Setting the Pace on Every Race; FT8

– by Anthonia Elemoso

That beautiful morning, we had listened to three facilitators talk about how we were about to embark on a tough race, but we had no imagination or idea how tough it would be.

Few hours before, we had shared our stories, experiences, and the varied but similar reasons we individually chose this particular race. Some had funny stories, some sassy attitude and some appeared intimidated listening to others’ achievements. Then we had the ones that spoke with boldness and a sprinkle of pride; some spoke beautifully and a few like me laughing loud gently sat behind waiting to see where we were headed. Little did we know that the race was going to humble us in different ways.

After those introductory speeches came a wise man called “Sly”. He stood before the class and chipped a piece of advice. “I will advise that you bond and have fun while on this (race).” It sounded generic but it was the best advice we got. It was truly race with different participants and diverse goals, but we didn’t lose sight of our togetherness. We ran together. Through the pressure, through the heat, we kept flying no defeat. Speaking of flying, our cars “flew” at different times when we had to drive to school the morning after a long night of assignments to beat the almighty Turnitin countdown. Yet, we stood, “WE PIN”.

At various intervals we would take another route on the race to enliven ourselves and refill our tanks. We sang, we cooked, we ate, we danced, we partied, we read, we did not sleep, we tutored, we fought, we went on a getaway, had movie nights, we slept and prayed…together. And I remember our Old School Day and Trad Day!We even had a class anthem (Lol). We didn’t only study for a Masters in Media & Communication; we practically became the masters of “study and chop life balance” and we were audacious about it.

We expected the race to be refining, but we didn’t quite expect the precious stones we have turned out to be. Who would have known that a year together would birth great friendships, lot of laughter, tears, and awesome memories? Now we are celebrating marriages, promotions, relocations, childbirth, and beautiful memories together as we grow. We came to bag a degree, but we bagged a lot more; more that we will cherish forever. And, we left a mark! We were more than a class; we were and still remain a family. Thank you FT8, thank you SMC.

-Anthonia Elemoso, FT8.