School to me was desks and tables,
It was seats and lockers,
Classrooms and staffrooms,
Bells to signal the beginning and end of every lesson,
Tests and examinations written on pieces of paper,
Strokes of cane for an undone assignment or a failed test,
School to me was working with my friends to win a competition and bring back the trophy for the school,
It was going on excursions to widen our knowledge on what had been taught in the classroom,
To me, this was school.

And then one night I slept.
Opening my eyes the next morning, everything had changed. School became something entirely different.
School became Laptops and ipads,
It became mobile phones and tablets.
Beginning and end of lesson signals went from bells to alarms,
Physical became virtual and virtual became the new normal.
At first, I couldn't grapple with it, but we were groomed on the way to go about it.
Put in this situation by a stranger whose last name was nineteen.
I had no choice but to adapt.

Data bundles became life, for without them, I couldn't be a student.
My prayers started involving more of the Power Holding Company, just so there could be light to power my gadgets in time for classes.
Sometimes, my eyes got teary from staring at the screen for so long, but what could I do?
Queries and reduction of marks replaced strokes of cane as punishment.
All this became the new normal.

Along with the downside came the upside.
I became a computer professional in my own right. For If I had to use a gadget for my education, I definitely had to know everything about it.
So, I took it upon myself to learn all there was to it.
There was also the assignment advantage.
I was able to save my assignments before submission and have a reference point for future occurrences.

The stranger with nineteen for a last name put us in this situation,
Made e-learning our new normal.
I came to the realization that this wasn't a dream I'd be waking up from anytime soon.
So I bid farewell to my chair and locker definition of school,
Closed the door on the classroom and staffroom image in my head.
The cyberspace became my new classroom.
The method might have changed but the goal remains the same; getting a sound education.
Onward we move, never for once taking our eyes off the goal.
If virtual learning is the price, then ready we are, for we are not stopping till we get the prize.
© Adeife.