Was it really a career ambition?

I’ve always wanted to be a professional athlete, a basketball player to be exact; I was already 6ft 1” at high school. I was so obsessive to workouts, sneakers, videos, posters and everything about ‘basketball’. However, since the national league couldn’t offer what I wanted, I decided to look for a Visa to get to one of the colleges in America. My aunt was working at the post office back then; transmission of applications to colleges was not so difficult.

I wrote to over ‘nangam’ colleges, had in the course secured at least six I-20s, sometimes repeatedly from one college (shout out to St. Augustine’s College Raleigh NC for the many I-20s), none of which were a success. The US Embassy invariably handed me a typical letter saying amongst other things “…you’ve not shown strong family, economic or social ties that your stay in the US will be temporal”.

Despite the devastating tryouts, I kept taking the crack at basketball, played everywhere including Senegal. One evening I was coming from the basketball lawn and I saw this ‘Bredda’, I was his senior at high school, but given that he was at the UTG at the time and i was so 'hood', he had the effrontery to tell me this:"Boy Mike (my nickname) so this is how you plan to live your life; eat, ‘campeh’ (hangout), puff the herb, play ball and sleep?”…To Allah and ‘Nabi’ I felt so insulted, but after days of considering what he said, I thought he meant well. I never wanted to quit ball and I never will, but I knew I had to take a detour.

…so, as well as going back to school, I did the following among other things:

1. I went for an interview at the Civil Aviation for the position of either Accounts Clerk or Statistic Clerk, got turned down apparently due to the mini-dreadlocks on my head back then.
2. I took a recruitment exam at Gamtel over a decade ago, I knew I did nothing short of well, but I still patiently await the results

3. I was a teacher for like 6 months, walked out 2 times and never went back after a 3rd and final quit, because from school admin to the pay mistress and everyone acted like they were doing me favours.

 
3. I was onetime fuel station attendant (an uncle’s venture), business didn’t go well.

 
4. I had real ambitions man; traded in stuffs that I can’t even say here

 
4. Helped my Mom to run things at her boutique (unsalaried)

 
5. Traveled to Europe and had the chance to experience the ‘modou modou’ bustle. Came back and became an Auditor, quit that thing and then back to Europe, since the US has refused to have room ‘fi di bredda’ …so much backwards and forwards abroad, now I am finally back ‘ayard’ doing what I am doing, taking care of business.

I am not playing ball as before due to time and all, but I still hold sway as undefeated Dunk Champion of the Gambia from 2008 to this minute, I’m also the inspirational leader of my team (SK East Basketball Team).

Diploma Disease

This morning, I listened in a chat between two disgruntled gentlemen who felt that their qualifications are not respected at their workplace and by their common argument, I thought they got it all wrong. To tell the truth, things are changing fast, not every employer is diploma possessed; some don’t care where you learned or how to learn. If you can do what they pay you for, you become the boss, as simple as that.

If you hold an ‘export-degree’ from The ‘University Jupiter’ (wherever that is), and your colleague only has a diploma from MDI, but when it comes down to it, he does better what y’all are a paid for, he invariably outperforms you when appraised, really, you cannot call that colleague a favoured ignorant just because he didn’t pay for a university degree.

I am not bringing paper qualifications into disrepute, I'm just saying that whatever qualification you hold, it should tone with your performance. It is rather unfortunate that the duo had their hopeful dispositions shattered, but that’s what’s up, not every certificate from ‘Cambodia’ is a guaranteed means to your rise to a higher position of limited responsibility.

Success

Economically smart folks who are now independently booming will agree that missteps are inevitable down the road to success. So just because a Brotha is purported to have formally squandered an overnight jackpot just like that, doesn't mean he can’t come back up. Allow him to learn from his mistake. That pang of guilt that he murmurs to himself as he turns over in his mind is more helpful for him. However, if we make fun of his situation or choose to be so denouncing, like we are very good at, we’ll in the end only make him admit an unrecoverable defeat or perhaps incite him to relinquishing that whiz kid that once lived in him.

LISTEN! If you were once a ‘Semester’ and now you can’t afford a ‘town-trip’, if you had a job and now jobless, if you expended so much on some girl who without gratitude dumped you, if you've been remitting money from abroad an

Seek out for fresh ways to make amends for your setback and don’t listen to the joy killers. They won’t stop looking at you with censorious eyes, they’ll keep saying it: ‘Ki Dou Amaat’ (he aint gonna make it again)…but if you want to dispense with them, just ask yourself, if they know so much about success and the maintenance of affluence, why are they still living in their vicious circles of poverty?

d some relative squanders it, if you were a professional athlete and now you cannot perform due to injury and all, if your investments refuse to pay returns, and so on, say yes, ‘this too will pass’ and use all your sentiments to your advantage. It may be difficult, but you can if you have that strong motivation that things wouldn't get any rougher than they already are.

Test Blog

My ‘Campeh’ (hangout) used to be this man’s route from work and invariably when he closes; he’ll pluck a piece of ‘Nana’ (aromatic plant) from his stalk to give us, saying it was his contribution to the ‘Warga’ (Brew). Sometimes we’ll brew and send the best ‘Cass’ on to him, not because of the weight of his 25/50bututs ‘Nana’, but as show of consideration and admiration of his unassuming personality.

Just this morning I saw this man after many years, I’m sure he didn’t even remember me, since am all grown now. He needed something and I did him the favour. I could see how thrilled and seemingly surprised he was about the unbelievable assistance, but he didn’t know he planted it; that I was only reciprocating the respect he earned himself from my whole crew and I a long time ago.

When I was done, I told him who I was and why I did what I did; so he was like; "this is why it is good to cultivate the attitude of goodwill towards people, you wouldn’t know when it may come in handy" …not everyone you’ve being good to will give you the slip of their loyalty; real ones will remain true and real no matter what.