Pursue Your Dreams

This Post is for FIRST COMMENTER CONTEST

Yesterday I heard a story that necessitated this topic.

A 21 year old young man, who comes from a terribly poor home, and the 6th in the family of 10 children and who struggled to pay his way through his Secondary School Education, who wrote and passed his School Certificate Examination with 8 Credits including English and Mathematics and his core subjects of Economics, Government and Literature in English and who wishes to be a "Renowned Economist" as he put it, got a call from his Father.

And the Father said to him "Son, of all your brothers and sisters, you are the only one who has shown some interest in the white man's education and because of that you have abandoned our own traditional education which lies in farming for food and some income to be out there barbing for the past 3 years and hoping to get money to further the education and you have not succeeded. I think it is high time you abandoned that hopeless search and come back to till the soil with your mother and I because that is what our Maker has called us to. Leave the White man's education to the white man, mind our own traditional education. Our forefathers lived off the land, and we are making our own great efforts to maintain the tradition, it's your turn to take over from me, don't bungle it."

After that call, the young man was so confused and perplexed, that he reached out for advise.

He said he loves his Parents dearly and would not like to disobey them, and that his Father was right when he said that he has barbed for 3 years and yet has not saved money to further his education; but that this year he put in for UTME and scored high enough to participate in the Post UME of his University of first choice and that even though he does not know where the money to pay the fees would come from, but he is quite optimistic that this year would be his year to gain admission into a University to study the course of his dreams.

In my response, I told him the story of Thomas Edison, who, abandoned by family and friends, taunted by haters and enemies of progress, failed 999 times in trying to invent the filament in the electric bulb but succeeded at the 1000th time and became a celebrated inventor. His success was hinged on the fact that he had a dream which became his passion and from which he did not want to be distracted; so he focused on it with one tunnel vision, he was blind to every other site and sight and deaf to every complaints, jests, jokes or blackmails not even from his family; he dedicated his life to that mission and then just when nobody thought he would be of any good, Uhuru!!!! he succeeded.

I told him to inform his father that though he loved him and would love to obey him and come back to the village to continue tilling the land, but that he was more than 18 years of age and would love to take charge of his own life.

I advised him to let his father know that he has a dream of becoming a "renowned Economist" and that he was not willing to let go of that dream until he becomes his dream.

I also advised him not to worry about where the school fees would come from but to get the admission first because from my own experience of being self sponsored, I know that Providence would always smile at him who is willing to pass through pains to achieve his gains.

He was quite elated at my pieces of advise and declared that he was going to do exactly that which I had said.

Well, I do hope that he has the courage and guts to do just that.

And speaking about that young man, I am also speaking to all young men and women who happen to know me or not know me but who are in the same situation as the young man I have just discussed.

No matter what they do to distract you from your dream, if your dream is really a genuine one, and you really want to be it, then go be it.

Look not to the left or right, look not to the back, just face your front, the future holds better dividends than the past.

Wishing you all the best of the day

Dr. Jerry - the First: JP