I have wanted to be honest about a couple of things that have characterized my University life. I have always felt like I should carry the cross that many are always afraid of carrying. Someone has to die so others can live.
So where do we start off? First, the formalities. My name is….(come-one, check the by-line). Many people when they find out that I was doing Geoinformatics, they get shocked. Why? Because of the stereotypes. I have had to deal with many of them considering that I have done numerous things not to be expected of Scientist students.
But those are all stories for another day. Let’s talk retakes today. When I joined University as a Fresher, I had the same great ambitions. My sights were set on getting a First Class. It all looked easy. Only that I found out, getting a first class had an opportunity cost. Most people who got first classes had no real campus experiences apart from those in libraries, and those of them burying their heads in hands.
I told myself; “Jemedari you are not your fucking grades, try to have a complete life at campus.” So I went on and had one. I dated a number of people, I made hundreds of friends, I attended parties, I traveled. I attended lectures in other courses and I also dodged a couple of lectures.
Then I got a retake. I didn’t know how to handle it. It was in Cartography. I later found out that the lecturer didn’t submit my practical marks and that’s how I ended up with my first retake. By the time I found out, it was already too late to change the result. I had only one option but to retake the paper.
Honestly, retakes suck. Retakes take a mental toll on you. They take away your self-esteem. They make you think you’re dumb. And since they have been framed in such a way where those who get them seem like outcasts, the worst thing that happens to a student’s academic life is getting a retake.
I still remember it vividly, going to the noticeboard and seeing that mark in bold, that mark that represented my failure. I refused to believe it. In fact, I denied it so hard that I wanted to do my retake in my final year at campus. Luckily, I passed.
Looking back however, that retake helped me gain a deeper understanding of the subject. This time round I actually read to understand, I gave it my all.
However, I still couldn’t bring myself to attending the lectures. In fact, I attended none of the lectures. How then did I get attendance marks? I got a girl who helped register my name for every lecture. And she updated me on everything.
There’s this part where you feel out of place sitting in a lecture room with all eyes looking at you in a judgmental way. They all have one goal, not to get a retake like you did. You are the perfect example of what happens when someone fails.
Then I thought I was done with retakes. I really thought I would never get another retake. And boom, I got one in Computer Science. Why? Again because of the practicals. Now that really sucks. Why? Because I still had to go through another semester listening to this boring and mean lecturer. He’s one of the most hated at campus. Everyone dreads a moment with him.
Again, I did that retake. This time round, my ego was stripped. I had lost all sense of academic shame. This was about me. I wasn’t my grades. I convinced myself that everything in life will always work out for the good.
There’s a component of life that retakes teach you. That is the component of failure and how to handle failure.
And just because I had two retakes doesn’t mean I didn’t have brains. On the contrary, I once got a 95% in an exam. The lecturer said that for all the years he’d taught, no student had ever got above 85% in that course unit. The same guy who got a retake had a couple of course units where he was unchallenged. It this taught me, you can’t be the best in everything. Find your niche and make the best of it. My niche was Energy and that’s where I specialized.
Whereas the dots may not seem to connect when you get the retake, looking with hindsight, those dots actually connect. It all makes sense at the end.
Retakes also taught me that for everything in life, do your homework and don’t take any chances. In all those course units where I got retakes, I hadn’t done full revision. I was gambling and trying to guess what the lecturer would set. I left a lot of gaps and it’s those gaps that brought my failure.
The experience of doing a retake brings you down to earth. First, your new course mates become people who are younger than you or at least have spent less time than you at campus. But now, you are on the same level with them and you have to work as a team.
Retakes build thick skin. Having gone through two retakes, I was more prepared for life after University. I knew that tough times come, but they don’t last. Nothing in life can take the place of a thick skin.
If I were to go back in time, would I wish to get the retake? Of course no. Retakes take time to do and they drain our your physical, mental and emotional energy. The time I spent working on the retakes would have been dedicated to much better things. Yet, I don’t have any regret that I got them. I picked my lessons that are for a lifetime.
Some people would rather pass with a 51% than get a retake and try to aim for higher marks. This is a wrong mentality. I saw guys who had no retake but they had a very bad DEGREE POINTS (G.P) simply because of this mentality.
