Life is not easy sometimes and most times it feels like yesterday was far better than today. There are moments when life brings challenges and the challenges keep piling up than our strength can carry them. In those moments, it becomes hard to see any progress in our life. We try, we push, we put in effort, yet the results we are expecting don't come. It almost feels like standing on a battlefield, facing an enemy that seems stronger than us, more prepared than us, and far more confident than us.
When life keeps throwing shadows at you, discouragement becomes a companion. There are days when everything eats you up so deeply that giving up looks like the only option you had. But one good thing about life is that, if we hold on just a little longer, somethings shift. Somehow, we overcome the very things that once felt impossible in our life.
A moment in my life when I felt like giving up was during my struggle to gain admission into the university. In my country, right after secondary school, there is an exam which you need to write that determines whether you can enter the university or any higher institution. Like everyone else, I wrote the exams. But when my result came out, I had a problem with Chemistry. I got a pass, and for anyone who wants to study any science related course, you must have at least a credit in all the science related subject. Without it, admission becomes almost impossible. That one pass score in chemistry forced me to wait an entire year to rewrite the exams again. It wasn’t an easy decision to accept, but I registered again, studied for it, and eventually got a distinction.
That was the first victory and I believed that the rest of the journey would be just straightforward. I gathered my results, applied for admission, and waited. Unfortunately, my name didn’t appear on the admission list. It felt disappointing because I had the grades, I met the requirements, yet I didn’t get the admission.
I applied again for the admission the following year. Put in same effort, still no admission. By this time, I'm beginning to feel frustrated.
I looked at my life and realized that three years had already passed. Three full years after secondary school with nothing to show for it. Many of my classmates had already gotten admission and had moved forward. Some were already in their second year in the university. Each time them talk about school, it reminded me of how far behind I was. But still, I did not give up completely. I wrote the exam again for the third time and scored well, a score that should have earned me admission. Yet, when the admission list came out, my name wasn’t there. To make it worse, people who scored far lower than I did were admitted because they had connections or certain privileges. I had the grades, but I didn’t have the connections.
I reached a point where I couldn’t pretend anymore. One night, I lay down thinking about everything — the lost years, the wasted efforts, the humiliation, and the feeling of being stuck. That night, I decided in my heart that school was not for me. I told myself I would stop trying and find something else to do with my life. I was tired of hoping and seeing nothing. I was tired of watching time pass while I remained in the same place.
When the next admission season came, I refused to apply. My father noticed and asked if I wasn’t going to buy the form. I told him I was tired and done with school. What he said touche me. He told me how he never had the opportunity to go to school, and neither did any of his siblings. He told me how much he had invested in ensuring I reached the level I had already attained, and how he strongly believed that this time would be my breakthrough. I took his words and decided to buy a form.
I registered for the exam, wrote it, and waited without expecting anything. Honestly, I had already prepared my mind for disappointment. But life surprised me this time around. When the admission list finally came out, my name was there.
After four long years of waiting, trying, failing, and almost giving up, I finally got in. That was how my university journey began, and today I have graduated, completed my service year, and I am now preparing to further my studies and go for my master's degree.
What kept me going in the end was the hope, the encouragement from my dad, and the realization that giving up would only make all my previous efforts useless. Life hit me hard during those years, but I learned that sometimes, the breakthrough comes at the point where you feel the weakest. I learned that delays are not always denials, and that perseverance has a strength that can move mountains. Never give up. Greetings!!!!
