UPDATE: I have removed this story for reasons I beg not to explain. Sorry for any inconveniences.
(Story Removed)
A True Story
Copyright ©
The Doors God Closed for Me
A True Story
on Dec 7, 2018
Copyright ©
When KCSE results were released in March 2006, I was satisfied with the 'A' of 82 points I scored. I therefore didn't bother to have my papers re-marked even though I had expected an 'A' of 84 points.
Scoring an 'A' of 82 points disqualified me from the actuarial science degree I had selected to pursue as my high school years were coming to an end in November 2005. The actuarial course required an 'A' of at least 83 points.
A few days after receiving my KCSE results, my neighbour Joseph Likam went and changed my first-choice degree course to medicine & surgery which I had qualified for because it required an 'A' of at least 82 points, like the one I had scored. Likam had connections to the board that assigned high school leavers to university courses.
But then, I lost interest in studying medicine & surgery when I was pursuing a diploma in information technology prior to joining university. Working on computers appealed to me more. So when the opportunity to change degree courses was announced later in 2006, I changed my preferred degree course to electronic & computer engineering.
I began pursuing the engineering course in May 2007 at JKUAT. But I intended to eventually acquire my undergraduate degree in America. So I applied to four American colleges during my first year at JKUAT.
The colleges rejected me when they released their admissions decisions in March and April 2008. Then I had trouble understanding the engineering course I was pursuing at JKUAT. It was like I didn't have a natural aptitude for the course.
Not understanding the engineering course, along with my desire to reapply to the American colleges, made me drop out of JKUAT in 2008. Actually, I didn't drop out. I hung around the university without communicating with my family.
When JKUAT authorities apprehended me, they forcefully took me to hospital which I think was a good thing, for I wonder what I would have done if I ran out of money while hanging around the university.
After I was discharged from hospital, my family prevailed on me to return to JKUAT and resume pursuing my engineering course. I yielded to their pleas and reported back to JKUAT in May 2009 to repeat my second year which I hadn't finished the previous year.
But I again had trouble understanding the engineering course. When first-semester exams neared and realized I would flop them, I approached the dean of students. One thing led to another and sooner rather than later, I peacefully dropped out of JKUAT.
Upon dropping out of JKUAT, I began reapplying to the American colleges I had applied for admission in 2007, except MIT. Come April 2010, they rejected me this time as well, something that didn't shock me perhaps because working on my applications hadn't excited me.
As the year 2010 wore on, my family wanted me to acquire a university degree - something I also wanted. My brother Paddy suggested I pursue my diploma in information technology to degree level. That sounded like a good idea which I tried following through.
Eventually though, I chose to enrol at the University of Nairobi (UoN) in September 2010 to pursue a degree in political science, history, economics & public administration. I kinda enjoyed my new course which was why I got six 'A's out of the seven units I studied in my first semester.
But then, financial constraints came into play since unlike when I was in JKUAT, this time I wasn't on a government subsidized degree program. And oh my, wasn't the UoN degree costly!
My father struggled to raise my first semester fees. On my part, I tried sourcing for financial help from several people, including friends I had made at All Saints' Cathedral in Nairobi, but none came to my aid. One thing led to another and before I knew it, I was no longer a UoN student.
For quite a number of years after discontinuing my UoN studies, people pressured me to acquire a university degree, obviously because a degree has become a requisite for entry into most well-paying jobs. I almost yielded to their pleas.
With time though, I have come to find it boring to keep on being a first-year student - studying Communication Skills and all those other 101 courses - at a time when my JKUAT and UoN classmates are working, getting married and having children. I like to think that acquiring a university degree was a door God closed for me. And as Helen Keller quipped, when one door closes, another opens.
Since writing, singing and public speaking are my passions, I will continue sharing stories, hymns and speeches on this blog while praying for breakthroughs so that I become self-reliant and repay the loan I borrowed during my three-year stint at JKUAT. That's all I am saying.
***********************
FEEDBACK: Would you be so kind as to offer your feedback on the stories I post on this blog? Just go to the feedback page of this blog and share your thoughts with me. Thanks in advance for your comments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Sharing is Caring
Like the above story? Then share it on:
