Becoming Faith

parents had gotten her some past JAMB questions and registered her for a reputable tutorial center not too far from t

ons. The sun barely kissed the sky when she left home, and sometimes the street dogs would still be yawning as she crossed t

doctor she met during a school screening two years back. The precision, the calm, the quiet au

e, even memorized some hostel names and course codes. It was almost as though she had already enrolled in h

. And she didn't. Her afternoons were for her writing lessons. She practiced constructing clean, persuasive sentences and trained her tongue to speak clearly,

f one evening, echoing the encouragement from one of her lesson tutors. The plan was to eventually tutor oth

cused than ever, yet more mature in her balance. It wasn't just a

om and settled on her system. She whispered a quick prayer and got to work. Questions in Use of English, Biolog

ter, the res

es sent messages like, "You too much!" "See this girl oh!" "Na you go give us eye glass

on the back of old notebooks. Suitcases were brought down from the wardrobe. Faith started fol

smelling like new beginnings

ld piece it all together, COVID-19 became a household name. Markets began shutting down. Schools suspended activit

nt journey into her new life sudde

someone hit paus

ind of

began t

ew when it would end. Not the kind where even her parents were worried about their jobs, wh

bjects, practice some writing. But over time, her motivation started to wobble. There

oks o," her mum woul

would reply, tired of flipping thro

with deadlines. Even her writing practice felt blurry.

starting new businesses, doing home workouts. Others were complaining about boredom or just disappearing

ade a d

she told herself, "then I'll

g her lockdown experience. Writing short pieces about fear, hope, and waiting. Some m

t just about JAMB, or U

growth even

Who Wou

ther say once, "An unu

tuck w

than ever, i

world w

hools w

ything se

h refuse

timetable was handwritten and taped to the wall. She alternated between old JAMB questions, English writing drills, and watching YouTub

ith began finding joy in us

he pandemic, became her first "student." She taught him sounds,

dropped b

small children how to read...

r quiet gift turned in

ents bec

ecame

nts began insisting. "At least for recharge card," they'd say. And

ts about it, her father

into discovery," he

e would feel normal again. Nights when she missed her school friends and the thrill of classroom competition. Some e

she was falling into a hole

ed how to wait

d "Lazarus," even lockdow

s to th

world still hadn'

ated a structure

of their house. She used old benches, a whiteboard borrowed from her dad's friend, an

skills had taken a

studying how to write s

Journal entries. M

were addressed

iet, bookish girls who feared th

them that silence do

one of her pieces on

season-don't panic, sharpen your tools. Somet

expect mu

inbox

ors, even old teac

rite that

ld be pub

tly what I ne

lt su

yet in the

racticing as

have a school

rds had started cre

out the delay, had come to r

push her she'd bec

er lessons with cartoons, was now helping her ta

didn't wear any

sit in a re

l ring or write notes w

year, s

a student, but i

. Deeper

sed again with no university ad

another journ

Is Not

he still

prep

Becomin