Success is all about leaving your comfort zone to the discomfort zone, facing your challenges squarely and determined to conquer.
Nigeria is a country where you have to work hard for yourself and never depend on white collar jobs because they won't come in a platter of gold. Nigeria is a country you have godfather and even godmother to smuggle you in the system whether government as well as other parastatals. So to save myself the frustration I decided to pay myself through a catering training.
I feel pain whenever I realized I have gone out of shape. The Hope that everyone used to know was plumping looking girl but now it was a different thing. People took like for a girl in her forties. I wouldn't blame them because I allowed myself to be mesmerized by ill mannered sister-in-law read also, why I had a terrible past childhood memories. I strongly believe that this training wouldn't only enhance me into becoming a good entrepreneur but also save me from stress and depression.
It's true I had found myself. I had already identified who actually I was and why I was born. I now know my gift and I have been on it, I still needed to try another thing and that work that would be different from the usual.
You do the unusual if you want to go extra miles to achieve greatness.
I joined catering training to acquire a skill. I needed to learn something and doing something completely outside my career was my decision and I wanted to change my mind. Though I knew things wasn't smooth in financial term but it was March already and work wasn't fast coming. I had searched for job and submitted my application letter and CV to different firms, government and private and they would end up telling me that they would call me.
I waited for two months, all the offices I applied never called back, I decided to register for a catering training. I couldn't help hiding my identity and bringing myself down to earth just to be able to learn. I wouldn't say I was ashamed of myself being in the mist of girls younger than me, mostly secondary school leavers, we also have nursing mothers and married women but my fear had been I didn't have a marriage story yet, what could be my problem, how those students would be looking at me as still unmarried at my age.
At times those secondary school leavers would expect me to fetch water with them, wash the toilet and ration morning and after cleanup. But I wouldn't talk to them nor participate in any of those works. And the manager had been keeping me out of their daily roster and cleaning routine. I knew I wasn't the eldest among the students but why the madam and the manager respected me by not bothering me with all this chores I wouldn't know. Though they never knew I was a graduate nor a skillful literary writer.
Except one morning I came to work late but with reasonable excuss. Because I was eager to learn I managed to come to work after calling the madam on phone to tell her what was happening at my area. The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) was at it again on their demonstration. She told me if the road wasn't clear and safe I should stay back home. Some of our neighbour's didn't allow their children to go to school because of the demonstration and fear.
Silence is golden and doesn't mean weakness.
I waited a little. It was after 8:00 in the morning I left the house arriving at the school was getting to 9:00 that morning. I saw some students outside the gate and a girl named Ijeoma couldn't let them in. I came and she said, "You came late," I told madam I wouldn't have been here because I already informed madam on the recent happenings at the area. The other girl asked her to allow me in since she allowed the other woman who came just before I arrived. But Ijeoma said the woman was a mother and a married woman. She reminded me one thing that morning that at my age I should be married to get the kind of privilege I was getting from the madam and her manager.
I never wanted to start insulting myself by blabbering so I picked up my phone immediately and started calling madam but she was in another call. Shortly, the manager, named Chinenye, she might be madam's age but she is still single, she walked in on us and asked me to come in. I believed one of the girls who asked her not to be partial went in to inform miss Chinenye.
Being good to people makes people to feel your pain when you are in trouble and rejoice with you when you are happy.
The following day we were covering a cake, it was Vanilla cake. We were about to start designing the cake with fondant when suddenly Ijeoma began to shout, I turned she was already lying on the mat and shouting, "I will die ooo" shecwas lying lifeless and panting heavily with deep and loud breath, they gathered around her and was faning her. Ijeoma had stepped on many of people's toe especially her fellow students. She was such a loud mouth, always bad mouthing everyone everytime. Talking like she owns the world. Just the other day, one of the students was crying profusely because she was bad mouthing the girl and abusing her emotionally.
She never cared about people's feelings. At times I asked if she had a conscience at all, perhaps needed to borrow one. And she lacked respect and good manner. "Did you discuss anything with madam about you not fetching water and not being in the daily routine roster? We use to fetch water, so in the morning you will start fetching water with others," she said to me some days back. I nodded my head. I thought of telling the madam about it but one of the girls advised me not to but I should pretend nothing happened and I shouldn't dare fetch water nor participate in clean up with them.
When you consider all this especially what happened to her lately which looked like a heart attack, it would look like a whip to avenge her ill attitude towards me and others. I could remember vividly how she made Oluchi wept and still was remorseless about it few days back. As she was crying if her heart this morning something came through my mind—nemesis.
Catering training never stopped me from working with my gift. I still had time for my writing though it wouldn't be easy, to me I had no time for myself yet I still made sure I update my site and engage in my literary writing skill and career. I would always work with my gift. Being in the catering field had nothing to affect on my gift. If only those students could see the stress I had to go through, they wouldn't want to be in my nerves.
The only person that can stop you is you.
Once you have identified your gift and you now know the purpose you live, nothing can take you away from it. Gift is like your shadow, it follows you to anywhere and everywhere you go. Nothing can stand against your gift except you. Trying something totally different from your gift can't take you away from who you really are. You need to support your gift through carefully venturing into something different.
At the camp during the SAED class I was eager to join the food and baking group. I really enjoyed the class only the day of exhibition when Lady B wanted to use her reggae to spoil my blues and I wasn't happy with her. Read also, 5 things that qualify a good woman. I had always loved cooking different delicacies and sumptuous meals not only for good health but the creativity in chef skill.
Always mind the way you react to situations. And be conscious of the way you talk to people. You may not be lucky always. Don't expect to get away with everything you do because there is certainly a payback either by human being, nature. Trying something new gives you more experience.
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