My Oldest Childhood Dream: The Lawyer Who Never Lost A Case

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When I was going through @jo5h’s blog and saw the Challenge "Let's Make Dreams Come True" organised by @senorcoconut, I had an instant recollection of several dreams I had pursued when I was very young. The oldest and strongest of them all was the dream of becoming a lawyer, a lawyer who never lost a case.

My father wanted me to be a medical doctor. Not just my father, my uncle (who is a medical doctor) and my mother also wanted the same thing. I had fairly good grades in school, the medical profession was quite lucrative and they were ready to sponsor me. Everything was set; I only had to attend classes and excel in college.

While they concocted their plans for my own life, I was immersed in the legal world. At a tender age, I watched movies where lawyers exuded so much passion and intelligence; so much it began to interest me. They would use high sounding words, appeal to arguments that took me a while to understand and carried themselves with impeccable carriage. (I would later learn that not all lawyers are like that in real life.)

This dream started when I was around 6 years old and was in primary four. I would pretend I was a lawyer in school and tried to reproduce what I watched in movies. During debates in school, I was a ready choice as chief speaker. It didn’t matter if I was to speak for or against, I always put up a good performance.

All these while, my parents and uncle still held on to their dreams while I lived in the fantasy of mine. Secondary school helped decide in my favour. When I was done with primary school, I moved on to the junior secondary school. There, I began to fall in love with the arts. Literature and English Language had more appeal to me than Integrated Science and Mathematics. It was only natural that I would excel in the art related subjects.

The moment of decision came when I began the senior secondary school. In the first term of the first year then, we were all required to take all of the subjects. I made straight A’s in English Language, Literature, Government and Religious Studies. My grades in science related courses were nothing to write home about. I remember having a score of 2 out of 40 in a Physics test. My grades were so poor my parents and uncle allowed me move to the arts without a struggle.

Three years later, when I began my application for entry into the university in 2010, I chose law as first choice and English Language and Literary Studies as second. This was when I was filling out the form for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). I had fallen in love with English Language as a course, particularly because I enjoyed reading stories and poems in English. My score in the UTME was 239 and I was expecting to be admitted for any of the two courses. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it for any of the courses.

So in 2013, I applied for the UTME a second time and chose Law as both first and second choices for two different universities, the University of Lagos for the former and Obafemi Awolowo University. I had a score of 221 and felt it was too poor for law so I changed my preferred course to English Language and Literary Studies for both universities.

After a series of event I do not want to get into here, I was admitted to read English Language in Obafemi Awolowo University. My parents and I were elated. My parents had bought into my dream of becoming a lawyer and expected that I would switch to law in my second law. Well, second year came and I remained in English language. I wasn’t ready for the major hassle. It is easier to switch from Law to English Language than English Language to Law.

Only two weeks ago, I completed my final exams and I’m currently working on my bachelor thesis. So I ended up studying English Language instead of Law. Looking back, there is no regret. Although I will never stand in court to argue cases, I have learnt so much in English Language. These days, I find my fulfilment in writing short stories, articles and poems. I also have interest in advertising and communication, particularly in the skilful use of language (verbal and non-verbal) to make people react in an expected manner.

If you look at it from a particular angle, I am the lawyer that never lost a case, because I’ve never had one. (Laughs) I’ve had most of my dreams come true and I’m grateful. Perhaps, I’ll return to the university for a second degree in Law, maybe not.

Thanks for reading

This is my entry for the "Let's Make Dreams Come True" challenge by @senorcoconut

Blessings