What am about to write to you could feel like a bunch of twisted sentences but pieced together I assure you; they portray a valuable lesson.
Most of us have memories we allow our minds reflect on, memories that give us momentary joy. Sometimes we linger on those memories longer than necessary because we enjoy the feeling it provides. On their own these memories do not have a direct impact on our lives. They are just what they are good memories. However, if we let them, they can change the shape of our destiny.
I am considered what I call an average person, many of us I know, can relate. it’s easy to be an average person, your expectations for your self are neither high nor low. When anyone dares to increase it even by the smallest inch, I would remind the person ‘now hold on a minute, you forgot am just an average person?’ common now you know I can’t do this, or no this isn’t
For me, this is for them a student’s or very serious people (I would even give names of people way up there) just to make it seem impossible. The best part of being average is that I could always look down and see people doing worse off and at such moments count my blessings and take pride in my average achievements. I took pride in being average, it was my thing, and no one can take it from me. MY IDENTITY, MY DESTINY.
Back in high school everyone in my class (an average class) hated economics partly because of the teacher (Mr. Joe) and partly because the course was considered very difficult by our standard. Mr. Joe came into the class one day (not a regular day because we had just had a test in his previous class) so we expected our dose of punishments by the dreaded teacher. He stood tall and asked who Ambrose-Hart is? Stand up. The question and order in the same sentence made my legs wobble. At that moment I wished my surname away. Why didn’t my dad answer any other name but Ambrose-Hart? Reluctantly I stood up, my palms sweating profoundly, my head pounding in pain as the blood rushed through my brain, and I could feel my body trembling in fear but stand I did eventually. ‘Only her passed the test the rest of you meet me outside for your punishments’ where the next words that came out from Mr. Joe’s mouth.
My eyes light up with joy, the sparkles in them were beyond words. I could hear the ‘late string quartets’ composed my Beethoven watched myself waltz to its melody nothing else mattered. No word had ever sounded as beautiful as the ones I had just heard from Mr. Joe. I DATARI AMBROSE-HART was the only one that passed the test.
I continued in life however, like that incident never occurred, nicely tucked it to somewhere at the back of my head only to be used for memory sake. After all I was just an average student. Days turned to months and months to years until I had another encounter with excellence.
During my master’s program (yah yah even average students have masters) another dreaded instructor (by reputation) Mr. Nnamdi walked into his first class and the first thing he does was give us a quiz (A QUIZ? LIKE REALLY? WHO DOES THAT? On their first class to freshmen) well we did the quiz, exchanged scripts to be marked by other classmates in our cheerful newbee attitude, not caring about the world until again I heard Ambrose-Hart (and another student who I do not care to recall his name) stand up. I wasn’t scared this time because it was masters after He couldn’t punish me. But I leaped for joy when I heard him say, these two are the only ones who got all and would for sure pass this course. This can’t be happening I DATARI AMBROSE-HART is again associated with excellence. How is that even possible?
Regardless, as expected I continued in life tucking the episode at the back of my head beside the previous experience, safely kept for memory sake.
These two episodes were used for a long while as just pleasant memories, ones in a while I would recollect when I was associated with excellence and smile. The memories were my escape in life, until something changed. I wrote an exam 4 times and failed four times because there was no option of average in this exam if I couldn’t be among the best then I was among the worse. This was one of my biggest challenges in life because it was a life changing exam. I wouldn’t bore you with the nitty gritty of the exam and why an average was not good enough for my case (just take my words for it) anyways try as I could I kept failing it. Until I gave up, this wasn’t for me, it was for English scholars like my husband. Each time I failed though, I allowed myself a bit of happiness by bringing forward those tucked away moments of ecstasy, moments where I was the best. And for a while they were what they were a source of happiness. Until something changed. One day I asked myself why I was the best at those moments and couldn’t be now. Why was I not average in those instances? Ok why couldn’t a repeat of those cases happen again?
And there it was, I moved those memories a bit further to the front of my head and decided I AM THE BEST. Bearing that in mind I studied how I felt the best studied, I had moved the thought of being average to the back and the memories of being the best to the front. I carried out activities to ensure it wasn’t just words, I listened to audio books on my way to work, I downloaded spelling apps and studied while I had lunch, I used YouTube for study and not entertainment anymore. And guess what at my 5th attempt I got highest scores required. Those memories are now the center piece of my life reflecting on my everyday activity and evident in the results of my life, even for the smallest things.
A lot of us are fed up of motivational speakers all they do is talk talk talk, trust me I know cos I hate them too, dressing up looking all sophisticated and making us average people feel like we aren’t trying. Most times even using clichés that sound boring to the ears. However, I am not trying to motivate you, I am only telling you the truth as experienced by me. Dig up those moments where you believed you could do it, where you actually did it, no matter how insignificantly small you think they are and regardless of the aspect of life it cuts across. Move them forward let them replace the doubts, the failures, the averages, the misplaced priorities and the mistakes, just allow them to be the center piece of your next decision, hold your head high because you are who you believe (not say) you are. Let your actions and decisions reflect your new belief.
TRUST ME WE ARE ONLY AVERAGE BECAUSE WE BELIEVE WE ARE.