Inspired by the Story of Job

When I was matriculating at JKUAT in May 2007 to pursue a degree in electronic & computer engineering, Mum was proud of my achievement. She told her closest relatives about it and then requested them to buy me some of the things I would need at JKUAT. Thanks to her efforts, I got sheets and blankets from one uncle and a suitcase from another.

Dad was equally proud of my admission to JKUAT. Before I reported to the university, he kept pushing me to have everything ready. He had me apply for the loan that would cater for my living expenses at JKUAT and ensured I had the class materials that had been listed in my admission letter.

My parents must have been proud of my admission to JKUAT not only because I was to pursue one of the most prestigious degree courses in Kenya but also because it was an opportunity they didn't have themselves. (They both have no university degree.)

After I reported to JKUAT on that lovely day in May 2007, I went ahead to have a fantastic first year at the university. I rose effortlessly before dawn every weekday to prepare for classes during which I made interesting contributions.

In the evening, I would go to the library to do some private reading. I read a captivating booklet about Charles Lindbergh, the first aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, during one of those times I whiled away my time in the library.

Then over the weekends, I commuted to Nairobi City to attend choir practices and church services at All Saints' Cathedral. I enjoyed being part of the cathedral's 9:30 a.m. English service choir. Imagine from the time I matriculated at JKUAT in May 2007 till around August 2008, I only missed church service at All Saints' Cathedral only once. I was such a highly motivated young man.

Probably due to my motivation and good looks, a few women at the university and at the cathedral showed an interest in me. One even bought me a cake to celebrate my graduation with a diploma in information technology that I had pursued before matriculating at JKUAT.

Anyone who knew me probably thought I was destined for great things but come August 2008 when I was in my second year, I took a cavalier attitude towards my engineering course. Then I started acting out of character by missing classes at JKUAT without communicating home.

When time for exams reached, I left most of my answers blank since I hadn't been studying the classwork for that first semester. And when we broke for a one week holiday, I didn't go home. I slept on the streets of Nairobi like a homeless vagabond.

Because of that wayward living, I had no fees to pay when we reconvened at the university for a second semester. That meant I couldn't book a room to board at one of JKUAT hostels. With no room to stay, I slept in such strange places as toilets and playing fields.

My weird behavior worried the people who knew me, more so my family. They started inquiring what I was up to. And when they finally caught up with me, they forcefully took me to hospital where I was diagnosed with a mental illness.

After I was discharged from JKUAT hospital in November 2008, during that time when everybody's attention was fixed on Barack Obama's presidential race in the U.S. elections, I came out a completely different person. I had grown plump which lowered my self-esteem. And I found it hard to get out of bed in the morning; on some days, I would stay in between the sheets till as late as 1:00 p.m.

A year later, my mental health went downhill when I began suffering from bouts of guilt. Sometimes I would feel so guilty that I would avoid meeting people. I would also have an uncomfortable feeling that people were talking about me. Perhaps due to my changed nature, the women who had shown an interest in me disappeared from my life like mist under a rising sun.

Over the past five years, I have strived to repossess the motivation I had before I went astray at JKUAT in August 2008. I can now proudly report that my efforts are bearing fruits given how I have lost weight and regained my youthful swagger. And for the past six months or so, I have been consistently getting out of bed before 6:50 a.m. Even though my ideal waking up time is 5:30 a.m., I can say rising before 6:50 a.m. consistently has been a remarkable improvement.

As I endeavor to be consistently motivated, I am drawing inspiration from the story of Job in the Bible. You see, Job was a very blessed man until disaster struck in his life. Everything that could go wrong did. He lost his business, his health and his family. But after that harrowing period that lasted for nine months, he came out with twice the blessings he had before. He had twice the livestock, twice the joy, twice the peace and twice the victory.

Like Job, I am now feeling that I am coming out better than I was before I went astray at JKUAT in August 2008: wiser and more peaceful. If I keep on that trajectory, and I am believing that with God's help I will, I foresee myself becoming a successful blogger, thus making my parents proud of me, now that I didn't finish my engineering degree at JKUAT.

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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story of mine on how I am drawing inspiration from the story of Job, you might also enjoy another one on "Celebrating JKUAT: Kenya's MIT" which I wrote a few years ago. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.