Campus Confessions: How a missed exam brewed trust issues in my parents

Nothing stings quite like the disappointment in our parents' voices. Many campus students go to great lengths to avoid disappointing their parents.

I did my best to avoid this fate, but things didn’t go as planned.

Last year, I was supposed to sit for my first-year Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) exams at the Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology. I couldn't move to the next module without taking these exams.

As the exam period began, I completed my first three exams. Confident that I had memorized the timetable, I believed I had an exam on Wednesday and a free day on Tuesday.

I decided to stay at a friend's off-campus house to use the time to revise, only to receive a call from the class representative on Tuesday asking where I was, as the exam had just ended.

Panicking, I rushed to the exam room, hoping to still catch the exam, but the session had already ended. I was told I would have to wait until the next semester.

Despite begging the invigilator to let me sit for the exam, even for just 30 minutes, they remained firm in their decision.

I decided not to tell my parents, thinking I could keep up the pretence of attending school until the next semester started in three months.

I managed to maintain this lie until I returned to school and found out there was no intake for my course that semester. 

Realizing I couldn't continue the charade for another three months and knowing I had to pay for the missed exam, I decided to come clean.

I took a photo of my result slip, which showed I missed one exam, and shared it in the family WhatsApp group. Then, I turned off my phone for a day to avoid their immediate reactions. I was scared I won't lie.

When I turned my phone back on, as expected, my family had texted me asking for an explanation. I explained everything, and they were deeply disappointed. 

They lost their trust in me, especially since I had asked for transport money during the three-month break. They asked where I used to go every morning because I used to leave with my school bag.

To make matters worse, I had to ask for money to pay for the missed exam, which made my father very angry.

He felt I had no other responsibility but to study and he could not understand how I missed the exam.

Six months later, they still don't trust me. I've learned the hard way the importance of having my classmates' numbers and now check the timetable every morning during exam periods to avoid making the same mistake again.

*As narrated by Jessie Ngenywa