This prompt got me thinking; it points to the story of my life. The power of perseverance cannot be overemphasized; it takes only a strong-minded, determined, and focused person to walk through the storms of life to succeed. Before a success story can be shared, a lot of sacrifices would have been made that would be unknown to the outside world. People appreciate and celebrate someone whose sacrifices and hard work yield positive results, which they can see, not someone saying it with his or her mouth with nothing to show for it.
As a little girl, I wanted to become a medical doctor; I guess that's every child's dream at age four. I was no different; I also wanted to become one, and I was so determined for that reason that I went to science class when I got to secondary school just to pursue my dream of becoming a medical doctor. But as I grew, I began to face some challenges, and the first one was passing UTME, the joint admission matriculation board examination, with a score not less than 300 or 350 then. I began to wrestle with that, and then, after three years, it seemed not to be coming to reality, so I changed my plan from being a medical doctor to being a nurse. I just want to pursue a career in the medical profession.
I began that journey as well; I did the entrance examination, which I passed, and that was one of the happiest days of my life. I resumed, and we were to write an examination for the first three months of our study, which I did and passed. Then, we were to sit for another examination after six months of study. There, we were to have six credits; unfortunately, I had four, and that was the end of my journey in nursing school. I was weeded—that's what it's called—that broke my confidence, and I became weak. Actualizing my dream is now a tug of war; nothing seems to be working. I wanted to give up already, but something happened that boosted my courage, and that was people's comments, including my extended family.
One of my aunts suggested to my parents that I should be taken to a college of education just to study any course I'm given, then plan to settle down and begin my family. Whereas her children are in my state's university, there I could see the wicked hearts of humans. On hearing that from her, I was hurt to the marrow, seeing what she had in mind towards me. I told my parents I would do whatever it took for me to become a nurse, and then I embarked on three years of training as an auxiliary nurse. After the completion of my training, I gained admission into a higher institution to study biochemistry. Presently, I am a nurse and a biochemist in the making; whatever punches life threw at me then, I didn't let that weigh me down. I fell, but I rose as quickly as I could to continue pursuing my dream, and fortunately for me, I achieved that which I wanted. Am I not there? There are still a few steps to take to get to where I desire to be, which means there are still more obstacles in my way, but then I'm not ready to give in to any challenge, no matter how hard they hit. Once there's life, I believe nothing is impossible.
I was able to withstand the insults and ridicule not because it didn't get to me but because I had a focus, and that was all that mattered to me. Perseverance comes with a sacrifice; you must be ready to give it all it takes, irrespective of how many times you fail. Today, I am proud of myself because I'm getting to where I wanted to be due to focus, determination, hard work, and most especially perseverance.
All images are mine
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