Few days ago, I was scanning on social media, where I saw a tweet that read, “What did you accomplish #By23?” Of course, scores of people answered. Few shared their grand successes. Some shared what might be deemed as uninspiring in this day and age. I came across a few tweets where individuals shared that the only thing they accomplished was being alive as they made suicide attempts. Whatever the story, I am happy to applaud the bravery of those who chose to share and inspire.

After reading, I thought long and hard about myself and what I achieved by 23. I wanted to share my bit when the hashtag was trending, but consider this post my way of throwing my hat in the ring. I wish I could come up with some extremely delightful story of how I transformed spaces I was in with my talents. I wish I could say that my life was a journey of self-discovery and joy. On the contrary, by age 23, I achieved nothing.

I cannot recall anything great or small in my 23rd year on this earth. I do remember losing friends. I also remember I was one year out of university – job hunting. I spent days and nights attempting to tweak my application letters and resume to at least appear marketable to numerous organizations. The PDFs in the “Jobs” folder on my old laptop were too many to count. Every letter sent out was another rejection. You would think I would be used to those by now, but I digress.

It was most interesting to note a couple things. One of which is that my brother and I virtually took the same path of schooling and I was the one who was jobless. I know he will kill me for this, but I consider him the luckier one of both of us. It was okay though. I was proud of him and all that he had achieved. He never lauded his accomplishments over me and I appreciate the man he is every day. The other thing I noted was a relative of mine was having issues with her application letter. I opted to assist her and send a copy of one of mine. Of course, she applied minor tweaks to the letter and subsequently got numerous offers from many organizations. Again, I celebrated with her. However, I could not help but wonder where was “my time to shine” in all of this. I mean, I did everything “right”. I did well throughout life up to that point. Was something wrong with me?

More rejections made me even more reluctant to apply to anywhere. I guess I told myself that if no one wanted to take a chance on me, then maybe I should not do it for myself. I tried to not let it faze me. I did a few odd jobs for a few months. Though they were not in my field of study, I was grateful I was able to earn something and contribute to my household. I watched as months turned to years. I was frustrated with God. It felt as if those who did not care about Him got to chase their dreams and my faithfulness was nothing to smile about. 

Some time after that I applied for a job in the corporate area. I did the interview and got the job. I had to turn it down because I learnt that my poor health was going to rob me of an opportunity to “spread my wings”. 

A friend of mine hooked me up with a job a few weeks after. It was mine for the taking. No interviews were necessary. We discussed it at length. He expressed that it would have been a two-year contract and I would be paid by sponsors of the organization. Quite frankly, I was excited about it. I was finally getting a break. Two days after he called me to say that the sponsors decided to pull funding from his organization. And once again, no new job for me. Believe me, my heart sank that day. Two opportunities came my way and none was in my grasp. I all but gave up on my field. I gave up on many of my dreams. It had been a long road and I was beyond tired of it all. 

A job in my field finally came all of six years after my 23rd birthday. All the years of blood, sweat and tears actually built me up to be effective in my job. Would I like to go through that again? A resounding no. However, I see the purpose in it all. Although I was frustrated, all that I have learnt about myself and life throughout those years has made me much wiser and more effective.

Though we set goals and we want to reach them at a particular age, life will happen. Something may get in the way. We must stay the course. Also, our #By23 stories can be a chapter in our stories, but it doesn’t need to be the end. I pray you will not be envious of the success stories of others but instead be inspired to stay the course. It is quite okay if we do not reach where we want to go at a particular age. When we are popping popcorn, all the kernels do not pop all at once. What matters is that we keep on moving forward, no matter the speed we move at. Let’s keep on striving to get there. I’m rooting for you. 

^{Photo by me.}