I smiled when mother announced that I was to join secondary school. As I entered through the school gate like any new arrival, I was excited. My father’s words of encouragement filled my mind.

At the checkpoint the change of environment consumed me. This was nothing compared to my primary school. There and then, I badly wanted to say farewell to my parents and start getting acquainted with the new place.

When I reached the dormitory, at least the metallic beds were not new to me. I swayed with a swagger and just like my friends told me, I changed my walking style to a bounce. I had to present myself like a secondary student and not a pupil.

As I bounced around, I felt like I was gradually assimilating in the new system. The greeting changed to a cool ‘Wat’s up yo?’
As I was beaming with exhilaration and completely taken by the moment, suddenly something soured.

I greeted someone more mature who in return, rudely looked back at me. I walked away thinking rudeness was a culture in the school. This was just the beginning of a period of unhappiness, all crumpled by developing events.

First I was forced to fetch water with a spoon and fill a basin. The experience was horrible and worse bullying was yet to unfold. I remember one evening when I left class and went to the dormitory.

I found my suitcase ransacked and obviously all the eatables were missing. What was annoying was that I could not safeguard my property anymore because the locks had been broken.

The fun and enjoyment picture of secondary level faded out of my life. I started hating my parents for taking me to the wrong secondary school. I believed they had done this intentionally.

However, as I rose through the levels I got used to the teasing and bullying situations. I eventually noticed that it was the older students that practiced this inhumane behaviour.

In an attempt to change the course of events I testified to  my classmates about how my happiness had been deprived, my expectations crashed and how the misconduct had polluted the innocence of many new comers.

After this, I later noticed that there were fewer complaints to teachers about teasing.

Ends