A Cloudy Dream

“Hey! Adesuwa!!! What do you want to become in the future?” Vera asked.

“I tried to search for something special and just something that can improve my life eventually, but the more I search, the more confused I become," Adesuwa replied.

“You must have something in mind that can make your life perfect in the future," Vera added.

“To me, I have this dream to becoming an engineer, but something kept waving my mind from it as my parents would not support my dream of being a girl.” Adesuwa could not wait to give a critical reply.

“Alright, I think sticking to what your mind says is the best," Vera, who was ready to advise her friend, said.

“To me, I want to become a medical doctor. Come rain, come shine," Vera added.

“That's a good one, but I am always afraid of doctors, so I would not even think of going into the medical field.” Adesuwa was so sure of herself and of what she wanted to become.

As the two friends kept moving on in their academics, their dreams were becoming clearer, and they were so plain and real. In their senior secondary school 2, Adesuwa was the one topping her class in the science subjects, while Vera followed. Adesuwa's further mathematics was excellent.

They kept on with the fight for the top positions in the class until they got to senior secondary school 3, where they had to write their final exams. After the exams, Adesuwa's mom called her and informed her upfront that she must go for what she chose for herself. Her dad also agreed to that statement. She was confused and was not ready to answer her mom at that moment, instead focusing on her studies as the final exam was drawing closer.

The exam came, and she wrote it with confidence. When her results were out, it was a shocker to all her friends as well as her teachers. She cleared all the subjects that could qualify her for the electrical engineering department. Her friend, on the other hand, made her papers as she was in second place.

Going to the university, Adesuwa wrote the exam that could make her a medical doctor, but then failed. She had read but somehow failed the entrance exam.

“Are you taking us for a fool? Why must you write the wrong thing, or why must you fail to read your books when you know you want to write an exam?” Adesuwa's dad yelled as he was shouting at the top of his voice without considering his daughter’s dream.

“Dad, I read, but it is unclear to me why I failed," Adesuwa said, drained in tears.

“Had it not been that you did an exam for the electrical engineering department, you would have passed in at once," her mom added.

“No mum. That's what I had written, and I knew I read it to my satisfaction before going to the exam hall. What had happened to my result? I don't know," Adesuwa replied.

Meanwhile, her friend, Vera, was admitted to the University of Lagos as a medical student, while Adesuwa kept hoping that one day she was going to follow suit in her dream course.

After four trials in medicine and surgery, she could not make it again.

Anh Nguyen

She was angry and went straight to sit under the mango tree that was in their compound. Her mom came by and sat beside her, unknowingly. She rested her hand on her chin and focused on one direction, meditating. Her mind was not where she was, but she had traveled so far to when she had the dream to become an electrical engineer. As she was thinking, her mom tapped her from behind, which shocked her. She almost jumped from where she was sitting.

“What are you thinking of, my daughter?”

“You should know, mom. Why can't you allow me to go for my dream course? My friends and so many people who had looked up to me would think I was a fool dreaming." Adesuwa was so calm, but tears were flowing down her cheek as she was talking to her mom.

“You are not a fool dreaming, but then you have to follow what we want you to read in school," her mom said while making issues tough again.

Adesuwa kept silent after hearing her mother make those statements. “Alright, I will talk to your dad to have his mind changed.”

“Are you for real, mom?” Adesuwa asked.

“Yes, of course,” her mom replied, while Adesuwa jumped and gave her mom a hug.

Two days later, her dad had to call her and say, “Since you have your dream course and that is what you want to go for, then take your time to have it all.”.

“Dad! I don't get you clearly," Adesuwa replied to her dad.

“Feel free to obtain the next form in the electrical engineering department.” Adesuwa was so excited that she jumped up to embrace her dad.

Adesuwa later gained admission to the University of Lagos as an electrical engineering student. She was so excited but felt sad after seeing her friend in 300L. “I would have been at the same level if I hadn't started with you," Adesuwa said.

“Don't worry, it's only time that can tell. You will soon get through it in due time.

It was a success, seeing her in flying colors and even gaining a scholarship to complete her Master's degree abroad.