If you sit for the retake and get higher marks, your G.P tremendously improves. That’s a secret I discovered. In fact, even though I had two retakes, I had a much superb G.P than those without any. I deserve my bragging rights. That goes to show that retakes didn’t define my intelligence in any way.
Even though they make you to get doubts about your intelligence and whether you had over-estimated it, it’s never the case. I had evidence from other course units that I was intelligent. Simple. All historical facts also proved that. I had scored straight A's in K.C.P.E and K.C.S.E. Mind you I was a guy who never revised. I never did winters. I avoided libraries. I simply tried to understand it the first time the teacher taught it.
To anyone with a retake, just know that you are not alone, those feelings that you have are mutual, I had the same. I felt like punching the lecturer, even felt like shedding a tear but then remembered I had balls so that was not an option.
Just go do the retake and try to make the best of it. Aim for an A in that retake. Your G.P will grow so rapidly I can promise.
And to those who may talk about you in secret, those who may laugh at your predicament, they don’t matter. This is not real life. And even if it was, you are much better experienced than them, don’t you see? They may have no retake but you have experience and nothing beats experience in life.
I will soon write about my University experience for the four years.
If you want to share your experience, email me: willymuchiri@gmail.com
I
have wanted to be honest about a couple of things that have
characterized my University life. I have always felt like I should carry
the cross that many are always afraid of carrying. Someone has to die
so others can live.
So where do we start off? First, the formalities. My name is….(come-one, check the by-line). Many people when they find out that I was doing Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, they get shocked. Why? Because of the stereotypes. I have had to deal with many of them considering that I have done numerous things not to be expected of engineering students.
But those are all stories for another day. Let’s talk retakes today. When I joined University as a Fresher, I had the same great ambitions. My sights were set on getting a First Class. It all looked easy. Only that I found out, getting a first class had an opportunity cost. Most people who got first classes had no real campus experiences apart from those in libraries, and those of them burying their heads in hands.
I told myself; “Ian you are not your fucking grades, try to have a complete life at campus.” So I went on and had one. I dated a number of people, I made hundreds of friends, I attended parties, I traveled. I attended lectures in other courses and I also dodged a couple of lectures.
Then I got a retake. I didn’t know how to handle it. It was in Materials Science. I later found out that the lecturer didn’t submit my practical marks and that’s how I ended up with my first retake. By the time I found out, it was already too late to change the result. I had only one option but to retake the paper.
Honestly, retakes suck. Retakes take a mental toll on you. They take away your self-esteem. They make you think you’re dumb. And since they have been framed in such a way where those who get them seem like outcasts, the worst thing that happens to a student’s academic life is getting a retake.
I still remember it vividly, going to the noticeboard and seeing that mark in bold, that mark that represented my failure. I refused to believe it. In fact, I denied it so hard that I only did my retake in my final year at campus. Luckily, I passed.
Looking back however, that retake helped me gain a deeper understanding of the subject. This time round I actually read to understand, I gave it my all.
However, I still couldn’t bring myself to attending the lectures. In fact, I attended none of the lectures. How then did I get attendance marks? I got a girl who helped register my name for every lecture. And she updated me on everything.
There’s this part where you feel out of place sitting in a lecture room with all eyes looking at you in a judgmental way. They all have one goal, not to get a retake like you did. You are the perfect example of what happens when someone fails.
Then I thought I was done with retakes. I really thought I would never get another retake. And boom, I got one in Electronics. Why? Again because of the practicals. Now that really sucks. Why? Because I still had to go through another semester listening to this boring and mean lecturer. He’s one of the most hated at campus. Everyone dreads a moment with him.
Again, I did that retake. This time round, my ego was stripped. I had lost all sense of academic shame. This was about me. I wasn’t my grades. I convinced myself that everything in life will always work out for the good.
There’s a component of life that retakes teach you. That is the component of failure and how to handle failure.
