Inspirational Yeni Stories

TWO STORIES… My Affair with Failure

Story 1

There was nothing unusual about the Tuesday afternoon of 2nd August 2011 other than that I would check my first undergraduate result in the HOD’s office. I’d just written CSC 102 exam and was beaming with a smile as I made my way through the stairs to check what was up. As in the past(secondary school till PDS), I went inside with high hope. It can’t be anything less than a wow result.

I took my pen, listening with rapt attention as he reels off my performance in each course I took. For a moment, my hand was heavy, and I couldn’t bring myself to accept the reality of the woe that befell me. A CGPA of 1.9/5.0! He looked down on me from under his glasses:

“This result cannot make you my friend”

I felt the world stop moving and the blood drained from my face. I went out of that office with my tail between my legs. The rest is history today. After struggling for seven years, I graduated. Oh! You expect me to say with a good result? My final CGPA was under 2.0.

Story 2

I finished the penultimate chapter of “Rita’s PMP Exam Prep” when I decided to take another mock exam. I picked up Oliver Lehmann’s 200 questions to test the waters. In 3hrs 40mins, I was through. I got 71.5%, and that got me so worried. PMI no longer releases passing scores, and various online sources advised that candidates should target 75% and above to stand the chance of acing the exam. I reached out to Kenneth Lewis, who I met on LinkedIn. He is a transitioning veteran of the US Air Force who recently aced the exam. He asked that we discuss over video call and go through the questions I got wrong. More than what I learnt from him during the video call was the confidence I gained as he told me.

“I think you will pass this exam. You know these stuff”

A couple of weeks later, I aced the exam on the first trial. It’s no magic; the confidence he gave to me went a long way.

Intermission

My HOD might not have meant to deflate my hope. In fact, from the little I know of him, he’s a very good man and a great teacher. He made structural engineering come to life. How he couldn’t bring my desire to do better to life on that day, I don’t understand. He might not have meant bad but what I heard in his voice on that day was, “You’re not good enough, and you do not belong here”.

Doing my What-if Analysis today, I asked what would have happened if he had asked me to sit down and breathe. What if he asked me what I think I should do to make improvements or probably asked what I think I did wrong. What could have gone wrong for someone admitted with merit having scored 71% in the entrance exam? I wonder maybe the narrative could have changed if he used some other words or sat down to invest a few minutes into my mind.

He could have used some other words, but the ones he used without much care thus impacted over time. (Not blaming it all on him.) I do not hold anything against him. This is just me remembering how I went into that office with high hope, and I returned with diminished hope. Words matter. I told him when another lecturer asked about my CGPA in the exam hall about a year later. He said to see him later, but I never did. I wouldn’t want to be broken again. My faith in humanity was gone.

On the flip side

When I was assigned to Engr Ajibade as a project student, I did not quite like it as I thought I’d have preferred an older lecturer. He disappointed me with how he drove me to work; he was careful enough to know my personality, which helped maximize what I could do. On one of those days, he sat me down to listen to my story of how I ended up having extra years in school. His words left me with high hopes again. I ended up with an A in my final thesis, and he remained committed as my mentor till now.

About Kenneth

The part Kenneth took is quite similar to that of Ivy. Ivy is my colleague at work. We ended up being each other’s best friends. She knew how to infuse me with another pint of hope when I was blacking out. Like Kenneth did. I learned a lot from the book I read. I wasn’t just going to be a problem on someone’s neck. What I needed was hope and faith enmeshed with little courage and humour. I needed to believe I could do it. And I want to know the rules of the game, so I don’t end up trapped innocently. Kenneth knew to do that, which resulted in my success in PMP.

Can we learn?

The world is harder today. The difference between motivation and pressure is almost none-existence. Motivation and pressure are more of identical twins today. Everyone is fighting their devil. Nobody has time to imagine what the other person is going through. Just maybe the narrative would have changed if everyone had someone who believes in them and gives a dose of hope. We do not even need to use words most times, just an attitude that shows we believe in the other human can be enough nitro boost they need to overcome the nagging inertia. Sometimes, we need not judge people. We need to choose our words carefully because we don’t know how far they will go. Everyone is fighting a battle you don’t know about. The least we can do is be nice to them and pick the words we throw at them with egg-care.

Oh, please don’t pity me; I’m not doing that bad. It’s just been two years after graduation, and I’ve had almost 5years of professional experience. I threw myself into learning, not for school but for life. If it still matters, I look forward to having some other degree soon. But before then, I’m here committed to building lives and giving hope in the little way I can. Maybe just maybe, the narrative will change, and we can some days tell the story of our affair with Failure while sharing the testimony of how we move from hopeless end to endless hope.

Amore cum, ab

‘Yeni ‘Manuel

contact@yenimanuel.com

About the author

Yeni Manuel

Ayeni Emmanuel Olaoluwa; Yeni Manuel for short is a young and agile man with the vision to "light up your light". He holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Civil Engineering from Nigeria's foremost University of Technology; The Federal University of Technology, Akure. He has passion for writing and a legendary penchant for human development. He loves reading, travelling, researching, counselling and taking time to talk people to life. He's a practising graduate engineer and certified PMP and he enjoys it.

30 Comments

  • Nice piece bro. Engr Ajibade was my project supervisor in 2017.. He took me and my mate under him like brother’s.. He was a nice man that his behaviour towards me inspire me a lot.

  • This really is inspiring and thank you for sharing. Letting a number of us know there’s still hope for us as long as we don’t give up on ourselves .Thank you so much, keep rising

  • Full of insight, word of knowledge.
    I always see loads of greatness in you. Happy birthday

  • What a great piece!. I don’t even know where to start from. Well, I’m very sure you’re meant for greatness. Thanks for sharing this. I pray for my grace for you bro. The reason for your existence in this world shall never be quenched. Happy birthday and keep on shining.

  • Ayeni, your words are an inspiration. Thank you for sharing your experiences. You truly struck a chord. I look forward to your future words of wisdom and assurance.

  • Nice piece dear. This is really inspiring…. Without any doubt, the sky is your starting point

  • Thanks for sharing, this is really inspiring…
    We’ll all meet at the top and continue sharing our testimonies.

  • Nice one Seye. You now have it all in your hand. So go for it. Happy birthday and God’s best. I must say you write so well

  • Well scripted brother. All those years, remember I’d always tell you, ‘I don’t pity you’ because each time I see you, I see a young man who was ‘on course’. Yes! On course.
    Maybe your own crushing period started quite early.
    I do hope that someday, with the grace of ink and words of testimony, I can share mine too.

    We all suck on the road to success, but no one gets to know, so far we arrived at the success zone, but experiences as this when shared, help keep some others moving.

    Thank you ‘Seye for all that you are.
    Hearty cheers.

  • Degree is just a paper, the education is seen in you!!! May Almighty God increase you in all ramifications in this your new age.

  • This is really touching. Mmm and it is worth sharing to odas… By d way. Happy birthday to u. . Ure existence is blessed
    .. Pls dnt stop making impact…. All tnks to Omole for dis opportunity

  • You are a Good fighter bro…success is being a living hope to others…. Thanks for sharing

  • We sure can learn a lot from each other’s story.
    Permit me to say, You Inspire Me.

    Keep Soaring Bro.

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