Many people have lost opportunities in life based on this mindset. It is one of the things that limits one from going further in your relationship with your fellow human beings. Many a times we choose to do this based on what one must have been told. You could have heard or even seen a lot of actions perpetrated by some set of individuals but don’t let what you have heard nor seen becloud your good sense of judgment. I will explain this with some personal stories. Follow me.

Upon my gaining admission into the university, I was told of a certain lecturer in our department by my senior colleagues who derives pleasure in failing students. I felt like why would such a person do that? For what gain I asked? I never really got a response from any of them but I was just told that experience was the best and only way I could understand.

Eventually, time and chance happened and I had this lecturer teach me along side my other course mates. Most of them already as I did had their own portion of the kind of character certain lecturer was and then a large number had this fear in him even without acting like that at a time. Though as you those of you have been in university know, it is very possible to have that kind of lecturer who is rigid. Based on this, I brazed up for the challenges ahead. In a twist of fate, I became close to him that I could give me money to go pay in for him in the bank. I wrote his exams and I never failed his course nor had a carry over till I left. My roommate Solomon who coincidentally was my course mate didn’t also at any point in time, had a carry over till he left. That doesn’t mean that there weren’t others who didn’t fail his courses.

Upon graduation, I met him in his best colleagues office just to say farewell. He brought out a bottle of Red Wine and some glasses for me to have a feel of being a graduate. I then asked him a question, why are students former and present seeing you as wicked? I think I have a different experience. Is it my God or what? He laughed so hard and said to me “Kc, they only cry because they refused to read”. “And coming to the fact you have a different story confirms that one doesn’t judge a book by its cover”. Well, I think I was pleased by his response especially the second part. But then, when I was having a kind of introspection, I came to discover that most of the students who had carryovers were students who had this stereotype mindset about him and overreacted in every single action he took. So they became victims of what they feared the most. I think this is what Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche calls the “dangers of a single story”.

In relation to this in our dearly life, I think we should see everyone out there as first, human beings who are capable of making mistakes. We need try to figure out the reason why people behave the way they do and try to draw a good judgment. You do not allow the dislike you have in a person becloud your good sense of judgment when such a time comes. Remember that we all act and behave based our environments and orientations. You really need to do some background checks before you make decisions. If I had taken what my senior colleagues had told me about this lecturer, just maybe I wouldn’t have made it out when I did. It is always good to see the brighter side of every story not disregarding whatever negativity you must have heard about such a story. For me it is better, safer and sweeter to be a free thinker than being a stereotyped individual.

1. Goodnight!

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