The daily prompt for today is : Share a time when you narrowly avoided disaster. My case is slightly different. It was not the threat of losing my life . It was the threat of losing my reputation. In my university residence I shared the room with a student a year older than me. She always gave me advice about my study habits.
One afternoon she questioned my habit of going to bed early while others were studying hard. She told me I must also study till 2 am in the morning if I expected to do well. At first I wasn’t convinced but she continued to badger me.I gave in and studied till 1:30 am. That night I went to sleep at 2 am.
Next morning I got up to get ready to go for the exam. I felt dizzy , I told myself you’d be okay. This assurance I gave myself was not working. I entered the exam hall and sat in my designated seat. The invigilator distributed the question papers. I was not feeling any better. I picked up the question paper, read all the questions. My mind was totally blank. I told myself this cannot happen,I studied the whole year,I prepared well. I should be able to answer all the questions. I put the paper on the desk and began to think what will be the consequence if I don’t do my exam. It was my only chance or else I’d fail and repeat the year.
So I did the only thing I could I sat calmly for a few minutes. I straightened myself and read the first question,suddenly my memory was coming back. I began writing and took an hour to do all the questions. I knew I could not give up because that would be a disaster and my reputation will suffer.
When I came back to the residence I told my room mate in future she should never try to change my habit. I was fortunate I could pick myself up that morning and finished the exam. I resumed my habit of going to bed early and waking up early in the morning. It was a lesson both my room mate and I learned, ” Early to bed and early to rise makes a person healthy and wealthy and wise.”
Sabethville 