It was only a week before I would sit for the Ordinary Level National Examinations when it

happened. Everyone in the class was busy studying and there was dead silence when the
Deputy Headmaster entered. When he called my name, I knew right away that it was the issue
of school fees arrears, again. I was sent home.
I felt so infuriated and wanted someone to point to for causing this, yet after a deep
consideration of the matter, I couldn’t find anyone. The Deputy Headmaster wasn’t to blame.
He was just doing his job. On the other hand, neither was I to blame. For the fifth time that
year, I had been a victim of my economic situation. The small flickering flame of my hope had
been trampled upon again and again Those days were testing. I had to be strong enough to
keep preparing for the exams whilst at home. However, it was by no means easy. Studying at
home where I shared my room with three younger siblings was simply a matter of swimming
across oceans.
Somehow (I don’t even know how), I managed to sail through those stormy times. However,
there is no single moment of such situations that I REGRET. Actually, I am happy to have gone
through them. Reflecting back, I can relate that those moments served like a fire purifier. It was
then that my life was molded. I learned how to be resilient, patient, optimistic and resourceful.
Most importantly, those adversities formed my passion and career pathway. Usually after being
victimized, I would feel a strong rage that I couldn’t control. I would ask myself questions like
‘Why has it happened to me?’ and ‘What have I done to get this?’ but received no answer. All I
wanted was to avenge my victimization in some positive way. I thought about helping other
kids with similar situations but soon realized that it would be futile since I had no money. It was
then that I directed my focus towards environment
Actually, it was a friend who introduced me through taking me to the school garden where
were took care of the school agricultural adventures . We would also take care of the
surrounding area. He hoped this would reduce my stress. Yet in me, that sparked something
bigger than just overcoming stress. I fell in love with the environment with a passion as strong
as the hate for my economic situation. I began to realize how much damage we did to the
environment. Straightaway, I began to work on that at home and at school. Some products of
my efforts was the Environmental Protection Club that I helped to form at Howard High School.
In the near future, I intend to pursue environment related course so that I can be a
conservationists and help f humanity’s environmental footprint.