Comrade of Valour

If I hadn't been through university myself, perhaps I wouldn't fully understand exactly what it takes to actually finish, let alone finish well. So on behalf of my brother, I am not only grateful but also proud of the journey he went through into becoming a graduate.

His graduation ceremony was just a few days ago. He gained admission in 2018 for a four-year program. Yes, that's right. We're in 2025, and the lad's only just finishing the program. Well, it's pretty much normal here to spend way more years than originally designed for whatever course. But that generally only applies to government-owned schools.

What department did he graduate from? Acturial Science. And what it's about, I honestly have to ask him each time. At the very least, I know it's the mathematics of risk management. He's mostly talking about probability is seven dimensions these days. I'm sure it sounds cool for him to tell people and have them curious.

Despite not knowing all about the course, I can at least point to a few courses that sound familiar, because he's mentioned most of them to me. "Omo, this Life & Contingencies course... Be like I go carry A o. The exam sweet ehnn." I'd often hear things like that every semester.

My brother is one of the most hardworking people I personally know on this earth. And his him bagging his degree in the exact way he had always visioned since he enrolled is just another example.

Not every semester was great, however. There were the good ones, the awesome ones—the straight A kind—and there was one really awful one. A major setback that put his dream on the line.

Long story short, he got back on his fucking feat like a champ. A gladiator, that man. He wasn't just about to let what he really wanted be taken away from him. So he fought. And we were there every step of the way, mother and brother, and we know the full story.

Despite the challenges, he came out on top. Not the top of his class, but among the elites. It wouldn't surprise anyone that about 90% of his friends' circle are part of that class of elites, and there are at least ten of them. You really are the average of the people you walk with.

He had already begun chasing bigger things, and so attending his own graduation ceremony wasn't exactly convenient. He had to make it there anyway, being part of the elites, so we had to work it out.

Over here, we celebrate pretty much everything. At least, Yoruba do. And part of celebrating graduation from university usually involves a photo shoot to get really good photos to share with the world. We sadly couldn't arrange one it time, but it was important to us, so we improvised with a DIY photoshoot.

All the photos you see here were taken with my phone. Yeah, that same Redmi Note 10 Pro I've been using for more than three years now. To my surprise, it turned out well. I had to set the lighting using my softbox, rim light, and the rest—all DIY.

Anyway. It was a wonderful day. We couldn't be in the hall with him, so we waited outside under tents until the champ could return with his certificate (or something that looked like it). Everyone was proud.

Congrats, @yinjuolu
Comrade of valour.