Where you are right now
Every day you hear stories of how people do remarkable things at young ages, you are twenty-one and the only remarkable thing you have done is graduate from the University with a 2.2. When you hear these stories you are incensed, you look at your life and wonder what went wrong with you. You followed all that your guardians said but look at where you are, going for NYSC with every other commonplace youth.
The truth is if you wanted to be outstanding you will not have followed your guardians’ outline for your life to the letter. When you were in primary school did you ever wonder why the brightest student always scored higher than the rest of the class in essay writing even if you all followed the same essay outlines? It is the same reason your achievements are mediocre; you followed the outline as if your life depended on it while the brightest student followed the outline and went out of the outline to add a little extra. It is the little extra that earned him that 10 marks.
People will tell you, ‘Where you are right now is where you are meant to be.’ This does not mean you should not have the ambition to move higher than that point. Thank God you are twenty-one and not dead. It is not too late for your life story to become one of the success stories.
Stop the belief that your life begins when your parents are no longer your guardians. Your life is yours alone and it began the moment you were born. Do not continue making decisions that will please your guardians only. If you do not like a particular action that will affect you greatly, make your opinion known to them. African parents will be African parents so make sure to air your views maturely and respectably so as not to disrupt the support you get from them.
Have an ambition. Ambition is what drives you to do things that are outside of your life outline. This ambition should have direction. Ambition without direction will make no difference in your future.
Add a little extra to your guardians’ life outline for you and own it. An outline is a good thing, it makes sense out of the things you are currently doing. A guardian will go to extra lengths to make sure the child sticks to the already set outline. The only way out for such a child is to accept it then add something extra. In my experience, I advise just a little extra but if you are feeling lucky you can go all out but make sure to follow the outline because, in all honesty, the outline is for your benefit. After adding something extra to your guardian’s outline it becomes YOUR outline. You will be more driven to follow what is yours as you know what you are capable of more than anyone.
Chukwudumebi Benedicta
@orange.without.seeds on Instagram.
