Catching up on lost time

I was barely six years of age when I nursed the sense of acceptance among my peers. I remember proudly showing off canvas footwear to my classmates and maybe, especially the female gender. Not exactly stubborn, but I wanted to be popular and be the focus of attention. I was not born with a silver spoon, but I wanted to reflect affluence and get accepted among my colleagues who were children of elites and of the university community, while my parents happened to be civil servants who had an interest in academics. Many years ago, only a few parents saw the need to invest in a child's education. The end result and penalty was that I had to repeat the reception class as my grades were bad and my dad declined my promotion on probation.

I managed to succeed and get promoted to primary two. On a certain day, during class, a classmate got an answer right, and when I was asked a similar question, my naivety and ignorance made me give a response that was similar to my classmate's, which unfortunately was wrong. I was humiliated, to say the least. I thought I could use my wisdom to answer the question asked, just like my classmate did and got an applause for.

IMAGE CREDIT

My quest for popularity and acceptance gradually dwindled, and thankfully, my parents were supportive as much as I was willing to learn. I was surrounded by classmates whose parents and guardians were academicians. Little did I know my passion raced ahead of me, wanting to achieve feats that came easily to those who had a better academic and financial background.

Thankfully, my dad got me a private tutor in primary four, and my efforts began to yield appreciable results. Primary six was the peak of elementary school, but the very bright students could proceed to junior secondary school (high school) once they passed their national common entrance examinations. They didn't need the best grades to proceed; any score above average was good enough. Having lost a year during my nursery class after repeating the year, skipping primary six was a good opportunity to catch up with lost time and perhaps have the satisfaction that I was in a class to which I belonged.

IMAGE CREDIT

Yet again, my dad stood against my request to write the entrance examinations in primary five and insisted I completed primary six. I felt devastated, wondering what influenced him even when he was not an academician. The extra tutor actually helped me, and rather than struggle with mediocre grades, I grudgingly continued my class to primary six and ended up not just leading the school but being the first runner-up scorer in my state. That feat remained the best academic feat I have ever achieved.

Hard work pays. I ended up in a scholarship-funded high school after I forfeited two good schools on account of the unavailability of funds. It was at that point I began to appreciate my dad's unflinching position first when he declined my promotion on probation at the nursery class and also, insisting I completed my elementary school. I may have ended up as mediocre, for which I didn't see anything bad, and perhaps not have achieved the satisfying career path I am on today.

Eventually, the quest to be like others and even own what others have begins from childhood, and the guidance of parents or guardians remains indelible towards achieving fulfillment.

You can participate in the monthly and daily #inleo PROMPT HERE

Thank you for reading. I would love to have your comments and contributions.