Fortune favours the brave.

The idea of this article was drawn from an article written by @Ellawrites about self esteem. You could check it out here.

We all must have known atleast one person who stutters or stammers. This is a speech impairment where a person have difficulties in voicing out words in a coherent form. It's very common among children, but as a person grows older, the condition improves. In some cases, it doesn't go away and stays with the individual for a long time.

When I was in high school, I was told the story of a former student who suffered from this condition. But victor never allowed his speech impediment affect his self-esteem. He would always stand up and ask the teacher a question whenever he doesn't understand a lesson even though other members of the class would chuckle as he struggles to speak. As a matter of fact, the more he's been laughed at,the more he asks more questions and this made his teachers proud of him. Soon, his classmates got tired of laughing at his questions since he refused to be made the object of mockery.

Unlike others, victor never walked away from a fight whenever he was bullied due to his condition. If anyone brings trouble to him, they would definitely find him ready. Once, a new student tried to mock his condition : "victor, if you allow me to give you two hot slaps on both sides of your cheeks, you would never stutter again". Victor replied him with a good punch that landed directly on his nose causing him to bleed all over his school shirt.

Victor even volunteered to participate in debates and presentations on the assembly ground. And after a charged but yet a brilliant speech, the whole school would burst into a a thunderous applause. In a short while, he earned the admiration of all his teachers and became a big source of inspiration to students who suffer from stage fright. If Victor who was a stutterer could conquer the fear of public speaking, then they could also do it.

Since victor was also a smart student, he became very popular in the school. And as luck would have it, the most popular girl in school became attracted to him. Due to his high confidence level, victor hardly stutters whenever he's talking to a girl. His speech impediment only becomes manifest when he's involved in a fast conversation or an argument with the other boys. How ironic it is that the boys who laughed at victor suddenly begin to stutter and develop cold feet as soon as they approach a girl for a conversation. Lol

The story of victor encourages us to be brave no matter the challenge life throws at us. Instead of wallowing in self pity that kills our self esteem , we should infact use the obstacle as a stepping stone and as an opportunity that would make others appreciate the light in us.

According to Robert Greene, " the world would always admire the brave, no one honours the timid". Those who are brave enough to go for what they want would definitely be rewarded.

Before I was admitted into the University, I had worked at a superstore for almost a year just so that I wouldn't remain idle at home. My salary was nothing to write about but I knew i deserved better. Still, I always feel nervous and scared whenever I think about discussing it with my employer. One day I summoned courage and asked her for a raise, my employer grumbled for some minutes, then started talking tough : " you should be happy you got this job, do you know how many girls that applied before before you were selected".

But at the end of the month, I was surprised that my salary had been increased by a decent percentage. It was later that a close friend of my employer revealed to me that I was the first and only girl who had never shortchanged my boss. Other girls that have previously worked at the store had been engaged in some sharp practices on several occasions. As a matter of fact, the shop needed two staffs since the workload was obviously quite much for just one girl. But I was told that my employer refused to employ another lady because she was scared that i would be corrupted by a new character.......Two months later , I voluntarily resigned from the outfit with a stronger determination and courage to find and do something better.

Most times, an opportunity comes but once and it's quite unfortunate that some people recognises opportunity but due to timidity and the fear of failure, they keep hesitating and procrastinating until it slips away. A brave person grabs an opportunity even before others could see it and turn it into something big and unique.

******************************

To all my readers, commentators, sponsors and upvoters . Thanks alot for the support. Special thanks to @FashTioluwa for the sponsorship renewal. I'm indeed very grateful and honored.