Positive Quote For Today

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."— Maya Angelou


About Me - Thuita J. Maina

Picture of Thuita

About 200 metres from Starehe Boys' Centre in Nairobi is Pumwani Maternity where on the last day of 1987, a handsome, bouncing baby boy was born: me! After birth, my mother headed back to Kiserian, Rift Valley, Kenya where my father had acquired a piece of land the year before (1986) and built a house on it. And that has been my home all my life.

I have very little recollection of the first three years of my life, as it is with every person. The little I remember in those first three years of my life is my mother carrying me on her back as she took her friends for a walk around our farm.

My awakening to life began in late 1992 when I vaguely recall feasting on a meal in my home's small, sooty kitchen while hearing political campaign messages from afar. Back then, my home had no electricity, radio or television. Life must have been tough for my family as we had no access to piped water either. We depended on water fetched from a nearby stream.

In January 1993, I joined Naru-Moru Primary School, a 2-kilometre walk from home. I remained in the school for seven years until the third term of Standard Seven in 2000 after which I was transferred to a private primary school of affluent families, Kunoni Educational Centre, where I finished my primary school education.

At Kunoni, I performed so well in 2001 KCPE exams that I was admitted to the prestigious Starehe Boys' Centre in Nairobi for my high school education. If you remember, Starehe Boys' Centre is about 200 metres from Pumwani Maternity where I was born.

Getting admitted to Starehe was one of those lucky breaks that completely altered the course of my life. It was at Starehe where I perfected my innate nature of aiming high which resonated with the Starehe motto of "Natulenge Juu" (Let Us Aim High). I kept aiming high in academics so much that I managed to rise from the bottom of my class to score an 'A' in the mighty KCSE exams.

My impressive grade in KCSE secured me an admission to one of the local public universities to study a course of my choice, apart from the University of Nairobi's BSc. degree in Actuarial Science which I missed qualifying by one point in a grading system I won't bother to explain now. Had I qualified for that actuarial course, I am sure I would have chosen to pursue it but as later events would demonstrate, it was good for me that I didn't get to study it.

During the gap year after finishing high school and before joining university, I pursued a diploma in information technology at Starehe Institute where I became fascinated with how computers work. That fascination led me to apply for a BSc. degree in Electronic & Computer Engineering at a local university known as JKUAT.

While at Starehe Institute, I applied to four top American Colleges (MIT, Cornell, Dartmouth & Stanford). I really desired to pursue my undergraduate studies in one of those colleges but as fate would have it, they all rejected me. So I had no option but to matriculate at JKUAT where, as I have said, I had applied to pursue a degree in electronic & computer engineering.

I reported at JKUAT on a lovely day in May 2007. In my first year at the university, I spent my time attending classes and in the weekends, I would dash off to All Saints' Cathedral in Nairobi where I sang with the cathedral's 9:30 a.m. English service choir and played the organ. I loved being part of that choir because of the spiritually enriching hymns we sang and the buddy-buddy monthly fellowships we had.

And you know what? I didn't intend to finish my undergraduate studies at JKUAT, for I couldn't dismiss from my mind the desire to study in America. So while I was still a first year student at JKUAT, I submitted applications to four top colleges: MIT, Yale, Harvard and Stanford.

I informed the colleges in my application forms as well as in my essays that I wanted to pursue physics. When we broke for a long holiday at JKUAT in December 2007, I thought that was the end of my time at the university since I strongly believed this time round, at least one of the top American colleges I had applied for admission would accept me.

How wrong I was! All the four colleges rejected me. So far, I don't think I have ever been as depressed as I was when I received a succession of rejection letters, beginning with MIT in mid-March of 2008 and then followed by the other three colleges.

I therefore reported back to JKUAT for my second year in May 2008. For some reasons I will not explain now, I dropped out of JKUAT that year. Then I reported back in 2009 to repeat my second year but again, I dropped out.

And guess what! I still couldn't dismiss the desire to study in America that I had fanned in my mind since my days at Starehe Institute. So I decided to reapply to the top American colleges I had applied for admission two years before during my first year at JKUAT, but this time, I informed them I wanted to pursue a different course.

