Giovanni Olakunori Blog

I don't ever regret my decision of coming to study in the Uk because it has transformed me in many ways I couldn’t have imagined.  But  I do recognise my decision comes with the responsibility of paying £20,850 per year in fees and making sure I follow the rules (i.e: having good grades, etc). One part of me disdains the fact that such huge amount was spent on me especially considering the fact that I could've learned most of what I was taught in my first year  via the internet for free... The other part of me looks at the bigger picture...At the end I could be a graduate from a Russel University while being part of the "Mechanical Engineering Degree Club Holders Society". I could have a chance to stay in this amazing country for a while or maybe imediately put what I've learned in the UK into use in my motherland. Obstacles... My first year at the University of Edinburgh was pretty much sponsored by external sources. However, with the recession that hit my countr...

Most of my pals went on vacation this summer. Some travelled across Europe while others visited Africa, Asia and even North America. For me, I was stuck in Edinburgh working over 2 jobs for different companies/organisations without taking any rest day that wasn't a public holiday or weekend. I haven't even seen any show since the start of the Fringe festival, and I'm not going to say it's because I don't have the time. I've just been focused on exchanging my time for money and working on other projects that involve my computer. I don't regret my decision not to travel because now I've been able to raise some capital to go towards my accommodation for next year as well as to use on other projects and even send home to take care of important issues. Besides, I've used this opportunity to study my mentor who's also the founder of one of the companies I work for. He's not taken a single vacation in 2 years (except for Christmas and public holiday...

When I was still a little kid, I had a toothache that got worse as the months progressed. A few dentists came to my school to do a dental checkup for the students. One of them inspected the tooth and advised me to do a dental fill-up, and when I told my mum, she was like "you're too young for that!"Well, a few years later, I had that tooth removed, and I figured I'd have still had my tooth if I had done a fill-up as a dentist advised. This experience made me recognize the importance of addressing issues before they get worse. I'm saying this because I had got a message from my kid sister about my younger brother. It appears he's got hydrocele and needs surgery to fix it. I heard nothing from him—although he's not the type of teenager that likes to complain or inform everyone about his problems—and I felt disappointed about that. The worse part is mum didn't have the funds to pay for the surgery, and I didn't want him to stay any longer in pain. I h...

It's been almost two years since I moved to the UK and I've not seen my family. I should've gone home this summer, but I decided to stay back not only because I wanted to make some money working but because I thought the flight tickets to and fro would cost up to £1000 and I didn't feel I had the luxury to spend up to that amount. However, I was wrong... I realized about three weeks ago that the flight tickets home (going and returning) cost about £400. I've been able to send way more than £400 home over the past three months, and I'm sure I should’ve been able to cough out £400 to see my loved ones even if it’s for a few days. I miss them so much, and I can't go wait to create more memories with them when I visit them within the next few months.