The Gift of the Librarian by Nsomma

The Gift of the Librarian by Nsomma - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

I needed to learn how to stand up for myself. It was this very advice given to me 3000 miles away from the US that has made me the person I am today. It came after I had been bullied to my breaking point. Although it may seem that being born in America, a place where most people in Nigeria could only dream of going to, would provide quick friends, it was actually the foundation of my downfall. I was constantly taunted for my “strange” American accent, falling prey to both physical and verbal attacks from a boy named Chinomso and another boy named “Miracle”. Chinomso enjoyed mimicking my American accent every time we were together in class and Miracle punched me on our way to the library one day for no apparent reason. Unfortunately, I was too shy to retaliate. Maybe I was trying to be meek, maybe I thought myself not worth saving; either way, I did nothing. The second punch to the arm forced me to break my composure and rush to the library in tears. It was the librarian, a teacher of sorts, who gave me that life-changing advice; simple, but timely.
I attended boarding school at eleven, leaving my family behind in Arizona. One can imagine my shock when I not only learned, but experienced the common discomforts in the country; namely lack of dependable electricity and the flying ants during rainy seasons. These experiences were normal to most but peculiar to me, therefore distancing me from the other kids who had dealt with this their entire lives. To make matters worse. I was still afraid of the dark, and couldn’t abide in the flying ants landing in my food and buzzing around me while I tried to study. With these obstacles coupled with the bullying, I felt utterly miserable.
Like a chameleon placed in a new environment, it takes a while to adapt; but once it does, it thrives.The librarian’s words filled me with determination to believe in myself. The next time Chinomso taunted me, I spoke back firmly to him. Although I can’t quite remember what I said, it was a step in the right direction. I had suppressed myself under a cloak of silence, making no friends because I felt they would all be like the bullies. Standing up for myself liberated me; hence I was now prepared to seek friendship, and confront those who tried to suppress me once more.
Standing up to the bullies in Nigeria helped me to develop the social skills and confidence to make friends and seek new opportunities. I carried this back to the states, becoming the president of Xavier’s Toastmasters Club. To speak publicly you need the confidence to inform and persuade others, believe in what you are saying, convince others to believe in you, laugh at yourself when you fail and pick yourself back up again when defeated. Whether it is peers during class presentations or adults when asking questions, I now feel confident to speak out. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without the “help” from Chinomso and Miracle.
Regardless of the greater confidence I have in myself, I know I will be challenged in college to establish new friendships, seek for answers in classes of over a hundred colleagues and search for the confidence in multiple ways to express myself in a new environment. Without the bullies of the past, I now have to bully myself into becoming outgoing, strong, and independent, to push myself into the new opportunities in college and force myself to develop relationships I hope to keep forever. High school was the beginning, but as I grow in maturity I believe only greater things can unfold.