Dare to Inspire
You dream of becoming a pilot but life gives you a teaching career. I had a telephone conversation with Victor Langa’t to discuss how he maneuvered his Post-Grad Life.
His passion for teaching and uplifting a generation is inspiring. We also got into why financial management is a struggle not only for those in the teaching profession but also for other professions as well.
Thought 1” Why do you keep on putting your faith in things that you cannot see? I mean, you can always give up… right… right Val? Why bother with unseen things?”
Thought 2‘Ok, so you’ve been making all these applications but He will never stop fighting for you. Just keep believing.’
Thought 1: “Pure Nonsense, whimsical if you ask me. The world is full of faithless people, but they are becoming millionaires.’
Thought 2: ‘Life without faith is an arid business. God exists’
Thought 1 “If he existed, he would have already provided that opportunity. Be that as it may, you would be promoted, living a comfortable life by now. 24 is almost here and you don’t even stay in your apartment. Let’s not even talk about you having that Audi that has been in your mind. It’s a farce’ Your agemates have made it, your parents don’t trust you, your friends have established relationships. You have NOTHING!”
Thought 2 ‘ Why do you have to be so harsh’
Thought 1: “Because you need to know the reality on the ground. You can’t keep on burying your head in the sand.”
Me: A little broke inside. I can’t even love myself.
Thought 1: Ooooh oooh… She’s about to go bonkers, She doesn’t have it in her to become strong.
Thought 2: Be reasonable, you are being too harsh. Let her cry. It’s therapeutical
Me: (sobbing uncontrollably) Oh Lord, why are things not working out. You said that All good things work for the good of those who love you.
***
Still small voice: Be not discouraged, for I am with you. You are blessed and beloved of the Lord. Don’t let fear cloud your judgement
Me: How will I know this is true?
Still small voice: How will you know if you don’t trust me?
Thought 2: And when you ask, have faith that you have received it.
Me: Tell me, more
Thought 1: Y’all are mad… I’m out of here (Leaves the scene cursing and complaining.)
Thought 2: Be of good courage and trust God. The rest will fall into place with time. He has promised you so much more. More than you can ever imagine.
Me: Smiling after hearing words of encouragement. (STORY FADES WITH ME LEAVING WITH A SMILE)
###
Don’t forget to give this piece a thumbs up and share amongst your friends.
Let’s just say that I have been struggling with this piece for the longest time ever. We can also say that I have let enough tomorrow’s pass to make a cocktail. Local man cannot understand why she has to procrastinate and postpone writing a story a day.
I digress…
Since getting a job to get me through the 9-5 daily routine (stress on daily), I have failed to flex my creative muscle and write as emotionally as I’d want to. My life has been topsy turvy, to say the least. I even shudder when I hear the word responsibility. I mean I have been getting home past 7pm to start another responsibility of washing or cooking or completing daily house chores, with no end at sight. I mean, when you have a family to take care of without a house manager a.k.a aunty wa nyumba, you become the ‘mboch’.
Oh well, I have had to leave many projects pending, for instance, had promised my self to learn new grooves with my guitar. Or that podcast manenoz, I was so excited to start. Lest I forget the French and basics that I needed to polish. Now I’m stuck to “Parlez-Vous Francais? since form four” It’s funny how I thought that after school, life will no longer be a routine. Remember how you hated the time-table because it was the same old mitochondria story? So is Life when you begin your career- only more broke with added responsibilities.
So yes, I still procrastinate a lot, more than I should and it has also brought a lot of fear with it. The fear of getting out of my comfort zone and pushing those boundaries that I have created. Depression kicks in quite often, more than it should because of the feeling that you are not moving as fast as the world is moving. That ka feeling that my friends are doing better than myself still haunts the hind of my cortex,( I am not sure if that is the part of the brain that processes feelings). This is not to mean that I feel threatened by their success or happiness. Quite the contrary, we understand that when things don’t seem to be working for you, your human nature begins to question even the people you love the most. The crazy part of this is that you might be at a better position, only that you are blinded by perpetual frustration when you are in that ‘daily routine.’
All I know is that I am fighting this story a day at a time. How so, one may ask. Well, I am sharing the story of my flaws in life.
I am checking up on people more to remind myself that man is not an island. With social media distraction, you will be tempted to believe in being selfish and self-centred.
Finally, I am praying, Praying for answers that I don’t get from my close-knit of friends or family members I look up to.
Dear Love.
Don’t you dare give up.
Even when the fight is not fair. Even when hope is wading. Even when life is not willing to stand by you. We have not reached the point where we can sweat blood. The battle is not yet won.
Anxiety draws in almost every time we make a move. We need to remind our souls that there is someone greater looking out for us. You do not need to fight this alone. We have come so far to finish weak.
Stop fixing the fences that will only succeed in making you feel worthless. Stop fixing your energy in people’s stories. You will only succeed in killing the dream that God placed in your heart. Stop asking so many Why’s… it will only succeed in killing the confidence you have.
Wipe those tears and fight again. Hope is not dead. Raise your head and walk with grace. Keep on fighting, my strong Soul. You are capable of so much more. Just be strong.
