A lot of students are caught up in this mess so to say.

Let me tell you a real story about a friend.

We met during his service in Enugu, Nigeria.

While we spoke, he told me he spent more than four years or so, before gaining admission.

I was thrilled but not shocked with feelings of negativity.

Why?

He’s so smart.

And so I waited for the rest of the story.

I heard him say that he has been building businesses and developing lots of skills.

Then, he gave me the breaker: the body that regulates the program he was doing told him to go back to his base since he has a lot to do.

What’s a lot?

Businesses to handle.

So, if you’re in this situation, let me tell you certain truths that’ll help you out.

• Admission into a formal school is good but not the only way to make progress

You must have heard of those who came into school and dropped out.

Please, you don’t have to try it.

I don’t advocate for it.

Yet, some of them, not all, found a way to become successful at what they chose to do outside the sphere of “formal education”.

While you want that admission badly is because of societal pressure and not necessarily that you know the relevance.

I want you to go to school. But use your mind and think.

• Your life is not aware that you’re not in school ✏️ or not

Hard truth.

How do I know?

There’s someone your age that’s in school. And there’s someone your age that’s not in school.

It matters but not 100%.

Your life or destiny becomes excited the day you take full responsibility to see that you’re successful as long as you’re alive.

That can happen via any means and at any 🗓️.

• When you enter formal school does not necessarily affect your progress 🚧 in life 100%

Make sure you read between the lines – I said it doesn’t affect your progress 100%.

Meaning it can to the degree you allow it to.

And my focus here is “formal education”… not just education.

For me, education is the key to success.

No one becomes successful without education.

The problem?

The only kind of education we’ve been taught is the “formal system” of primary to secondary to university…

It’s when we’re in highschool that we bother about a lot of things, wrongly.

Emphasis on wrongly.

We should think about our future but not as though we have one option.

• Direction is more important than speed ⏩

You’re blessed if you have one year to stay at home before gaining admission.

You might not understand this until you meet those who rushed into school to study a course, graduated, and had nothing to do with it.

Is it bad to gain admission immediately after graduating from secondary school?

No.

But if you have a window to wait, use it.

And use it well.

Use it to gain direction before you rush in like others.

So what can you do while you wait?

Learn a skill!

Learn a skill!!

Learn a skill!!!

Learn a skill!!!!

Learn a skill!!!!!

I can’t say this enough.

What skills?

Either a skill related to the course you want to study e.g. design rendering skills using Lumion software, if you want to study Architecture…

… or analytic skills using Excel if you want to study Accounting.

There are courses that might not give you direct leverage like Law or Medicine.

So what do you do?

Stay close to those studying the course already.

They’ll tell you the skills you can develop while you wait for admission.

The second kind of skill is a digital skill – whether it’s connected to your course of study or not.

Read more here.

Get a mentor!

Get a mentor!!

Get a mentor!!!

Get a mentor!!!!

Get a mentor!!!!!

This can be in the field you want to go into or something you want to learn about.

It’s good if it’s in the field you want to go into.

Just make sure you seek mentorship.

Sometimes it’s hard for some of us to do this.

So I can recommend book mentorship for you.

I’m not here to give you definitions of mentorship.

No.

The most important thing is that there’s someone who knows more than you that you’re learning from.

I used book mentorship during my transition from secondary school (highschool) to university (college).

John Maxwell’s book, Be All You Can Be was the first book I read, apart from the Bible, that had a strong impact on me.

From when I was 17 until today, I’ve followed John Maxwell.

And the journey has been rewarding.

Another thing you can do is to…

Work while you prepare for your exams.

Yes.

It can be in form of internship or volunteerism.

It beats my imagination that a lot of graduates don’t have a single work experience by the time they’re done with school.

Pathetic.

Truly, pathetic.

If you can, work while you wait.

Then, take this last step so seriously…

Listen to these podcasts:

• How To Gain Work Experience Before Graduation
• How To Never Look For A Job After Graduation
• What’s Next After Graduation?
• Passion Is Not Enough
• How To Choose A Course To Study In College

Lastly,

You begin to make progress the day you take responsibility for your life and not the day a school tells you it’s time to come into their space.

Anonymous

Also remember, if you don’t take any of this advice, you can still be successful.

There’s no one way.

The only way is this: take responsibility for your journey.