I was born in a small village near Zaria. In my village, many girls do not go to school after secondary school. Most of them get married early. But my mother always told me that education is the only way to change our family story.
My father is a farmer. He has a small farm where he grows maize and guinea corn. My mother sells vegetables in the market. We are seven children and I am the second born. Life was very hard. Sometimes we would eat only once a day.
I attended a primary school in my village. The school did not have enough teachers. One teacher would teach three classes at the same time. We sat on the floor because there were no chairs. But I loved reading. I would borrow books from my senior and read under the kerosene lamp at night because we did not have light.
After my primary school, I went to Government Girls Secondary School. That was where my life started to change. I met a teacher, Mrs. Bello, who liked me. She saw that I was serious. She started giving me extra lessons after school for free. She would say, "Amina, you can be great if you don't give up."
I wrote WAEC two times. The first time, I failed Mathematics. I cried for many days. My friends were laughing at me. Some said I should just go and marry. But my mother hugged me and said we will try again. I stayed at home for one year and was helping my mother in the farm and also reading. I used to go to a small tutorial center in the town, trekking 5 kilometers every day.
The second time, I passed. I had 5 credits including Maths and English. I was so happy. My father killed a chicken that day.
Then came JAMB. I wanted to study Education English. My first JAMB score was 165. I could not get admission. Second JAMB was 189. Still no admission. At that point, I wanted to give up. But Mrs. Bello called me and said, "Try one more time, this is your last chance."
I read day and night for my third JAMB. I stopped going to market. I stopped watching movies on my small phone. I was reading from 4am in the morning to 10pm at night. When I wrote the third JAMB, I scored 241. I will never forget that day. I was in the farm when my brother came running that my result is out. I left the farm and ran to the cyber cafe.
I got admission into Federal College of Education. When I got the admission letter, my mother cried. No girl in our family had ever entered higher institution before. I was the first.
Now I am in 200 level. School is still hard. Sometimes I don't have money for handouts. Sometimes I trek to school. But I am happy because I know where I am coming from. Education has changed how I talk, how I think, and how I see the world. Now small children in my village come to me to teach them English. My parents are now proud of me.
If you are a girl reading this from a village, please don't give up. Your background does not decide your future. If I, a farmer's daughter from a small village without light, can enter university after failing many times, you can also do it. Just be patient, pray, and read very hard.
My dream is to finish my school, become a teacher, and build a small library in my village so that children like me will not sit on the floor to learn again.
Thank you for reading my long story.
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