I had a discussion with a protégé some days back and he was asking me for some advice on how to start up a business consulting firm, after rubbing minds together, he then said that hope the fact that he finished with a 3rd class will not affect him???. I replied with an aggressive NO, IT CAN NEVER AFFECT YOU. I then realized that some persons are yet to forgive themselves after graduating with low grades from school and most people exhibit low self-esteem as a result of this.
I was able to relate this to many youth of today. The truth is that no matter how remorseful you feel about the things you did or did not do in the past, you can never turn back the hands of time. You can never have the opportunity of going back to the past to correct your mistakes. However, inasmuch as I believe that our mistakes of yesterday could be responsible for what is happening to our career today, I strongly believe that you can fashion your today with the materials left. President George W. Bush made an insightful point while delivering the commencement address at Southern Methodist University, he said “To those of you who are graduating this afternoon with high honors, awards and distinctions, I say, Well done and as I like to tell the C students; You too can be president“.
Bush was making fun of himself for earning average grades in college. He was basically highlighting the fact that grades don’t dictate the rest of your existence, and life is full of limitless possibilities. There are other presidents that did poorly in school at one point or another, they include; John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Bush’s father, George H.W. Bush. Vice President Joe Biden also struggled with his grades as both an undergraduate and a law student. Goodluck Jonathan and President Buhari were not also the best in their class. Academic qualification doesn’t determine your ultimate destination, it is just a proof of your past academic history. So if you just graduated from school and you didn’t finish with first class or second class, don’t despair. Life is full of ups and downs, and while we learn a great deal in school, the real education occurs after you leave the classroom.