Never Give Up until you win

Dec 8, 2021

It is no news that life is full of ups and downs. Different challenges occur on the road to achieving one’s goal, and sometimes, we get tired of having to deal with these challenges, and we give up. It is important to note that these challenges are meant to make us stronger and not stop our journey to be successful. Let me share a story of one of my cousins

My cousin (Let me call him Scott) lost his dad at a very young age and started living with us ever since then. As a kid, he was very focused and goal oriented. He wanted to become an Aeronautic Engineer, and he worked hard to achieve this goal of his. I remember seeing an aero plane he made for his science project with pet bottles and some recycling materials when I was still a kid.

Upon finishing his high school education, he sought to apply for scholarship to study Aeronautics as it is very expensive to study, and he’d most likely have to travel out. He got lots of rejection mails but never stopped applying. I can remember most of his books then were magazines and brochures of universities like Cambridge, Oxford and the likes. When he saw that the scholarships he has been trying to get weren't coming through, he applied for a job to raise a bit of money, and also applied for a part-time course to study electrical engineering.

Scott, while trying to raise money for his studies when to see a respectable person who is like a mentor to lots of people for advice. When he came back and my parents asked for the feedback, guess what he said? Scott told my parents that the man told him his dreams were too big. That he should give up on becoming an Aeronautic Engineer. I was really sad. Why would anyone tell another person not to pursue his dreams but again, then I noticed something. Scott wasn’t dejected at all. He wasn’t bothered about what the man said. He told my parents that he was never going to give up.

Scott kept applying and eventually got an offer to study Aeronautics Engineering here in my country. He wrote the pre-screening examination and waited for days to receive the admission mail. When the mail came, it was both good news and bad news. He passed, but over 300 applicants also passed, and they’d be admitting only 20 students. Another examination was scheduled, and this time he read like I have never seen him read before. When the results came in, it was a similar situation to the first examination. He passed, but about 100 applicants also passed.

Scott was eventually shortlisted and got admitted. Then came another obstacle which was paying his school fees. His school fees was 100 times more expensive than other colleges. It is understandable because a lot of practicals will have to involve him working with aero planes, and helicopters and we know they are very expensive. He sought out to look for funds again for his school fees but wasn’t able to raise more that 10%. Some even advised him to forfeit his admission. Can you imagine? Something that he waited for year to get, but he was never discouraged. I never heard Scott say that he was tired.

The school through the help of his lecturers was kind enough to allow him to receive lectures and write examinations until he finished, but withheld his license to practice. To cut the long story short, he got a job in one of the top aviation company in the world without his license immediately after he graduated, paid his school fees himself and has since gotten his license.

What I am trying to say with the story of Scott is that no matter the challenges that life throws at us, we should keep striving to reach our goal. Life isn’t all about roses because sometimes, we get thorns instead. Scott never gave up and is very happy and glad he didn’t now. Don’t give up.