New friends are made, late nights are kept. Some are lucky to have made good friends, the others – not so lucky. Gradually the old friends are forgotten. Not because they no longer like each other but because they are all so caught up in their new lives.

Yes it’s what practically all high school students yearn for. If will power was enough they’d all be in the university. It is to them a tied up buffalo to a lion. For those lucky enough, getting into a university is a sure thing.

Months before their graduation, hallucinations and daydreams about their near future will plague them. Graduation comes and goes. The admission letters arrive. Their parents are happy, they boast to their colleagues about it (the lucky ones do). House chores for the “jambites” are put off for a while. The parents of those who gained admission to nearby institutions will start planning alternative routes to get back home from work. Routes that will coincidentally put them in the vicinity of their child’s university. Those who gained admission to universities far away will notice their parents calling up old and forgotten friends who just happen to work or lecture in said universities. The holiday passes slowly. But finally resumption looms ahead.

The day to drop the child off dawns. The child pretends that he will miss his family; some creative ones turn on the waterworks. The parents are sad, they take in every little detail of their offspring’s new environment. The younger sibling hugs him/her, proclaiming how much he will miss his sibling while secretly gloating that he finally has the bedroom and game console all to himself. Finally the child is let go of. He is beleaguered with calls from the parents who just left him before he even has a chance to finish unpacking.

Classes start, their timetables are hectic, and they haven’t finished their annoying registration yet. The new routine is stressful, yet most of them are able to easily and successfully convince themselves that they like the stress (anything to show mummy and daddy that they aren’t kids anymore).

New friends are made, late nights are kept. Some are lucky to have made good friends, the others – not so lucky. Gradually the old friends are forgotten. Not because they no longer like each other but because they are all so caught up in their new lives. Extremely few friendships survive this transition.

The new students learn to take care of themselves, although, of course their parents are still providing all financial sustenance and calling them every other day. Some go home weekly, others forth nightly, monthly or per semester. Money always seems to run out quickly for the less smart ones. Reality sets in when they wander into a shop and see things they would really love to buy. They turn and see – nobody. No parents there. No one to turn to and say “mummy, can you buy those shoes for me?”.  If they don’t have enough money, they leave the shop unsatisfied and disheartened.

Impossibly fast, exams arrive. The rush, late night studying and little or no sleep. Some pass and others fail. Those that fail use the excuse that they were newly adjusting. Second semester exams arrive. Results come out and they all have G.p.a’s ranging from 0.33 to 5.0. A few students are rusticated (much to the shame of their parents). The others move on to the next level to join the long list of jaded and cynical ‘veterans” who tell their younger ones that “the university isn’t what you think it is.  They burn their ears with old and over used adages like “make hay while the sun shines” and the likes. The cycle is then repeated over and over again, never to end.

The question is when will it stop?

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30 Days 30 Voices series is an opportunity for young Nigerians to share their stories and experiences with other young Nigerians, within our borders and beyond, to inspire and motivate them.

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.