Two fathers and a mother made me who I am today.
Why are your eyebrows raised? Hold on, it's not what you think.
Okay, I was very fortunate to meet my maternal grandparents but I bonded so well with my grandpa.
Firstly, I love how accommodating he is, not because I was his grandchild, but because I experienced how he treated others who weren't even related to him by blood.
My grandpa was a hero, and even in old age, he was strong and always willing to help anyone in need.
This shaped my personality because they say we learn faster from examples. Through Grandpa, I learned to be very accommodating and that has helped me to date, I try as much as possible to be there for people who are in need and that has opened many doors of opportunity and blessing.
"Measure twice, cut once" Dad always reminded me to be very sure of my choices in life before I proceeded as every wrong choice had a consequence, I grew up with the best papa, a man who was quite different from the rest, a man who preached forgiveness and he also lived by his words, and one other value I learned from Dad was the value of punctuality, my dad do not believe in African time, according to him, punctuality is the sole of business.
Today, that personality has opened so many doors of greater opportunity, firstly, I have genuine relationships with others and I understand that to err is human while to forgive is divine.
The magic words are what I say easily, I could say thank you a million times for something that people consider to be of little importance, I was trained by my dad to show appreciation for little things and then be punctual. I do not like to attend an event late, I feel so embarrassed to do so, this has enabled me to have a very good work experience with others which I get commended for, without my dad how would all of these be ever possible?
Now to the woman in my life, my mom, my pride, the woman who taught me the value of moral decency, industriousness and integrity.
My mom taught me to always ask for permission before using anything that doesn't belong to me even in our household.
I remember a day she kept her pen on the centre table in the parlour and I used the pen without her permission, she punished me for that act and I grew up with such good value.
I literally can take permission to use anything no matter how irrelevant it can be.
Let me tell you a story, some years back I used to work in a firm and I happened to have a colleague with whom we later bonded so well as friends.
Whenever I was thirsty and I had exhausted my bottle of water, I headed straight to her to ask for permission to use her sachet of water which she found funny, "It's just water, take it, Amie, you don't need to ask for permission," I told her how I was being trained and that continued.
One day, she began to look for the sachet of water she had kept on her table and every other colleague was saying I was the one who took it since I was fond of taking her water, she defended me even in my absence that I always took permission before taking her water and before I knew it, the culprit was caught.
It left a smile in my heart to know that living by such a principle has saved me, though it might sound like nothing fact that one's property is safe with me makes me very proud of myself.
I can never take what doesn't belong to me without one's consent, this has opened better doors for me as I even got recommended by my used-to-be boss then, he publicly announced how faithful I was.
Most times when I get overpaid, I do return the excess salary, maybe he was testing me, I didn't know but I learned to live by the principles of being a faithful person.
And the spirit of industriousness is what has also helped me attain so much growth in my life, I believe there's dignity in labour and being independent is way better than being a parasite.
I love to work for my own money, I love to buy my stuff and these have helped me gain a level of financial security and respect too.
Without these amazing figures in my life, I wonder how I would been by now.
So thank you to all three even though some have left me in this world now, I was blessed to be trained by you and I will always make you proud.
Proposed by @amberkashifAt certain junctures in our lives, we encounter individuals whose influence profoundly impacts our personal development. Upon reflection, we recognize that without their presence, we wouldn’t have reached the level of growth we are today. Have you experienced such a pivotal figure in your life? If so, could you elaborate on how their presence has contributed to your transformative journey?
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