By: Ageh Success
Home should feel like a place of rest, but not when you are heavily involved in campus activities and the second semester is staring you in the face.
Take Stephanie, for instance. After surviving the stress of first semester examinations, she decided to spend three weeks at home instead of the two weeks provided on the academic calendar. Well, not like anybody cares, right? Na university she dey.
Naturally, you would expect her to be resting, eating good food, sleeping without alarms, and recovering from the stress of the previous semester.But the moment the holiday begins to wind down, her peace disappears.
The election she thought was still far away suddenly feels like tomorrow. She starts drafting her manifesto, calling friends in school, and trying to gather information. “How far, Ayo?” “My opponent don post flyer?””Dem don lift ban?” “How much dem dey sell form?”
Meanwhile, Salewa, the current Social Director of her faculty, is already thinking about the next event. “How do we organize this?” “How do we make sure Cultural Night really bangs this year?”And that’s just the beginning.
Walk through any hostel and you will be greeted by campaign chants. “Vote Jagu for President””Jagu is the change Indy Hostel needs!”
At this point, many students simply smile and think, No be wetin we dey hear every election season be this? But that’s the beauty and the chaos of the second semester.
Somewhere on your way to class, a random student stops you. “Shagiti is coming!” My brother, wetin concern me if Shagiti dey come? Abeg, make I pass.
Before you recover from that encounter, someone you have never spoken to suddenly sends you a WhatsApp message.”Hello, I am from your fellowship. Please support our candidate.”Church member? Since when?Ah… this Students Union election. What won’t we see?
And just when you think your calendar couldn’t get any busier, another event pops up. The Jaw War, the biggest public speaking competition in sub Saharan Africa organized by the Literary and Debating Society, University of Ibadan, is also around the corner. Then come faculty weeks, departmental dinners, sports competitions, conferences, fellowship conventions, FYB week, concerts, and countless committee meetings.
The second semester doesn’t just have activities. It breathes activities. Every week has an event. Every weekend has a program. Every poster board on campus becomes colorful.
For student leaders, volunteers, press members, fellowship executives, entrepreneurs, and election aspirants, this season can feel like running a marathon without a finish line.
And somewhere in all this excitement lies lecture notes waiting to be opened, assignments waiting to be submitted, and tests quietly approaching.
Perhaps that is why the second semester never truly sleeps.It is exciting. It is vibrant. It is full of opportunities to lead, serve, network, compete, and grow. But it is also a season that quietly tests one important skill which is balance.
Because when the banners come down, the conferences end, the winners are announced, and the applause fades, one thing still remains, the reason we came to the university in the first place.