I can't exactly recall which course I intended to pursue in those colleges (it must have been political science or history) but I am cocksure it wasn't physics or engineering-related after having found electronic & computer engineering to be abstruse during my days at JKUAT.

The colleges I applied for admission in 2009 were Yale, Harvard and Stanford. (I would also have reapplied to MIT had someone in the institute not discouraged me from applying for the third time.) Back then, I thought if I just submitted better essays and improved SAT scores, I could greatly increase my chances of getting accepted.

As it happened, the three colleges rejected me again when they released their decisions in April 2010. But this time, their rejection letters didn't depress me as much as they had done in 2008.

In June 2010, I matriculated at the University of Nairobi to pursue a B.A. degree in Political Science, History, Economics & Public Administration. What struck me most about the degree is its simplicity compared with engineering, at least for me. There was room for self-expression as opposed to working with pre-defined formulas. For that reason, I loved my new course which I eventually had to stop pursuing due to financial constraints.

After dropping out of the University of Nairobi, I ventured into politics. I ran for an MCA seat (Member of County Assembly) in the 2013 Kenya's general elections. My campaign was unsuccessful as I didn't clinch the seat. It was a good learning experience though.

These days, I am at my home in Kiserian reconnecting with my passions (jogging, walking, reading, writing, singing, socializing, networking, storytelling, piano playing & computer programming) with the faith that something interesting will come up which will launch me to the life of my dreams. That's all I am saying.

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Bible Quote

"Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice! Let everyone see that you are unselfish and considerate in all you do... Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything; tell God your needs and don't forget to thank Him for His answers. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand."

~Phillipians 4:4-7 (TLB)

About the Author

Name: Thuita J. Maina
Nationality: Kenyan
Lives in: Kiserian, Rift Valley, Kenya
Mission: To inspire the world to godly living, one person at a time.

Just For Laughs

There was this drunkard named Azoge who loved drinking at Josiah's Bar. On being told a certain Hon. Nanga was flying to America to be conferred a law degree so that he could be admitted to the bar, Azoge replied, "Why fly all the way to America to be admitted to the bar while you can get into Josiah's Bar any time?"



The 7 Deadly Sins

  1. Pride
  2. Envy
  3. Gluttony
  4. Lust
  5. Anger
  6. Greed
  7. Sloth

Author's Note

I am learning to treat life as a journey, not a destination. So I am trying to enjoy each day as I anticipate to fulfill my dreams especially meeting my soulmate and traveling abroad. Tomorrow may never be mine.

Fun Facts

  1. The fear of having no cell-phone service, running out of battery, or losing sight of your phone is called Nomophobia, reportedly affecting 66% of people.
  2. A single Google search needs more computing power than it took to send Apollo 11 to the moon. The Apollo computer was less equipped than a modern toaster.
  3. Besides being some of the biggest names in the tech industry, HP, Apple, Google and Microsoft share another commonality. They all started in garages.
~Extracted from Codingforums.com

Health Tip

So many of us take for granted the wonderful construction of the human body and the workings of its various parts. Some of us even expect it to function efficiently with less than the minimum care and attention. Learn the much you can about your body and how the care of it can help to give you that greatest blessing of all - good health.


Wonders of the Modern World

  1. The Simplon Tunnel
  2. The Sky-scrapers of New York
  3. The Boulder Dam of Colorado
  4. The Panama Canal
  5. The Golden Gate Bridge
  6. The Taj Mahal at Agra in India
  7. The North Sea Oil Drilling Rigs

Great Example for Politicians

"My life in politics was a joy. I loved campaigns and I loved governing. I always tried to keep things moving in the right direction, to give more people a chance to live their dreams, to lift people's spirits, and to bring them together. That's the way I kept score."

~Bill Clinton

Scientific Marvels

  1. Space travel
  2. Heart surgery
  3. Fibre-optics communication
  4. Concorde
  5. Computers & Radios
  6. Anesthetics
  7. The atom bomb

My Supreme Desire

Although I'd like to be rich and famous, my supreme desire is to be radiant: to radiate health, cheerfulness, calm courage and goodwill. I wish to live without hate, guilt, worry, jealousy, cynicism and envy. I wish to be honest, natural, confident, clean in mind and body - ready to say "I do not know" if it be so and to treat all men with kindness - to meet any loss, failure, criticism and rejection unabashed and unafraid.



