A Wake-Up Call to Adulthood

The first wake-up call I got was going to print out my admission letter. It was then it dawned on me that being an adult was not by age, it was by independence. Then I had to do everything by myself instead of walking behind my mother's skirts and having her speak up for me or instruct me on what to do or say.

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I had to make the decision to wake up early, prepare myself for school, and be responsible for how my day and my money went. It was not only scary, it was overwhelming.

Gradually as I grew, I saw that adulthood itself was a wakeup call.

It was like all the while everyone was preparing you for that big moment when you would go out into the world on your own. Even when they saw you struggling, there would be little or no effort to assist, after all, you're now an adult.

I remember the incident that made me so upset with my older brother some months ago, that was the biggest wakeup call I received this year.

I had been trying for some time to save up for my rent that was due in a couple of months, when I checked my savings and the deadline for my rent, I saw that I would not make up to that amount within the remaining months so I reached out to my older brother to loan me some money so that I could meet up with my rent payment.

My brother is not someone who likes to take calls so I sent him a direct message. I was surprised to see his call a few minutes later.

“So you want extra money for your rent?” He asked after pleasantries were exchanged.

“Yes, it's due in three months and my savings will not be enough to cover it”

My brother went silent for a while before chuckling at the other side of the phone. I wondered what was funny.

“I can afford the hundred thousand you're asking for but I won't give it to you,” I thought he was joking until he made the next statement, “You too can afford that hundred thousand, you haven't just decided to get it yet because you have other options”

I was still wondering what he was talking about, what did he mean by “I had other options?”, I was only trying to plan ahead for my future. I preferred to have other options not because I wanted to be lazy but because I didn't want to end up stranded and I told him so.

“Listen Treasure, you don't understand what being independent means. It means that you're your only means. You cannot call anyone else to say I think my rent won't be enough so prepare to help me pay up….”

“That's not what I'm saying!”

“It's what giving you money implies because you know I won't ask you for it. I think I have contributed to spoiling you. You should learn to carry out a big project yourself without anyone's assistance. You would receive more satisfaction from that and it would serve as a source of inspiration to achieve more deeds”

I couldn't say anything throughout the rest of the call. Who asked for sources of inspiration and satisfaction? I felt that he didn't just want to help me but what was more annoying was that instead of saying so plainly, he decided to talk down on me first.

Those words of his made me decide to save up all the money for my rent by myself. It was a wake-up call for me.

I decided to take up 3 jobs even with my examinations coming up. Usually, I didn't do jobs, no matter how tempting, during exams but because I had a financial goal, I had to take that risk.

Then I also had to cut down on my spending habits, even when my birthday was just around the corner.

It was one of the most difficult seasons for me because I had to stretch my capacity and sacrifice many nights of sleep but like my brother told me, it motivated me to do more each time I checked my savings account and saw that I was very close to my financial goal.

By the end of that month, I was even thinking of extending my financial goal because I had met my mark and even crossed it by far.

That wakeup call helped me better than the money my brother would have given to me, for the first time since we spoke on that call, I was truly grateful that he hadn't promised to give me that money and I planned that once I could finish up with everything concerning my house, I would do something to appreciate him for those words he said to me.