Ever wanted to go back to the beginning of your story. Where it all started. Where your folks did not think of having you? Where you were exceptionally stupid but happy. You did not inherit a gene of being a dimwit; you only knew about loving those around you and treating everyone with respect.
Don’t you miss the days when thinking was for those adults who had their lives figured out? I know I miss the days I could play with mud and be satisfied with my lack of knowingness.
Don’t you miss the days when you could play with friends and lose track of time? Now I pity our kids who will have a hard time enjoying their childhood. They will not know what running around the field means, because they have been transformed into parking lots.
…. They will not know what hop, step and jump mean because their parents only showed them “kutetema kama umepigwa shoti”( or whatever artists sing nowadays.)
…. They will not know what it means to embrace visitors and greet them- because the culture of hospitality faded. We decided to embrace the power of exclusivity and become our own self-centred persons.
Our children will not know the power of grandmas/parents stories, because somewhere along the road, our parents became busy in an unforgiving economy and phones took away such little pleasures.
They will not know what it means being a kid, because they are busily masquerading as adults while the latter continue to bury their heads in the sand.
On the good days, I will love you to the moon. On the bad days, I will love you to the door.
On the brighter days, I will love you to the end of the sun’s rays. On rainy days, I will love you till its last drop.
On your darkest moments, I will love you. And in your happiest, I will love you. I will love you when you cry and when you laugh. I will love you when your craziness kicks in or when you are calm like still waters.
When things get tough, or you get tough, I will love you. When people make you change or circumstances make you change, I will love you.
You do not need to second guess yourself or be someone you are not meant to be. Just remember, that I love you. Question is … will you accept the love? or will you let yourself drown into your self-doubt cocoon? Will you accept to be buried in your insecurities and confusion?
Bring your shattered dreams and I’ll bring mine because the only way we will last forever is when we are broken together.
Dear Love…
Lately life has shown me how we are so engrossed in becoming people’s success story and forget our path.We now follow products and ‘great personalities’ who have made us feel useless.
It is very easy to be taught about life and emotional development by 19 year olds’ and forget about the old and wise men and women. I have fallen victim so many times in comparing myself with my peers who have for some reason ‘figured their life out’. Aaah Life…(sigh) can be so complex at times.
At 22, I don’t have it figured out as i had expected. I still live in my parents house, still interning and doing mundane tasks just to make a name for myself. I still have people who take advantage of my naivety and lack of great skills. It always feel like a repeat mode. You know… Sleep- Grind- Repeat.
It can be depressing when you see your peers winning global awards that make you question your existence.It feels like you are in a crumbling makeshift.
Now I know that I have to fight the animal called comparison and focus on being better at my humble beginnings. Guess that’s what being a young person is all about; Learning from the ground up.
Share and like this post to friends who have felt like they need constant validation to who they are. Remind them that they are the best thing the world is looking forward to meet. Do not forget to give it a thumbs up by clapping and following Val Inspired for more inspiring stories.
DEAR LOVE…
I have no experience with wisdom. It has failed me more times as I succeed. Even in my aura of knowledge, I still admit I am a bigger failure at life. I crush, get up and fall again. That does not mean I cannot smile when somebody makes my day. That does not mean I do not have happy moments in my life. On the contrary, I learn every day to master my emotions; despite being an over-emotional superwoman.
There was no promise of a life of roses. There was no promise of a ride on chariots. There was only a promise of hope in the midst of pain, and a hand that will never leave you in the thorn of roses.
Now I accept that I will fail as much as I succeed. I will hurt but get back on my feet. I will lie on the thorny brush, but it shall not hurt. I will ride on chariots and strike down the snakes on the roadside; because those considered as failed elements have the best success stories
The crisp dark night could not wipe out the depression on her face. She could barely notice the glittering marquees at the alley. All she wanted to do was to run, but where to? The person she ever trusted had threatened her and vowed to kill her if she ever thought of leaving.
This is a story of an ordinary girl who fell in love with an ordinary guy. She was 19, he was 30(but his looks said 40). He was a crackerjack mechanic but she knew him to be a manager at ABX companies. Wendy was drunk in love. Her innocence gave her away.
Anyone who cared for her irked the idea of her running away with the man they knew little about. No one could stop her decisions however because she was an adult according to the law.
Wendy took the route to freedom without responsibility and went to live with the love of her life. Few months into the relationship was heaven and amazing. They lived in a bedsitter but it was just fine. When Markez came home late, it was okay. After all, he was hustling for the both of them. When he complained about her dressing, it was okay because he was looking out for her. But when he started abusing her emotionally and degrading her, it raised an eyebrow.
Six months down the line, we see a battered Wendy. Her beauty could still be seen underneath the ugly scars. She was not allowed to work, study or visit anyone she knew. Her only work was to cook and entertain his drunk friends. Failure to do so would be met by tough repercussions; sleep outside or face whipping depending on his moods.
Wendy had been innocent, unworldly and a romantic. Now she was 18 years old and living a horror film.
amondival 