I went from Failure to a Dream Career.

My journey in the university began with an admission to study medicine and surgery. My name was published on the merit list that makes it to the dailies. A neighbor actually saw it and brought the newspaper home for me to see if it was my name. It turned out it was mine.

Everyone was happy for me, proud parents, happy siblings, happy neighbors and a happy me.

I got in and we began.

First year was spent basically in the sciences where we still took courses in Advanced level physics, biology and the likes. Everything was fine until first semester results came out. I did well in the chemistrys, physics surprisingly was below average and then the bombshell. I failed my biology courses.

I couldn't believe my eyes. I thought it was a mistake, me that had a B in my O' level biology how come? I tried to complain and see if I could get my scripts but the entire process became frustrating so I gave up trusting to do better in second semester.

Second semester came, history repeateded itself and this time i was devastated. Now in med school there is a system of grading which is usually sessional. It takes an aggregate of all your scores from first and second semester. 

When all the calculation is done and you do not have up to C in your aggregate score in a number of courses you will likely repeat and if it's worse you get withdrawn from the program.

So in my case my aggregate earned me a repeat of my first year and that meant my colleagues would leave me behind. I

was a big blow to my academic ego. I had never really experienced failure of that magnitude all my schooling days. All the same I mustered some courage and took the courses I failed and I was able to scale through to the next level.

Now I came in fully to begin my journey in med school and honestly that second year was tough, loads and loads of work to do but I did my best.

 One thing though was my confidence had started eroding with the repeat I had and that created a fear of failure that was constantly there.

I did my best, read like I was mad, nothing mattered then aside from lectures and books. I had no other life. Sometimes I forgot about food because I felt I needed to pass by all means.

Then came the main exams at the end of the session. I read and wrote my exams but of course that fear never really left me.

Results came out and I asked someone to check for me as I was at home. Guess what? I failed again this time enough to send me away from my MBBS program. I got WITHDRAWN.

When I got that news darkness came over my mind. I was shattered completely. I asked myself what had happened to me?

 I now went into one of my longest moment o depression. I lost myself completely. But in the middle of all this, I summoned courage, went to school and applied for a change of course.

Now while I was an MBBS student, among all the courses we took, I had a particular love for my physiology courses so much that I told myself I was going to come back and do my Post  Graduate studies in Human Physiology. So of course you can guess where I applied to. I opted for Human Physiology still within the same Faculty of Medicine.

During this time, my family was there for me though. They encouraged me to begin again.

My healing began when one of  my friends in particular told me, that it was time I opened a new chapter and let the past go. Those words sank deep within me. And like a propeller it pushed me to begin my new journey in Human Physiology.

My first semester in Physiology was relatively easy, that fear began to fade I even had an A in one of my courses. I couldn't believe it. I began to have hope again and my grades picked up.

Now another challenge came up. "What can she do with this Physiology" ? was the next question that I heard from relatives and people around who initially knew I was supposed to be a doctor.

Honestly when I began I didn't know what I could do with it because i came from a generation that believed in the doctor, lawyer, accountant, engineer thing.

God answered that question through one of my lecturers who's now a Professor of Physiology.  He organized a seminar he termed  "Career opportunities in Physiology". I saw the advert on the notice board and found my way there. That seminar turned out to be the compass I needed on this new journey and it came early enough. I was too grateful and from then on I didn't just see physiology as one of those medical courses. I now saw a career path and walked in it.

Physiology stirred up in me the love for devices. My lab sessions became the stimulant that awakened the love for use of machines to diagnose illnesses for me. The EGC, spirometers, audiometers all seemed to speak to me.

I eventually graduated and the reality hit me. I couldn't find a job that fit what was in my mind initially. Trust the Nigerian labor market now.. 😁.
I then decided to take up a teaching job and some mockers felt this one has finished completely, no more hope.
I suffered ridicule a lot back then. But I kept going on.

Then I got tired of teaching after 7months and then sat down and wrote down in a piece of paper the exact kind of job I wanted. I didn't know if it existed or not but I simply said I needed a job that would let me practice what I had read in school and I kept that paper somewhere.

Towards the end of that year a senior colleague met me somewhere and asked what I was doing and I told him. He then just asked if I'd like to be trained in medical ultrasound to which I answered yes.

That was how my journey into medical imaging began and one day I took that paper and literally everything I wrote was what had happened to me. I got just what I had been looking for. When people said I couldn't make it again because I failed at becoming a doctor I learnt to pick up the pieces of my life together and here I am today, seven years in medical Ultrasound and I'm getting better daily.

Eventually those who said "what can this one do" have been examined by me.

So I don't know what anyone has told you don't mind. Pick up your hopes and keep going.

Today I'm a proud Physiologist and would not trade it for anything. Physiology helped me discover something in tomato leaves during my project that may be helpful in curing diarrhea, it afforded me the opportunity to discover new things.

It is what birthed the Health Avenue category on my blog where I try to explain to people how their body works because that is the core of Physiology.

I don't know your story. Failure? Disappointments? You can make it.

Just CLEARLY DEFINE what you want out of life and NEVER GIVE UP.