Being born without a spoon, not to speak of a silver spoon, is one of my biggest motivations growing up. It was a drive for me because I went through a lot at every point in life, and if that doesn't motivate me, nothing else would do. I have numerous experiences that have forced me to double my efforts into becoming somebody in life because the society we are building today cares less about those who are struggling, but the moment things change for good, they want to be around you.
As a kid, I already had the mentality of making money to support my family, and if how much we've hustled in life determines how wealthy every human would be, I should be rolling with some big men in the world but life doesn't work that way. The hustle was tough, and even when my health was deteriorating, backing down wasn't an option, and you won't blame me for that because what my eyes have seen in this life, my mouth can't say it all.
I knew I couldn't continue life the way it was going and started working as early as I could. While hustling, i had so many experiences that fueled my motivation for success. One of them happened sometime in 2011 when I was working as a school and home lesson teacher. I still have my pictures from those years and feel very shy to share them because people don't believe I am the same person in the picture.
Then, I used to trek for about four hours daily, going from home to the school where I teach, from there back to the lesson that ends by 6 p.m., and the journey between all these places wasn't small, but I didn't have a choice.
I got stipends as salary at these jobs, so it was very hard to save. I taught some kids then; my boss recommended me to the family even though the kids didn't attend our school. They were these butter children and were living very well. I basically treated their assignments with them and revised whatever they did at school.
The first month working with them was fine, but the second month wasn't. This woman refused to pay me, and I just thought probably she didn't have the money yet. A few days past, I got to their house and met people there; it turned out that one of those kids was celebrating his birthday.
Food and drinks were surplus; they told me to celebrate with them, and I was at one corner eating everything I could lay my hands on after a long day of trekking for hours on an empty belly.
I went there the following week since they told me that the kids would be busy throughout the birthday week. Upon arriving there, I noticed a lot of changes in the house: new electronics, new furniture, and others. I became assured of getting paid that day.
After doing my job that day, I reminded the woman of my money, and she told me that things are tight. Right there, the kids were dismantling shawarma that I dare not buy from my salary. Days passed, and the woman started giving me the money installmentally; it was just 5k for 3 kids.
I did almost a month for free and still left 1k with the woman since she didn't give me. On the surface, it looks like I wasn't angry, but deep down, I was not just angry but mad. I thought of so many things I could do and decided to go to school; acquiring knowledge should change my life, so I left the teaching job for factory work and others menial jobs.
I ran double shifts and worked at different places just to raise money for the little education I acquired three years later. Probably it could have been a different case if I knew a platform like Hive back then, but there wasn't.
I got a job a few years after school and it was the beginning of the changes in my life. The journey wasn't smooth even after school, but I wasn't the same person I was in 2011. I have acquired knowledge in different fields over the years, and I am putting them to work every day to improve my life. As much as I think I can't experience such things again, I am working towards preparing my offspring for the future. It would be a terrible thing to watch them pass through the same thing I went through in life.
Image used is mine.