Greatest American Presidents

  1. Abraham Lincoln
  2. George Washington
  3. Thomas Jefferson
  4. Franklin Roosevelt
  5. Theodore Roosevelt
  6. Woodrow Wilson
  7. Andrew Jackson

Making Peace With the Past

"Dwell not on your past. Use it to illustrate a point, then leave it behind. Nothing really matters except what you do now in this instant of time. From this moment onwards you can be an entirely different person, filled with love and understanding, ready with an outstretched hand, uplifted and positive in every thought and deed."

~Eileen Caddy

Toughest Colleges to Get Into

  1. MIT
  2. Princeton
  3. Harvard
  4. Yale
  5. Stanford
  6. Brown
  7. Columbia

Why You Should Trust God

"Men and women who turn their lives over to God will find out that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities and pour out peace."

~Ezra Taft Benson

The 7 Greatest Scientists

  1. Albert Einstein
  2. Isaac Newton
  3. Galileo Galilei
  4. Nikola Tesla
  5. Aristotle
  6. Archimedes
  7. Charles Darwin

You Matter

"Always be yourself. Never try to hide who you are. The only shame is to have shame. Always stand up for what you believe in. Always question what other people tell you. Never regret the past; it's a waste of time. There's a reason for everything. Every mistake, every moment of weakness, every terrible thing that has happened to you, grow from it. The only way you can ever get the respect of others is when you show them that you respect yourself and most importantly, do your thing and never apologize for being you."

~Unknown

The Most Industrialized Nations

  1. United States
  2. Japan
  3. Germany
  4. France
  5. United Kingdom
  6. Italy
  7. Canada

Keys to Success

"...in his effort to withstand temptation, to economize, to exercise thrift, to disregard the superficial for the real - the shadow for the substance; to be great yet small, in his effort to be patient in the laying of a firm foundation; to so grow in skill and knowledge that he shall place his services in demand by reason of his intrinsic and superior worth. This is the key that unlocks every door of opportunity, and all others fail."

~Booker T. Washington

The 7 Social Sins

  1. Politics without principle
  2. Wealth without work
  3. Pleasure without conscience
  4. Knowledge without character
  5. Commerce without morality
  6. Worship without sacrifice
  7. Science without humanity

Cherish What You Love

"Cherish your visions, cherish your ideals, cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts - for out of them will grow all heavenly environment, of these if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built."~James Allen

The World's Largest Cities

  1. London in England
  2. New York in the United States
  3. Tokyo in Japan
  4. Berlin in Germany
  5. Chicago in the United States
  6. Shanghai in China
  7. Paris in France

Benefits of Optimism

"In terms of success, optimistic people out perform their pessimistic colleagues. Research shows that they are consistently promoted higher and make more money while working fewer hours than those who think pessimistically. Optimists also contribute more significantly to social progress. It is the optimists who start and run successful companies, who win elections and carry out reforms, and who make breakthroughs in the realms of science and technology."

~Pepe Minambo

The World's Greatest Lakes

  1. Caspian Sea in the Commonwealth of Independent States, C.I.S. (formerly U.S.S.R)
  2. Lake Superior in North America
  3. Victoria Nyanza in Central Africa
  4. Aral Sea in C.I.S.
  5. Lake Huron in North America
  6. Lake Michigan in North America

Demonstrating His Love

"Take your communication for instance - the way you address others. It ought to be with loving, gracious and edifying words. Never talk people down. Never use words that hurt and demean people. Communicate excellently with others without destroying their self-image or making them feel sorry for themselves. Talk to people in a way that they never forget the excellence of your words, the love and grace of Christ that you communicated. It's how God wants us to love."

~Dr. Chris Oyakhilome

World's Longest Rivers

  1. Missouri-Mississipi (U.S.)
  2. Amazon (Brazil)
  3. Nile (Egypt)
  4. Yangtse (China)
  5. Lena (Russia)
  6. Zaire (Central Africa)
  7. Niger (West Africa)