She Cooked While Her Dreams Went Cold

If there was one thing Ife never believed could change her life, it was education.

While her friends talked about graduating, getting good jobs, and building careers, Ife always laughed at them.

"School is just a waste of time," she would say. "As long as I can make money somehow, I'll be fine."

She attended classes only because her parents insisted. She barely paid attention during lectures, never read her books, and believed life was all about surviving each day.

Then she met Sediq.

Sediq was different.

He wasn't the type to lecture people directly. Instead, he had a way of making comments that sounded general but somehow always hit Ife.

Whenever someone complained about school, Sediq would smile and say,

"You don't know the value of education until life forces you to know it."

Another day he would say,

"Some people think ignorance is confidence. They only realize the difference when opportunities start passing them by."

He never mentioned Ife's name, but she always felt those words were meant for her.

Those comments annoyed her.

Yet, strangely, she kept finding reasons to spend time around him.

As time went on, they became close.

Every day, Ife cooked for Sediq.

Not because he asked her to.

She bought the rice, beans, vegetables, oil, and seasonings with her own money. Sometimes she even spent the little allowance her parents sent for her upkeep just to make sure he had a decent meal.

She would wake up before sunrise, cook before lectures, package the food neatly, and take it to him.

She found happiness in watching him eat.

But Sediq was never satisfied.

"The stew has too much pepper."

"The rice is too soft."

"The meat is too hard."

"There isn't enough salt."

No matter how hard she tried, there was always something wrong with the food.

Still, she never stopped.

It wasn't because she loved him.

It was because she loved the attention he gave her.

Whenever he called to ask where she was...

Whenever he waited for her...

Whenever they spent hours talking...

Those little moments made her feel seen.

Without realizing it, she had mistaken attention for affection.

Then one day, Sediq asked to borrow money.

"I'll pay you back in a few days," he promised.

Without hesitation, Ife gave him the money she had been saving.

A few days passed.

Then weeks.

Then months.

Every time she asked for it, there was another excuse.

"I've not been paid."

"I'm expecting money."

"I'll send it next week."

Eventually, he stopped talking about it altogether.

The money was gone.

The cooking continued.

The complaints never stopped.

As exams drew closer, Ife spent more time thinking about Sediq than her books.

She skipped study groups because she wanted to cook for him.

She rushed through assignments just to answer his calls.

Some nights she was too tired to read because she had spent hours preparing meals.

Then the results of her continuous assessment were released.

She failed.

For the first time in her life, the reality hit her.

She wasn't failing because she wasn't intelligent.

She was failing because she had neglected herself.

That evening, while washing the empty food containers she had collected from Sediq's room, she suddenly stopped.

She looked at her hands.

She remembered the money she had lost.

She remembered the countless mornings she woke up early to cook.

She remembered the assignments she ignored and the lectures she barely paid attention to.

Then she asked herself,

"What exactly am I gaining from all this?"

The answer hurt.

Nothing.

Looking back, she realized it wasn't love.

It was the comfort of being noticed.

She had sacrificed her peace, her time, her money, and even her education for someone who only appreciated what she could do for him.

That night changed everything.

She stopped cooking for Sediq.

She stopped lending him money.

She stopped waiting for his calls.

The first few weeks were difficult.

She missed the routine.

She missed their conversations.

She even caught herself wanting to prepare food for him out of habit.

But instead of carrying a food flask to Sediq's room, she carried her textbooks to the library.

She attended every lecture.

She joined study groups.

Whenever she didn't understand a topic, she asked questions instead of pretending she knew it.

The same words Sediq used to say echoed in her mind.

"You don't know the value of education until life forces you to know it."

Now she finally understood.

Months later, her examination results were released.

This time, she passed with grades she never imagined she could achieve.

She felt proud—not because someone noticed her, but because she had finally noticed her own worth.

One afternoon, she unexpectedly met Sediq on campus.

He smiled as if nothing had happened.

"So... you don't cook for me anymore?"

Ife smiled back.

"No," she replied. "These days, I'm cooking for my future."

For a moment, Sediq had nothing to say.

As Ife walked away, she realized something she would never forget.

The greatest lesson Sediq ever taught her wasn't through kindness.

It was through disappointment.

His words challenged her thinking.

His actions taught her the importance of setting boundaries.

And losing herself in someone else's attention taught her the importance of choosing herself.

From that day onward, Ife no longer believed that education was a waste of time.

She understood that knowledge opens doors, self-respect protects your heart, and purpose gives life direction.

The money she lost could be earned again.

The meals she cooked would one day be forgotten.

But the years she almost wasted could never be returned.

So she promised herself that from that day forward, she would never again abandon her dreams just to keep someone else's attention.

And that was the day everything truly changed.