Fareedah Adeowu walked into Nigerian Law School thinking a 2.1 was the dream. She left with a First Class degree. And honestly, she wasn't even aiming that high.
The University of Ilorin graduate got posted to Kano campus, the one place she'd literally prayed against during last Ramadan. "Allah knows best," she thought, figuring there had to be something good hiding in that disappointment. Turns out, she was right.
Her first week was rough. The 21-hour bus ride from her hometown left her feet so swollen she couldn't fit into her Crocs. But the real test came during clinic registration when she realized she'd left her chest X-ray at home. People ahead of her got sent back. When it got to her turn, the staff didn't ask. She handed in just her medical report and walked out. Miracle number one. The doctor checking her X-ray didn't ask for it either. Miracle number two.
Law school itself was a grind. Classes started at 9 am, but Fareedah wasn't waking up at 4 to get ready. She'd wake for Fajr prayer, sleep again, then get up at 6:30 to make it to class by 7 something. Back-to-back lectures, group meetings, trekking to Maami Market for food that barely filled her stomach. On broke days, she survived on cereals and garri. Her snack game in class was simple: a yoghurt and Minimie chinchin.
But here's where the strategy kicked in. Fareedah knew she couldn't keep up with live note-taking. So she did something different: she turned materials from previous sets, PDFs, and slides into condensed jottings. She'd spend nights writing notes from multiple sources (Badmus, Mayowa, Agbata, Sarumi, Caleb materials), finishing them before every class so she could actually understand what was being taught rather than scramble to write.
Most nights, she was sleeping around 1 am or 2 am. But that system worked. The few friends she made in that first week became her lifeline, keeping her fed when she was too lazy to go to the market. By the time exams came, she wasn't stressed about notes. She had them. She had the system. She had the First Class.
She came to law school expecting to do okay. She left having done exceptional. Sometimes the best results come when you stop chasing them and just build the right habits.
