Life Long…
Hey! So are you still wondering what to do with yourtime this long holiday? Bored of the ASUU strike? Or are you one of the newly Junior secondary school graduates? Or a High school leaver whose parents havegot an issue against taking up an after-high-schooljob? Well here is some good news: you can actually emulate what fifteen years old Oluwaseun is doing at the moment.

Young oluwaseun has just finished her Junior school leaving certificate examination (JSSCE) and like most of her mates, she was burdened with the question of what to do with the long holiday. Will she experience the severe depression most people suffer due to idleness? Or better still, will she be gallivanting from one auntie’s place to another uncle’s to spend the holiday? She would have loved to take up a holiday job but that is definitely out of the question because she is a minor and that will be considered child-abuse. Well, her mother had a better plan for her. What do you guess the plan is?

Today, Oluwaseun is a happy teenager, gaining afirst-hand experience in a fashion-design school. Hmm, now what better thing could her dear mother have done for her? Oluwaseun’s mother is a visionary woman andwe certainly need more of her type in today’s society. Mind you, one does not have to be aFull time-Stay-at-home-mum to have such wisdom.

Every year, millions of young people find themselves at home for long holiday (After graduation, ASUU strike and the rest of them), amazingly, only a trickle of these young people have a faint idea of how to maximize their time. Some actually use their timeto experiment what it is like to be young, good forthem. Little do we know that we can actually use the opportunity created by these holidays to acquire lifelong skills.

Life skills are skills that enable youth to be resilient, active, and productive members of their community. These skills are -academic, personal,social, and vocational. You would agree we need to create a balance in these areas.Fashion and Tailoring school, Hair Dressingschool/Salon, Catering School, Mechanic workshop to mention but a few are fields of interest we young people can actually explore to acquire practical skills that will empower us for the future.

Imagine someone who during this ASUU strike spent his time tolearn how to Style hair and give creative hair-cut. Do you think such person will ever go hungry in school?Of course unless people stop having hair cut, which we know will never happen.

This is not just another motivational piece you read in this column, it is more than that. This is a call,to every young person and parents out there. Grab the moment… instead of allowing the economic depression in our country to overwhelm you, create your own market. Empower yourself with life long skills. Education +vocational skill= A secured future undaunted by economic instability.

Jennifer Ehidiamen
~Active Global Citizen, committed to working for a positive Change. "Keep Adopting a Positive attitude towards life. Fear God, Live, Laugh, Love, grow and enjoy life. The best is yet to come by God's grace."

DIARY OF A STUDENT-JOURNALIST
Not everyday is the same for a Journalist...even a student-Journalist can testify to that.
Monday- Wake up early. Beat the heavy traffic jam and arrive in time. No truancy today...serious business. We even close late, thanks to our Principles of Economics lecturer. Mondays for me begin with laughter. Yep, our first lecturer combine his very serious course with an amazing level of comic dispaly. Ha ha ha.
Tuesday- Oh ho, History class- a two-hour lecture on how newspaper came into existence, in a more organised thought:The evolution of print industry. The beauty about tuesday is that we sometimes have a three-hour lecture free period unlike other days. Today, our History lecturer came to class with a bottle of chilled Maltina, in-between sip he intelligently explain to us how the Missionaries contributed to the establishment of Newspaper in Nigeria. For some reasons, I found me enthusiastically looking forward to "Newswriting class" but of course the history class will have to end first. "Focus girl, one step at a time" I chided myself.
Wednesday- I literarily slog my way through most wednesdays. We take a tough lecture on broadcasting and the rest of the day is scheduled for seminar and sports. Personally, Wednesday is the day I take time to update myself with news from everywhere.
Thursday- Even though my bed is begging for more company and my body is yearning for more rest, I am more determined to make it to school in good spirit today. Aside the interesting English class, enlightening Science class, and mind-building Communication class, fieldwork is what excites me the most. Talk about hands-onskill learning experience. Here we are on our way again, with our midget, Camera, reporter's notebook and of course our uncommon sense to gather news like real professionals on a beat... no compromising to practise Yellow Journalism.
Friday- Vendredi. Dieu merci. Friday is for french class... perhaps in my next entry, this will be written in french. We also religiously attend our not so well-stocked library on fridays too...afterwards, my close mates and me co-host our online radio show.
Saturday- Learn. Think. Tell. That's how we Journalists do it. Do you know there is no "off-duty" for Journalists? Even while clubbing, Shopping or Just being, we still find ourselves nosing for news. Part of our duty is to give voice to the voiceless... we inform,educate, entertain and delight our world.
Sunday- I find my way to my Father's house for worship and also tell Him a few things bugging me. The beauty about going to Church is that it reminds you of the body you belong... once again, our Pastor reminds us to remain a radical oppostion to corruption, in 5 words: "You can win by Righteousness." An accurate tip I need to succeed as a growing Journalist! A new week, a new experience at NIJ tomorrow...God Bless us.