Childhood dreams; dreams without limits.

Even though we had to depend on our parents for many things as kids, dreaming wasn't one of them. It was great being in charge of that one thing as a kid, it was fun having the ability to fly in between the clouds in our imagination even without wings knowing fully well that it is impossible.

Isn't it fun having dreams bigger than our life conditions? I mean how does a little boy who sleeps on a mat with his mom and siblings every night in an empty room dream of becoming a pilot? That should tell you how free it was and is to dream, it could have been a different story if we had to pay for every dream we had as a kid; I might still be paying the debt to date.

I was and am still a big dreamer, I never stopped doing it because it gives this rare energy that helps me push on in life even though I know that I have small chances of fulfilling that dream.

I grew up in some part of Mafoluko in Oshodi and seeing planes fly over the roof of our house is a view that I found very entertaining, I was so obsessed with the sounds and how that heavy machine carries itself above the buildings into the sky. On many occasions, I wished I could see through the plane.

There was a particular day that I and the kids playing made kites with the hopes of them reaching into the sky to an extent an airplane would notice it but it was a wasted effort, we moved away from Oshodi after the bomb blast and I missed the airplane views because the planes were closer to the ground when taking off or landing since Ikeja airport isn't far from our residence.

I started growing up and understood that becoming a pilot was expensive and my mom wouldn't be able to afford it, I took so much interest in football along the line since I was good at it. I can succeed at it as well but I broke a bone when the opportunity came knocking on my door.

Life left me with just that one dream of flying a plane, I had to focus more on my studies probably I can get a scholarship to the aviation school. Everyone in my class knew about my dream after a career talk day was hosted by the school, I got the nickname Captain Tom after the event.

Unfortunately, there was nothing like a scholarship exam in the aviation school. Admission into any aviation school requires one to be rich because it cost a lot of money, I couldn't bother my mom so I gave up on it.

Light of hope shined on me when an older friend told me that we should join the Army, I was just young even though I had mature physic and didn't want to die young. I expressed my fear he said that I can fly a plane if I joined the air force and that was cool to me.

I told my mom and she supported me, we started gathering information immediately. The first step was passing the Nigeria Defense Academy exam which shouldn't be a problem because I was fairly good with my studies, I did the registration and went for the exams.

I was so certain about the exam because the questions were familiar, we weren't allowed to take the past question out of the barracks else I would have had proof of my score. I think 10 or 20 students who got the highest score will be taken from each state in the country and my hopes were high on that. The result came and my name wasn't on the list, it was demotivating so I wrote the exam twice after but nothing happened.

I spoke to a military man I met on the road then and he told me that NDA is not an easy place to get into, he advised me to join the ordinary recruit and I can find my path to the top from there but I wasn't interested. I didn't want to die before reaching my destination so I had to let go of the dream, It hurts me a lot because some of my childhood friends still call me that to date.

My hope was intact until I clocked 24, I wasn't expecting a miracle anymore at that age. Meanwhile, I applied for admission to study computer science when I was 20 and got admission into the Lagos State Polytechnic. I was working since I had to sponsor my education, study, and seek opportunities that didn't come.

Today, I am neither a pilot, footballer, nor computer scientist. I am a happy fish farmer and a writer, my journey in life has made me realize that there is a difference between what we want and the plans God has for us.

Society isn't helping, the government does not have plans for the future. There are lots of dreams and talents wasting out there just because there is no help or support, these dreams and talents would have made a huge difference in the country.

We must include God always in our journey to guide us in life, I still have those dreams in my head living for free and it could have been a different story if I came from a wealthy him. Regardless of what point I am standing in life, I am still grateful to God for everything and how far he has taken me through life.

This article was written by me and it first appeared HERE.

Lead image.

Thanks for reading.