Identification?!
People identify themselves in different ways; through their family, by their state or country of origin and some even by their faith. For me none of these things are of any significant. I heir from a middle class family, was raised in Nigeria, grew up in England and now I find myself in the United States; moreover I am not particularly religious. What do I have that can form the basis of my personality.
By the time the ‘average’ 18 year old arrives at college, he is pretty sure of what he believes, what he stands for and his goals in life. Through my adolescent years I moved nomadically through a variety of education systems and cultures. I started off in a Public School in Nigeria, where teachers often didn’t attend classes, where classes fit for 20 people often had a hundred or more and nothing was learned. Upon my parents’ realization of the poor standard of the education I was receiving, they abruptly transferred me to a traditional private school in England, where I was the only student of color in the entire school. I was hit by a tremendous culture shock and felt lost. Being a 13 year old boy in an alien environment where I felt imprisoned by the rigorous education and sporting requirements left me often yearning to return my home country to the freedom of the liberal education I received at home. At the age of 16, I had had enough; it was too controlling and I believed myself to be of free spirit. I applied to a school known for its liberal approach towards education and its student’s and faculty’s ethnic diversity. I received an academic scholarship from the school and against my parent’s wishes, proceeded to matriculate. This was my home; here I was quick to find my niche and reveled in the humanitarian and social opportunities provided by the school. Life there was exhilarating. Protests against government activities, cultural shows and my favorite, debates on the education system of African countries, revealed a hidden facet of my personality that was being suppressed.
It feels, not so long ago, I was the kid boarding the plane to London, for the first time. Now I feel even more lost than I did then, for then, if someone were to ask me who I was I would have said, “I am Nigerian!”. Now, I wouldn’t have such a terse answer. What I do know is that I am not your ‘average’ 18 year old; I am more for there is so much to my personality that i cannot be described by one phrase.
By the time the ‘average’ 18 year old arrives at college, he is pretty sure of what he believes, what he stands for and his goals in life. Through my adolescent years I moved nomadically through a variety of education systems and cultures. I started off in a Public School in Nigeria, where teachers often didn’t attend classes, where classes fit for 20 people often had a hundred or more and nothing was learned. Upon my parents’ realization of the poor standard of the education I was receiving, they abruptly transferred me to a traditional private school in England, where I was the only student of color in the entire school. I was hit by a tremendous culture shock and felt lost. Being a 13 year old boy in an alien environment where I felt imprisoned by the rigorous education and sporting requirements left me often yearning to return my home country to the freedom of the liberal education I received at home. At the age of 16, I had had enough; it was too controlling and I believed myself to be of free spirit. I applied to a school known for its liberal approach towards education and its student’s and faculty’s ethnic diversity. I received an academic scholarship from the school and against my parent’s wishes, proceeded to matriculate. This was my home; here I was quick to find my niche and reveled in the humanitarian and social opportunities provided by the school. Life there was exhilarating. Protests against government activities, cultural shows and my favorite, debates on the education system of African countries, revealed a hidden facet of my personality that was being suppressed.
It feels, not so long ago, I was the kid boarding the plane to London, for the first time. Now I feel even more lost than I did then, for then, if someone were to ask me who I was I would have said, “I am Nigerian!”. Now, I wouldn’t have such a terse answer. What I do know is that I am not your ‘average’ 18 year old; I am more for there is so much to my personality that i cannot be described by one phrase.
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