My dream country has always been the US. As a child I dreamed of going to the US someday, but I don’t know my reason for desperately wanting to go. I guess movies and stories influenced my decision.
Towards the end of secondary school, I started checking for scholarships in the US. I knew if I wanted to leave my home country, I had to take matters into my own hands. All my siblings attended universities in Nigeria so sponsorship from my parents wasn’t even an option.
I combed the internet day in and day out looking for the best scholarships I can get. There were a lot of demands and requirements that I couldn’t meet and gradually I began to lose hope.
One afternoon, after another fruitless search on the internet, I decided to do something crazy, I messaged my mum’s younger brother who had been in the US for a long time. He left a few years after I was born and although we were family, we didn’t talk much.
He responded positively and we started processing my admission. I talked to him for a while behind my parents’ back. The day my parents found out, hell broke loose, and my father was particularly angry.
He couldn’t understand why I went to such lengths without telling him. They had to agree because the admission was already in progress and my uncle seemed willing. He was ready to cater for all my fees and my upkeep. I was already in the US ha! Those were my thoughts every waking moment.
I even received the admission letter from the university I applied to and everything was looking good. A few weeks passed by and I stopped hearing from my dear uncle. He wasn’t responding to my texts anymore. I kept sending him the emails I received from the school but his reply was always vague.
I called him and asked what was going on. He eventually told me he could no longer sponsor me. Omo I was in shock. I would wake up at midnight and cry. My admission was withdrawn and the reality hit me- I was not going to the US. I also didn’t secure admission to any university in my country that year. My parents and siblings could only pity me and it was really a down moment in my life.
I was at home one day when my mum sent an advert to me. She said her friend sent it to her. It was an advert for a scholarship in Russia. Immediately I saw the country, I closed my phone. Russia? Who wants to go to Russia? Definitely not me.
My mom eventually forced me to apply and the rest is history. I got the scholarship and even after graduating from university, I stayed back and started working in Russia and to say I am thriving is an understatement.
I considered the US my greener pastures but fate however brought me to Russia and I can say for sure that it became a land of endless possibilities for me. Who knows? I might leave Russia in the coming years but I will never forget this land. It has surely given me a good start in life.
I have realised that to make it in life doesn’t rely solely on your location. You also have a huge part to play in how things pan out for you. I strongly believe that if I had been anywhere in the world, with the right mindset and right attitude to work, my life would have been just fine.
Of course, your location plays an important role concerning what opportunities you get, your access to information and many other things. But the truth is even in our current location, home or abroad, a lot of opportunities are left untapped, ideas are left dormant and potentials go to waste because we think we are in the wrong location.
So no, it is not only in the US, UK and Canada people make it. People make headway in life even in the place you’re located. Find your balance, work and stay true to your goal.
Have a lovely week ahead!
#ESolutionsDeyForYou