And just because I had two retakes doesn’t mean I didn’t have brains. On the contrary, I once got a 95% in an exam. The lecturer said that for all the years he’d taught, no student had ever got above 85% in that course unit. The same guy who got a retake had a couple of course units where he was unchallenged. It this taught me, you can’t be the best in everything. Find your niche and make the best of it. My niche was Energy and that’s where I specialized.
Whereas the dots may not seem to connect when you get the retake, looking with hindsight, those dots actually connect. It all makes sense at the end.
Retakes also taught me that for everything in life, do your homework and don’t take any chances. In all those course units where I got retakes, I hadn’t done full revision. I was gambling and trying to guess what the lecturer would set. I left a lot of gaps and it’s those gaps that brought my failure.
The experience of doing a retake brings you down to earth. First, your new course mates become people who are younger than you or at least have spent less time than you at campus. But now, you are on the same level with them and you have to work as a team.
Retakes build thick skin. Having gone through two retakes, I was more prepared for life after University. I knew that tough times come, but they don’t last. Nothing in life can take the place of a thick skin.
If I were to go back in time, would I wish to get the retake? Of course no. Retakes take time to do and they drain our your physical, mental and emotional energy. The time I spent working on the retakes would have been dedicated to much better things. Yet, I don’t have any regret that I got them. I picked my lessons that are for a lifetime.
Some people would rather pass with a 51% than get a retake and try to aim for higher marks. This is a wrong mentality. I saw guys who had no retake but they had a very bad CGPA simply because of this mentality.
If you sit for the retake and get higher marks, your CGPA tremendously improves. That’s a secret I discovered. In fact, even though I had two retakes, I had a much superb CGPA than those without any. I deserve my bragging rights. That goes to show that retakes didn’t define my intelligence in any way.
Even though they make you to get doubts about your intelligence and whether you had over-estimated it, it’s never the case. I had evidence from other course units that I was intelligent. Simple. All historical facts also proved that. I had 6 aggregates at P.7, 11 in 8 at Senior 4 and 21 points at Senior 6. Mind you I was a guy who never revised. I never did winters. I avoided libraries. I simply tried to understand it the first time the teacher taught it.
To anyone with a retake, just know that you are not alone, those feelings that you have are mutual, I had the same. I felt like punching the lecturer, even felt like shedding a tear but then remembered I had balls so that was not an option.
Just go do the retake and try to make the best of it. Aim for an A in that retake. Your CGPA will grow so rapidly I can promise.
And to those who may talk about you in secret, those who may laugh at your predicament, they don’t matter. This is not real life. And even if it was, you are much better experienced than them, don’t you see? They may have no retake but you have experience and nothing beats experience in life.
I will soon write about my University experience for the four years.
If you want to share your experience, email me: ortian@gmail.com
- See more at: http://campuseye.ug/what-it-really-means-to-do-a-retake-in-a-ugandan-university/#sthash.31FBJDoE.dpuf
So where do we start off? First, the formalities. My name is….(come-one, check the by-line). Many people when they find out that I was doing Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, they get shocked. Why? Because of the stereotypes. I have had to deal with many of them considering that I have done numerous things not to be expected of engineering students.
But those are all stories for another day. Let’s talk retakes today. When I joined University as a Fresher, I had the same great ambitions. My sights were set on getting a First Class. It all looked easy. Only that I found out, getting a first class had an opportunity cost. Most people who got first classes had no real campus experiences apart from those in libraries, and those of them burying their heads in hands.
I told myself; “Ian you are not your fucking grades, try to have a complete life at campus.” So I went on and had one. I dated a number of people, I made hundreds of friends, I attended parties, I traveled. I attended lectures in other courses and I also dodged a couple of lectures.
Then I got a retake. I didn’t know how to handle it. It was in Materials Science. I later found out that the lecturer didn’t submit my practical marks and that’s how I ended up with my first retake. By the time I found out, it was already too late to change the result. I had only one option but to retake the paper.
Honestly, retakes suck. Retakes take a mental toll on you. They take away your self-esteem. They make you think you’re dumb. And since they have been framed in such a way where those who get them seem like outcasts, the worst thing that happens to a student’s academic life is getting a retake.
