Opportunity Comes But Once, But Not Once In A Lifetime

Hello guys! It’s a delight to participate in another episode of this week’s contest. As we all go about our daily activities we come across opportunities, good and sometimes bad and it is up to us to decide if it is best for us or not. Most people are lucky because they get to make good decisions on their own or with the help of others such as their family, friends or mentor.

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As human as I am, I have had my own share of opportunities. Some I had to let go of because they were not good for me and others, I took the bold step to grab and pursue. Other opportunities also passed me by, I literally lost them and couldn’t do anything about it. I guess that’s life.
I have had some pretty bad experiences with opportunities and some good ones so I’m going to share with you how I came about these opportunities and how I utilized them. So, the good story first or the sad one?
Well, lets take the sad story first!

An opportunity I lost

After Junior High School, I was at home with my mates as we waited on our Basic Education certificate examination results so we could also proceed to the senior high school. I was very happy to be home because I had always been in school ever since I can remember.

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I started schooling at a very tender age because my parents were busy. My vacations were mostly two to three weeks so staying at home for about 3 months was very good for me since I got to have enough rest and do other stuff.
Our result’s finally came out and we had to start preparing for school. I got the opportunity to sit for an exams to obtain a scholarship in an international school in my region. I was very happy and I started preparing ahead of the examination.

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The day came and my dad took me to the venue to sit for the examination. It was just a few questions about what we learnt in junior high school so I was able to answer. A few days later the results were out and I had passed. But, the problem was that we were 5 students who made it to the top of the list and they could sponsor only 3 of us.
Long story short, I didn’t make it into the final list because I was the 4th person on the list. I was very sad during that period and I also blamed myself for not doing better.
Today, I realize it wasn’t really a big deal since I was able to attend a very good senior high school.

An opportunity I grabbed

During my first year in the university, I made a couple of friends who were good people and we aided eachother in any way possible.

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One day a friend came to me talking about an organization on campus which I had never heard of. At first I thought it was some sort of occultic group because how come not many people know about it. I brushed the topic off but this very good friend of mine kept on insisting I gave it a try because he thought I had the potential of being a good member.

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The cost of the recruitment form was 50 cedis then,approximately 5 dollars. Most people in my school wouldn’t purchase the form because they saw it to be expensive. Others even advised other students to not use their monies for more important stuff instead of picking up a recruitment form for this association.

My friend finally convinced me and I picked up a form. I didn’t really have high hopes in what I was getting myself into because I had doubts. Today, I am encouraging others to join this association because it turns out it wasn’t an occult if group and I had it all wrong. I have benefited a thousand things from this association than the 5dollars I invested in picking up the form.

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ENACTUS is the name of this association. At ENACTUS, like minded students come together to develop entrepreneurial ideas and in doing that we aim at tackling SDG’s and also make profit. This association has had an immense impact in the world as it is globally recognized and present in about 32 countries and in different universities worldwide.
Imagine the change being made somewhere in the world by these young and bright students. I was proud of myself because I was able to contribute to make the world a better place and also impact the lives of others. That alone was enough for me.

I also learnt a lot from joining ENACTUS and I also developed myself in various aspects.

Aside all these, I was also able to build my network both in Ghana and outside since I got the opportunity to represent my country in the annual ENACTUS global competition.

I got to see the outside world and also in a different perspective because I got to interact with people from all walks of life.

If this is how far 5 dollars investment can bring me then I’m ready to invest a million times. My little advice to anyone reading this is , have faith in yourself and invest in yourself because there’s more in you than you can imagine.

Thanks for reading.🫶🏻