Trust: The Bridge That Takes Years to Build and Moments to Burn

Human beings are delicate and complex creatures. They are complex in the sense that most things about them are difficult to understand and they are delicate in the sense that little things can alter their emotions. For example, trust. Trust is needed in every friendship and relationship. If there’s no trust, how will a relationship flourish? When there is trust between the husband and wife, then the home will grow stronger. The husband will boldly beat his chest and say “My Wife will never do this” and vice versa. Trust is one of the most important factors in friendships and relationships and although it takes years to build, it can be destroyed within seconds. I know this because I can relate well to how trust can be broken within seconds.

Growing up, I was the kind of child who always got good grades. I did not really like school, but I enjoyed getting good grades, and that made me always put in the effort to work hard for it. I remember when I went to boarding school, my parents were not worried about my education, because they trusted me to do well. They didn’t have to tell me before I would read my books and work on assignments. So, when I got into the university, again, they trusted that I would make them proud. They never asked to see my result so they would know if I was doing well or not. Sometimes, when I felt like it, I gave them an update about my academics and every time I did that, they were happy but not shocked.

When it comes to academics, my parents trust me and it is nice that I didn’t let them down throughout my 5 years in uni.

My parents do not only trust me on the grounds of academics, they also trust me that I am not the kind of child that would join bad gangs or do bad things. So many students in school go there to drink, smoke and do all sorts of things. But my parents trusted me that I wouldn’t do such, so they were not really worried about me. Well, not until something happened.

I remember that day like it happened yesterday. My phone and power banks were low and I needed to charge that day. I had not written my post on Hive and I knew that if I didn’t charge, I would miss my streak and because I did not want that to happen, I had to look for ways to charge. Luckily, one of my hostelmates turned on his gen. It turned out that that person smokes. But because it was very urgent, I went to his room to charge. I stayed there and wrote my post while charging. Interestingly, someone saw me go inside his room and reported to my mom. This single thing broke the trust I had spent years building.

For years, my parents trusted and believed that I would never do something as bad as that. But that single trust broke when that person reported me to them. They didn’t even ask questions, they just jumped into conclusions. After I explained the whole thing to them, they finally calmed down. Even though I managed to mend the broken wound, I knew they’d still have doubts.

It hurts when you spend years building something only for it to get destroyed within seconds. I know how delicate trust can be, and that is why I find it difficult to trust. It takes a lot for me to trust people, but once they have managed to make me trust them, I go all in. I trust completely.