MY LIFE: MY RESPONSIBILITY

I lost my first job opportunity today and as usual, I want you to be the first to know.  I woke up as early as the cock does and prepared myself fully by 7:00am for an interview that was scheduled to start at 10:00am. Just before I could finish locking my door, the rains descended from nowhere like an angry lion. I quickly unlocked my door and went back inside. I tried searching for my raincoat and umbrella only to realize that I have not owned any for close to a year now. I redirected my hope to my neighbors but since the morning was still young, I had to allow them to enjoy the extra time of sleep they had.

After about an hour of waiting for the cats and dogs to be tamed, I woke them up with a knock on their door. To my surprise, none of them could help. My heart began racing like Usain Bolt: stepping into the rains was never an option because of my medical condition. In my anguish, I dropped down unto my carpet in tears, helplessly hoping and praying for a breakthrough but to no avail. It rained as if it was never going to stop till around 11:30am when it took a short break. I quickly rushed to the premises but no one was even ready to hear my story: All hope was lost.

“I was all dressed up”, I said, “I was ready! The situation was out of my hands. It wasn’t my fau...” Just when I was about ending my last statement, a voice came from behind me, “Whose fault was it, then; me?” I turned to look at him and it was the boss, himself. “I guess not”, he continued “others were able to make it, dear. You only gave someone else a better chance to be employed so just go home, get some sleep and prepare fully next time”

Without saying another word, I stared at him as he entered his office with pride. He was right, though. My excuses mattered to no one. It was my duty to foresee all those unexpected circumstances and prepare towards them but I didn’t and it cost me that much. From the start, I blamed the manager for fixing it at that bad time and not postponing it after this heavy rains, knowing very well that it was going to be a misfortune to most of us; I blamed my neighbors for not helping; I blamed that thief for stealing my cute umbrella; I blamed my little sister for not returning my raincoat; I blamed my medical condition and most importantly, I blamed the rain for descending at that time.

Little did I know that none of those really deserved to be blamed: rather, I did. I should have prepared well for anything; I should have gone for my raincoat from my sister or bought a new one when I realized she had no intention to return it; I should have bought a new umbrella after the old one was stolen; I could have even reported at the venue much earlier than the time I was ready to. I had to accept the blame: I had to take responsibility for the consequences of my negligence.

Now, what are your excuses; who are you blaming for that misfortune? Students get bad grades and it's their lecturers who hate them; half the class fail and the lecturer concludes that the students are all just lazy; you get to church so late and you blame the driver; you do worthless things for money and you blame hunger; your life is a mess and you blame nature. Who are you trying to convince? 

See, you have got one life to live; hence you and only you are responsible for how situations are handled in your life. Nobody really cares to know the reason why you haven’t made it in life yet or the dozens of excuses you have piled up to give: they all want to see you in action, making some efforts. Quit finding reasons why it can’t or didn’t work and start doing something about it. You are the captain of this very ship (your life), so, take charge and be vigilant: for every little sail you make counts and you are responsible for the direction it’s heading.