At what point does your school education become useful and meaningful to you in life?
Growing up in the Ghanaian society, when a child had 10 ones (distinction) at the end of a 3 year Junior High School Examination (BECE) it was then automatically assumed that that child should go on to study a course in Science at the Senior High level.
And most of you will agree with me that at the end of the day, not all the kids with distinction who come out of the science course in high school end up going to medical school in university to become doctors, nurses or medical professionals.
Meanwhile, it was a parent's big dream for instance, that once their son or daughter enters medical school in a prestigious Ghanaian university, that child must definitely pass out to become a medical doctor by hook or crook. Because for you as a parent, having spent thousands of cedis or dollars (in a foreign university), your child becoming a medical doctor will be the only consolation prize you will both have for the millions you have spent over the years and invested in your child or children's education.
This is among a few examples I can cite here.
Let's push this a little further, if your child after all these years, comes to you as an adult and says dad, mom, I don't want to study medicine or be a doctor anymore, I desire to be a musician, an actor, artist, a writer, a model or a footballer.
Because this is where my true passion is.
What will your reaction be as a parent?
Take me for example, I was advised to study law growing up because of my love for reading and my strong analytical skills as well as my strong retentive memory for details and events. Things don't always go as planned when life takes an unexpected turn, and I ended up studying Business Administration in a private Ghanaian university. My professional working experience has taken me from being a customer service representative to a digital marketer over the years. These career changes did not provide a stable career path or choice for me to craft for myself a grounded place in any of these professional fields.
A few years of doing soul searching and finding my purpose in life, I rediscovered my love for writing and teaching. But even with that, I haven't yet made a headway financially.
Having struggled in the past to look for a job, and as a matter of fact, still struggling to look for a job, my question to myself and to you is; Have I failed in pursuit of finding my dream profession because I haven't made any money out of it yet?
I never planned on being an advocate either in writing or by voice. But a lot of young people who are equally struggling to find their way or true purpose in life keep reaching out to me to be their voice and mouthpiece and drum home their personal life challenges they are facing through my write-ups.
The truth is ...... I'm like a solo athlete running a long distance c race but carrying the baton of millions of unseen people whose struggles and stories are dying to be heard too. But who is willing to hear us and who is willing to take a bold stand with us to make an economic impact change for our young people.
There are many people living unfulfilled dreams and lives which is outside their true calling in life.
Do you share the same fate? Just writing to tell you that you are not alone.
I will be happy to hear your story too.
Kwame Sarpong | Freelance Writer:
Nyansa365
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f: Otumfour Kwame Sarpong
t: @kwamesarpong25
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