I still remember it vividly, going to the noticeboard and seeing that mark in bold, that mark that represented my failure. I refused to believe it. In fact, I denied it so hard that I only did my retake in my final year at campus. Luckily, I passed.
Looking back however, that retake helped me gain a deeper understanding of the subject. This time round I actually read to understand, I gave it my all.
However, I still couldn’t bring myself to attending the lectures. In fact, I attended none of the lectures. How then did I get attendance marks? I got a girl who helped register my name for every lecture. And she updated me on everything.
There’s this part where you feel out of place sitting in a lecture room with all eyes looking at you in a judgmental way. They all have one goal, not to get a retake like you did. You are the perfect example of what happens when someone fails.
Then I thought I was done with retakes. I really thought I would never get another retake. And boom, I got one in Electronics. Why? Again because of the practicals. Now that really sucks. Why? Because I still had to go through another semester listening to this boring and mean lecturer. He’s one of the most hated at campus. Everyone dreads a moment with him.
Again, I did that retake. This time round, my ego was stripped. I had lost all sense of academic shame. This was about me. I wasn’t my grades. I convinced myself that everything in life will always work out for the good.
There’s a component of life that retakes teach you. That is the component of failure and how to handle failure.
And just because I had two retakes doesn’t mean I didn’t have brains. On the contrary, I once got a 95% in an exam. The lecturer said that for all the years he’d taught, no student had ever got above 85% in that course unit. The same guy who got a retake had a couple of course units where he was unchallenged. It this taught me, you can’t be the best in everything. Find your niche and make the best of it. My niche was Energy and that’s where I specialized.
Whereas the dots may not seem to connect when you get the retake, looking with hindsight, those dots actually connect. It all makes sense at the end.
Retakes also taught me that for everything in life, do your homework and don’t take any chances. In all those course units where I got retakes, I hadn’t done full revision. I was gambling and trying to guess what the lecturer would set. I left a lot of gaps and it’s those gaps that brought my failure.
The experience of doing a retake brings you down to earth. First, your new course mates become people who are younger than you or at least have spent less time than you at campus. But now, you are on the same level with them and you have to work as a team.
Retakes build thick skin. Having gone through two retakes, I was more prepared for life after University. I knew that tough times come, but they don’t last. Nothing in life can take the place of a thick skin.
If I were to go back in time, would I wish to get the retake? Of course no. Retakes take time to do and they drain our your physical, mental and emotional energy. The time I spent working on the retakes would have been dedicated to much better things. Yet, I don’t have any regret that I got them. I picked my lessons that are for a lifetime.
Some people would rather pass with a 51% than get a retake and try to aim for higher marks. This is a wrong mentality. I saw guys who had no retake but they had a very bad CGPA simply because of this mentality.
If you sit for the retake and get higher marks, your CGPA tremendously improves. That’s a secret I discovered. In fact, even though I had two retakes, I had a much superb CGPA than those without any. I deserve my bragging rights. That goes to show that retakes didn’t define my intelligence in any way.
Even though they make you to get doubts about your intelligence and whether you had over-estimated it, it’s never the case. I had evidence from other course units that I was intelligent. Simple. All historical facts also proved that. I had 6 aggregates at P.7, 11 in 8 at Senior 4 and 21 points at Senior 6. Mind you I was a guy who never revised. I never did winters. I avoided libraries. I simply tried to understand it the first time the teacher taught it.
To anyone with a retake, just know that you are not alone, those feelings that you have are mutual, I had the same. I felt like punching the lecturer, even felt like shedding a tear but then remembered I had balls so that was not an option.
Just go do the retake and try to make the best of it. Aim for an A in that retake. Your CGPA will grow so rapidly I can promise.
And to those who may talk about you in secret, those who may laugh at your predicament, they don’t matter. This is not real life. And even if it was, you are much better experienced than them, don’t you see? They may have no retake but you have experience and nothing beats experience in life.
I will soon write about my University experience for the four years.
If you want to share your experience, email me: ortian@gmail.com
- See more at: http://campuseye.ug/what-it-really-means-to-do-a-retake-in-a-ugandan-university/#sthash.31FBJDoE.dpuf
Really true inspiration
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