Why I Wanted 8 As

I don’t know about other schools, but I’ve known that “8As” was the second most popular word (or phrase, whatever it is) in my alma mater, “WASSCE” being first, when the writing of our final exams was nearing. We registered for eight subjects to be written and we anticipated obtaining grade A in all of them. The hope of attaining 8 As soon seemed our raison d'etre for being in St Peter's.

Every colleague of mine that trod the pavements of my Kwahu school, hoped for 8 As. In fact, we had had students leave their schools to join us at St Peter's with the aim of getting better tuition in order to be laurelled with the chain of grade As after the release of results. At least, as at the time I was leaving St Peter's, we had had two boys from Pope John's and one from Ghana Senior High, both in Koforidua, join us.

I also wanted 8 As, but for reasons contrary to the well-rehearsed, popular ones. Of course, it would be a prestigious thing to be known as one whose results had no other grades interfering; just straight As. Although teachers that looked up to my performance would have felt honoured, my motive was way beyond such reasoning.

My third and final year at school, when the various university application forms were in and students were so enthusiastic about abandoning senior high school (SHS) life, was when I had to make known the academic path I would love to take. Questions like “What university would you like to attend” and “What programme would you like to offer” were the most popular of those interrogatory sentences that got me talking.

Like many other people, I have striven to be firm about choices I have made. I had already seen bright faces suddenly make a  ‘let-down’ display after  my intentions had been made known to those who cared to ‘probe’ into my future. At such an instance, I felt that it was time to ‘disappoint’ many more people, old and young, and make more faces as sad as that of a disappointed lover.

Ever since I got my first-choice programme, the choice for which I had seen many faces change mien at, I have had to talk much. My talking has been as a result of my bid to make plain the reason why I was offering such a programme.

Whenever I mentioned my programme after being asked, I would add, “That was my first choice”. I did that in a bid to let these inquisitive beings know that I had not been offered the bouquet because I had not performed well, but because although my results were good (despite no 8A’s), my BAchelor of Arts bouquet was one I had chosen.

I wanted 8As, so that anyone who got to know the programme I had chosen to offer would accord me the same respect they would accord those who offered those programmes Ghanaians held in so much high esteem.

In Ghana (and sure many other countries), certain university programmes are not deemed important. The programmes differ by country, though, because in Egypt, offering Law is not a big deal, I was told. There are certain jobs that are considered ideal, others, inferior. As a result, people who tend to be outstanding after university education are usually thought to have offered the so-called ‘prestigious’ programmes. For the General Arts students, it has been Law; Chartered Accounting and Business Administration has been on the list for Business students; and those who offered General Science at SHS have had to make their ideal choice Medicine or Pharmacy or some other engineering programmes.

Students who find themselves offering other programmes in the humanities or sciences have mostly had to cower or lie about their programmes. They are not bold enough to mention them to people who would display disappointment on their faces, just as I had seen done. The reason has simply been because such students fail to understand that their purpose has not been to please people, but to do what they can, and be better at it.

As my brother, Michael Asante said, "If you listen to what people say, you won't enjoy life. I have come to understand this to be true.

Recently, I had to visit my alma mater for some letters of recommendation and for my examination transcript. Many students crowded around me with such questions as would always be posed to a senior who had just been admitted to the university. Well, I braced myself to answer them. I did without mincing words. At the mention of my programme, mouths did not turn agape, nor did faces brighten; eyes did not open wide in gladness, nor did mouths say with enthusiasm: "Well done!"

I am content and will always be. Just as the Humanities need the sciences, vice versa is also true. It would be inappropriate thus on my part to belittle myself or allow others to, for choosing to offer Classics and Philosophy, Music and Information Studies when another chooses to offer Architecture. We chose our paths, that's the fact; it'll be up to us to work for our grades, that's the truth.

What a joy it is to do what you enjoy doing and gain what you need! I now understand why some people I knew were really enthusiastic about me watching 'The Three Idiots', a Bollywood movie. It spoke right to me! If your passion is to be an engineer, pursue it. Pursue nothing else because of wealth or prestige or any other motive that would qualify for being unreasonable. There's no guarantee of success anywhere. Remember, "If you listen to people, you won't enjoy life."