I grew up in a neighborhood that is filled with folks who are truly poor in the real sense of being poor. For some reason, almost everyone in the neighbourhood had the same issue... Poverty was drilling the living hell out of each household.
Growing up in a neighbourhood like that exposed me to a lot of obstacles and pitfalls. As a kid who didn't know any better, I always dreamed of when I would become an adult, gain wealth and subsequently rewrite the financial rating of my family. I had no clue of how it was going to happen and I didn't have anyone that would drop loads of cash on my doorstep. I had nothing but my dream of getting rich and my hope of embracing opportunities.
"Little me! What did I know about adulthood?"
Adulthood came in a flash and I'm lucky that I took the academic route. My parents outdid themselves by training me through school until Higher Institution. Just before getting into University, I looked into courses which would help me build wealth and Banking & Finance turned out to be the course that whetted my appetite.
"Imagine working in a Bank. Imagine being in the Money business."
In 2014, I applied for Banking and Finance and got admission into the University of Nigeria, one of the best-rated Universities in Nigeria. My University life wasn't rosy, but I didn't mind. I had hope that all I needed was to finish school with good grades. I thought once that happened, banks and financial institutions would be begging me to get on their payroll.
It was a bumpy ride, but I held on tight until I got into my final year of University Education. I came face to face with a series of complex issues. At some point, my laptop which had the first 4 Chapters of my Academic project report got stolen and that's one of the events that gave birth to a catastrophic incident that affected my academics.
Think about it; What could be the worst catastrophe that can befall a final-year student? Finance? Health? Family issues?
I had a fair share of all these, but the one that wrecked me was a failure which I experienced in one of my Exams. It was a 2 unit credit load course and that singular failure made it impossible to graduate. I had to sit back in school while my colleagues were celebrating their successful graduation.
"Goodness me!"
I was broken in half by that experience. It felt like my dream of becoming a Banker and a player in the financial world was getting shattered. At that stage in my life, all I had was Hope. I got back on my feet, paid the school fees for an extra year of study, prepared well for the Exam and had success in it. I graduated in the third quarter of 2019 and successfully got into the banking sector in the first quarter of 2020.
"I've dreamed about this moment for so long. Now, is the time to live this dream."
That's exactly what I said to myself the day I was offered a Banking job in one of the commercial Banks in Nigeria. I made calls and gave the good news to my family. Everyone was excited, but not for long. Before I could even get my first salary, Covid19 pandemic and the lockdown that came with it rocked the Banking world. I had to stay without any income for most of that year.
It was a frustrating experience and at some point, l lost interest in the Banking sector. My determination to succeed was still intact and that determination gave me the courage to try something else. Something that won't mess up my finances even if Nigeria is placed on lockdown for a whole year. I did my research, saw an opportunity and decided to walk that path.
I've been walking that path since the last quarter of 2020 till this very moment and I'm not yet where I hope to be. But, I believe there is going to be light with each step I take in this adventure.
I've always been a hopeful lad, but my dreams have changed so radically. It now looks like I'm living in an entirely different world from what I envisioned previously.
Thanks For Not Missing Any Full-stop Or Comma.
Thumbnail Image is taken from Unsplash
Additional Image is taken from Pexels.
