Some weeks ago I was in the office looking at the notice board; I looked at what I had been assigned to do and the due date. I was comfortable with all the assignments except one – to write a blog post. I remained in this state for weeks. However, I still told myself that I would deliver this crucial assignment before the deadline passed. Days went by, and I remained composed and confident that an idea would magically show up. The days flew past and I was shocked to realize that the deadline had arrived with no idea of what to write, my genius had not done its usual magic.
The deadline passed any way, then, everybody in the office got concerned. I stammered to explain why I could not hand in the assignment, everyone looked at me in utter shock, I could read expressions of pity and concern on their faces, and everyone seemed to tell me, “If only you could push yourself a little more, write about anything, your experiences or something you want to tell the world.” The deadline was extended, not omitted altogether. However, in my mind, I knew that I was clueless yet my colleagues wanted to read my post. I kept my dilemma to myself. Time went by, and I did not know what to do.
Every time I opened my laptop, great ideas came through my mind…sadly; I could not put them down on paper and expound them no matter how much I tried. I moved from idea to idea in the hope that I would be able to expound on the newest one, but the more I changed, the more I got stuck and became frustrated. At one point, I wished I could drop the assignment for good but this was not possible. I stared at the cursor, with nothing solid coming to mind, not much inspiration.
Unfortunately or fortunately, my colleagues could not accept this; they kept on encouraging me to try. Everyone wanted to help, they gave me ideas, but little did they know that their help was actually leaving me more confused. I finally hit the rock bottom, and realized I needed to climb back up, I needed to complete this assignment. I could do it. My colleagues were actually a blessing in disguise, since they made me realize that I had to do it no matter what.
Life can be like that sometimes. You might be clueless about how to do something, but once you push yourself to the limit, things get done. It is said, “When you hit rock bottom, the only way to go is up.” The rock bottom of being clueless about my assignment became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my ability to write this blog post. I learnt that giving up doesn’t make anything happen. May be I needed a little more time, motivation, courage, belief in myself, and obviously a little pressure.
Wow! I finally got my assignment done. I am glad I finally wrote my blog post and thank you for reading till here.
By Richard Mchome, a Regional Intern at WYA Africa, from Tanzania.