The first time I saw the University of Ghana was the day I was headed to my high school to get further details about my admission.

It was always the main entrance I saw, nothing more. Each time I passed by in a public transport, the main entrance was always all I saw, with people hurrying in and out.

One day, I mounted one tall building in our high school to study and from that height, I saw a bit more of the interior of the university.

It was beautiful, like a castle in the air. It naturally stood on a hill. Nothing surprising I always pictured it as a place in the sky. It made me wonder if I had the strength to climb there. That was why I deliberately never visited the place to take a closer look although our high school and the university stood side by side. My fear was that, if I never made it, the pain would be unbearable. But if I never really get to see it’s beauty, my ignorance would numb the pain.

Now that I got admission there,  my first thoughts were to explore the place. I did explore the place and campus was far beautiful than I had imagined, although I got missing in it a couple of times because of its large size.

During our first week in school, there was orientation for freshers and it was thrilling. I don’t remember most of what they said, the excitement of being in school deafened me to the message relayed.

I couldn’t wait to begin classes and meet my coursemates. I felt like an ant in a land cruiser trying to make sense of my surroundings, and nothing make any sense. There were too many rules to follow. Registration processes. Departmental registrations. GPA. And terms such as Interim Assessment. They all sounded like Arabic philosophy lessons to a Chinese who spoke no other language but Chinese.

It was all fun till the orientation was over and we had to do departmental registrations. Every department we visited, we had to pay dues to collect T-shirts and books we did not know their uses. Fresh cows were in the system and everyone was determined to milk us dry.

Everywhere we passed, it was easy for continuing students to identify us. We were always asking directions to many places, sometimes places we were already standing at.

Soon, lectures began. Some courses were new, with terms we were completely unfamiliar with. Others were relatable and others make no sense.

But we had come and were determined to make the most of our stay there.

Many surprises lay ahead of the excitement, and it was just a matter of time before we realized it was not all going to be fun.

Email: Benjaminnambu1@gmail.com

WhatsApp :+233 541 824 839