So this post is looooong overdue.
I don’t get how something would happen on October 15th and it’s taken me close to a month to blog on it… stale gist ba?
Well, I’m blogging on this more for myself than for you (selfish moi 🙂
I love sprinkling a bit of my life here and there on the blog… following through the years because I’m surely looking on (as you all are) as God’s plans come to pass in my life.
So I don’t fail to record a milestone or a failure or a success… I would be revisiting these posts some five years down the line (if Jesus tarries) and singing with gratitude as I see just how far He’s brought me.
So today’s chronicle is on my last day as a youth corper…
Yep, POP day!
As you guys know, I chronicled the beginning of my service year and it would be a crime not to end it rightly.
So here we go…
I was ill before the POP day so I didn’t do any of their parade practice and all that what not.
It was even a friend that collected my release letter as I couldn’t even stand up during that period.
So I was at the parade ground only on the day before POP and POP day.
POP Day…
Got there bright and early before 8am because they used the stadium which is big enough but all corpers who were to pass out in Ekiti State were to be there so I wanted to get a good seat.
Snapped pictures and generally just passed the time before the main event was to begin.
Trust Naija time mentality… I don’t think we started until about 1pm.
They were waiting for Fayose, the Governor that didn’t show up but hey, he sent a representative.
So we started up, they did the whole parade thingy…
Then State coordinator gave his speech. The man is so funny and was cracking us up.
They too were happy that they were passing out another set of corpers but we were happier than them.
No more signing attendance!
No more CDS.
No more my life being run by “come to secretariat”. lol.
Of course no more allowee too but bigger money izzz coming. Amen.
The Commissioner for youths and sports who represented the Governor also addressed us and presented certificates of State awards and chairman’s awards to those who distinguished themselves by contributing to their communities.
I got the State coordinator’s award for the things I did during service and when I went to pick it up at NYSC secretariat, I was told to keep it well ohhhh.
And that was it oh.
One year of service wrapped up in about an hour plus of ceremony.
And then we all went to get the light paper… I mean the certificate that had been the whole reason for the “under the sun and in the rain”.
See me looking at my own below… like seriously? Just this paper for one year? Lol.
But I didn’t do NYSC for just that paper though.
I left NYSC with more than a paper… I left full of fulfillment and lessons.
I left full of the fulfillment that comes from sowing seeds in others lives… seeds that my soul will leap at when I see them grow in the years to come.
A friend, David Adeyemi who I interviewed here on Youths speak called me that day and asked me “who will interview you now on reflections on your service year?”
And I asked him to send me his questions.
I believe that I need to sit down and have some reflections put down on paper (laptop/phone).
I reflected here on a post I wrote for BellaNaija but David’s questions require that I indeed put my NYSC year and afterwards into perspective.
So we will be wrapping up this #Awakening Youths (and NYSC youths speaks) segment of the blog tomorrow with me finally answering questions I put out to youths throughout the year.
It’s my turn on the hot seat.
David told me he went through the posts on this segment again and he just wished that lots of youths will come to get the wisdom and inspiration imbedded in them.
I had people who also told me this category of the blog on NYSC just totally changed their mindset about NYSC.
Now they know that they can make a difference with their NYSC year and not go with the crowd.
And for that, my heart sings.
My year of serving my nation is over… and I was able to do some things about making lives better during my NYSC and more than anything… that is what makes my heart joyful.
So meet me up here tomorrow for the final interview on Awakening Youths on the blog.
Love,
Frances.
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