put them in my salivating mouth, they tasted like
heaven!"
"My friend, will you jog" the military officer at the
stadium shouted as I arrived at the venue for the Gulder
Ultimate Search Season 10 auditions at Owerri. As I
raced down from the gate, I tripped and almost fell. The
other contestants laughed out loud as I struggled to
maintain my balance. It was the first time I was alone, no
family to cheer me on. When the time came for
interviews, I was shaking like a jelly fish. I passed my
driving test, went on to do the medicals and I was certified
fit. I had to wait for a week to receive a text message to
confirm that I had made it to the next stage.
During the 'waiting' period, I fell ill. My dad was very
concerned about my health because he felt the auditions
had taken too much of a toll on me. But remained in high
spirits, kept my chin up and got better. Then the text
message came in, yippee! I had made it to the next stage.
I packed my bags for Lagos, not knowing what lay ahead.
When I got to Lagos, I met other contestants who had
made it. I was a bit scared because I was the youngest in
camp. A psychologist came to test our mental skills and
we were given a puzzle. I was the first to solve the puzzle,
I did it in three minutes! I was elated. It gave me more
confidence to face whatever challenges lay ahead, because
I knew there would be challenges. Finally, the day came
when the 12 ultimate contestants would be chosen. I knew
I had done my best but I was still scared. Then Freeze
called my name and told me to proceed to the jungle. It
was a surreal moment for me – like a dream. More so
because, my older sister had applied three times and she
hadn't got in, and here I was, fragile-looking Ifunanya,
going into the Gulder Ultimate Search.
Everything in the jungle was real, people keep asking me
"did you really make tents and sleep in the cold with little
food?" Heck, yea! I actually searched for raw palm kernels
and when I put them in my salivating mouth, they tasted
like heaven! The search got harder as the days went
by.The tasks grew more challenging and my worst task
was 'Sacrifice', I had to use my 'stuff in the basement' to
complete that task. I did my best up until the last moment.
Some people tell me I didn't search well on the final day
but the truth is, I deployed my strategy effectively. Eddy
was the fastest, so I tried not to loose sight of him. I tried
to ensure there was no large gap between us. At some
point, I lost sight of both him and Dennis and I couldn't
implement the right technique for the task.
Of the theree of us – Dennis, Eddy and I, someone had to
find the tenth symbol, and Dennis did. I had mixed
feelings when I didn't emerge the overall winner, I was
sad because I wasn't the one but I was also happy for
Dennis Okike. No hard feelings.
The Gulder Ultimate Search taught me never to give up.
Keep pushing, nothing good comes easy. While in the
jungle, I saw every one as equal in terms of competitive
edge. I didn't separate male from female, I saw every one
as equal and I think that helped me emerge the ultimate
woman.
———————————
Ifunanya Onike is the current Ultimate Woman from the
Gulder Ultimate Search reality TV series. She tweets from
@ifurocks. #SoUThinkUCanWrite
30 Days, 30 Voices series is an opportunity for young
Nigerians from across the world to share their stories and
experiences – creating a meeting point where our common
humanity is explored.
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