last one!! At times, it is just best to not relent because you do not know whether you are almost at the end. I could recall that I registered for the scholarship in 2020 during the covid period and funnily enough, I wrote the exam in 2022. Funny right? Ain’t it more than enough to forget about it.

I learned many lessons from this short story, one of which is the fact that even if you do not achieve your goal after trying for a long while; my dear, you got something! It’s Experience. The experience you got from failing will forever be with you in order not to make the same mistakes or improve on your existing ability. Or better still, so that you can render the help to others in the same situations.

Gracias!!!