THE THINGS WE ESCAPE JUST IN TIME.

How I dodged four bullets and one potential paternity suit.

Musers,

Life doesn’t always reward cleverness, book-smarts, or even street-smarts. Sometimes, all we really need is a little luck and being with the right person at exactly the right time.

If like me, you’ve had those "oh, that was close" moments. The ones you escaped just in time, with your dignity (and sanity) miraculously intact. Somehow.

Did it work?

Did I get your attention?

Good. You don’t have to wait any longer.

Here are five times I almost made life-changing decisions but somehow, someway, maybe even by divine intervention, my course was rerouted elsewhere, and for some fortuitous reasons, my life stayed relatively chaos-free.

1. Smuggling Contraband into a Pathology Exam

Picture this: me, battling my usual exam fever, mind fogged, nerves fried.

It was my final Pathology course before we finally kissed it goodbye (at the undergraduate level, at least). The pressure was intense. There were diagnostics. Panels. Even other academic engagements and deadlines to meet.

My health was crumbling right alongside my confidence.

At one desperate point, I genuinely considered sneaking illegal notes into the exam hall. 😅

Three hours before the paper, a tiny voice in my head screamed, “A lot of people are looking up to you!” That was the rerouting point for me.

Thank God I listened. Otherwise, I would have been signing a malpractice form either immediately or eventually, once I got caught (because trust me, with my track record, whenever I try a vice, I get caught. 🤣)

2. The Overnight Guest and the Pregnancy Plot Twist

My last semester in Veterinary school was anything but boring.

There was this girl I liked. She liked me too. But somewhere along the way, I just stopped picking her calls (don’t ask why. I honestly don’t know.)

Determined to "find out why I changed," she teamed up with my roommate to orchestrate a surprise visit without my consent. Mind you, I kind of thought the plan was funny until…

She stayed over, uninvited but insistent.

That night, she strongly suggested we "make unprotected memories" (for the record: we had never made any "memories" prior.)

I said no.

Fast forward a little after the failed "memories" and surprise: she was already about 1–2 months pregnant at the time of her visit.

Maybe it was my gut instinct. Maybe it was Mum, pulling strings from beyond. Either way, I dodged a major plot twist.

3. Collapsing in an Animal Production Exam

I'm not even exaggerating. During my first Professional Veterinary Medicine exam, just weeks after I lost my mother, I collapsed mid-exam.

Completely drained.

I even whispered to one of the supervisors, "Can I get a waiver and just come back next year?"

They said no (of course they wouldn't have advised me to.)

Somehow, I dragged myself back to my seat, scribbled some incoherent nonsense, and scraped an 8/40 on that paper. But combined with my coursework from all semester long, I barely squeezed out a C. Barely.

Had I given up that day, my whole story could’ve changed. I’m grateful I stayed, even if it felt impossible.

4. Diving Into Politics Too Early

For someone as shy as I am, it’s hilarious how much I love politics. Do you see the irony? 🤣

There was a time I almost rushed into student politics way earlier than I should have.

I thought I was ready. Spoiler alert: I wasn’t. Not even close.

Waiting a year gave me real experience and an opportunity, even. Albeit, when I finally did run for office in my fifth year, my results plummeted anyway. Imagine what would've happened if I'd gone even earlier when academic demands were fresher.

Sometimes, patience is the real power move.

5. Ignoring the 3 AM Drill My Sister Imposed

My older sister used to wake me up at 3 AM everyday to study when I was in highschool.

This was after I earned the nickname "landlord of second place" in secondary school (yes, I was very comfortable in second place, thank you very much. 😅)

She believed I was made for more.

I, on the other hand, loved my sleep.

Every 3 AM, she’d shake me awake. I’d grumble, hiss, sigh but eventually, I’d study. The crazy reality I would get to understand in hindsight was the immense quality of information you could get in three hours of work everyday!

Now? Those 3 AMs are why some concepts are tattooed into my brain for life. Ignoring those small sacrifices would’ve been a regret I couldn’t fix.

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Around 2 AM on Sunday, while I was working on the final draft of this publication, the Google weather gods on my phone (which are about 75% accurate, by the way) predicted that Aba would be having lunch under a light thunderstorm. Well, it's past 3 PM now as I’m scheduling this post, and I’m still waiting to see any rain.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you! Please give us a like when you’re done reading.🫣

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Musers, life’s biggest blessings often look like slammed doors, missed chances, and "what if" moments we were lucky enough to avoid.

Here’s to every almost-mistake, every wrong turn we sidestepped, and every story that stayed ours to tell.

May your future be full of good decisions and good stories about the bad ones you dodged.

With love,

Jesse 🤍

P.S. If you’ve got your own “almost but thank God I didn’t” story, hit reply. I promise I’ll laugh with you, not at you. Probably. 😂

Music for the weekend: Zinoleesky's new album, Gen Z. He definitely won't disappoint you.