MY JOURNEY OF CHANGEMAKING:SO DIFFICULT TO STAND FOR WHAT IS RIGHT IN OUR WORLD TODAY

Hello dear steemians, this is @hermannsol and today i want to talk about the difficulties and hardships that come with bringing about change in our World. Growing up as a kid, i always wanted to change my community in a positive way and make all happy. Even though it looked impossible to make all happy, i still held on to that dream and view and did not want to give up on it. That is the spirit of a changemaker. They never give up on what they seek to achieve no matter how impossible it might seem, or what people may say. That was me, but to be honest, growing up with that dream has been tough because i identified a big problem in my country "Corruption". It was bringing the country down to a terrible state. People in offices they are not qualified to hold because of their connections to those in power, embezzling of public funds, our traffic-control officers publicly demonstrating bribery on the roads, students buying concours and public exams, forgery of certificates etc. Seeing all these i knew we needed change and i took my stand to make a difference. As a young student, i made a commitment to myself not to cheat in exams no matter what and after that things were never going to be thesame for me.

1.YOU BECOME THE VILLAIN

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Since secondary school to my University days today i have always been looked as the villain in my class because i refuse to cheat in examinations. I have been called terrible names and addressed as heartless, wicked, selfish, unkind etc. All these because i want to be different, to be the change that my community needs. These words and names really hurt me so badly and i wish i could just be cold and feel nothing when they say all this but i can't. It just pierces me right to my heart. I try so hard to convince myself that it is ok if they misunderstand me and call me names. It is the right thing to do and that i will do. I even try to help my mates prior to exams but they will not give it a try, all they want is cheat during exams.
That is just an example from my experience to tell you, that as a changemaker, people who have already accepted the statues quo will look at you as the villain. They will come against you and call you names in a way to get you to give in or fall in line; but stick on to your objectives and the path of change.

2.IT CAN CHANGE YOU

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Growing up, i was this little innocent, kind and nice kid who always placed others first. In elementary school, our biased teachers back then who only cared so much about maintaining the reputation of the school, picked out the very intelligent kids in class with me included; and we were assigned to make sure that during our final exam which was a national one, all pupils from our school were to pass by cheating in that exam. We had the responsibility to share what we knew with all of them. This were strict orders, and scared as we were, we spent time trying to get to all the pupils and had less time for ourselves. When the results came out, they all made a list A and some of us made a list B. My parents were so disappointed because they knew i was an intelligent kid. With this experience, i changed and i told myself i will never help anyone in an exam again. This will look good but it was a selfish decision because i only cheated in exams to get what i needed and when my neighbors asked for help too in anything they did not know, knowing it, i would give them a wrong answer and they will fail. This was what i had become from my experience from my past exam. The sweet, innocent, kind kid became a selfish, angry, cold kid. I was not at peace with myself and so i confided in my elder sister and she told me what i did was very bad. She told me next time i should rather not say anything or consent to cheating than to lead them to failure. I took her advice and also promised myself to renounce cheating in every form, be it for myself or neighbor.
That is another thing or issue with bringing about change. You might take it in a way that ends up changing your personality into something you are not and in most cases we are blind to see that we are now going on a wrong road and the outcome is often dangerous.
You might even tend to fall in line with whatever is happening and even aggravate it unkowingly.

3.IT WILL COST YOU A LOT

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Standing for change will cost you a lot. So many people have died fighting for change. Many have lost their lives for their vision of change. Many have lost families,friends, loved ones,Jobs, wealth and property because they stood for change. It is a very difficult road and those who thread it must be ready to face hardship and difficulty. It is quite similar to the Christian road. Once you set on the good path, be ready to contend with the forces of evil. Light and darkness cannot co-habit. It took Nelson Mandela 27yrs of his life, it took Martin Luther King Jr his own life, all these just to realize their vision for change.

4.THE TEMPTATIONS AND CHALLENGES IT BRINGS

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Along the way, you will be tempted to compromise your stand and vision for change. People will try to make you see reason with them. You need to be strong and resilient. Goal driven and ready to accomplish them no matter what. I remember myself again in secondary school, this classmate walked up to me during break and told me he will buy anything i wanted for lunch if i promise to help him in the test we have in Biology after break. I really needed to eat and was hungry but i knew i had to say no. As difficult it was i refused and passed on the offer. I also remember in the university; my best friend asking me to help him with answers to a question during an exam. It was most challenging of all. This was my best friend and if i refuse, it will be bad for our relationship and if i do that it will be going back on all i stood for and putting him above all others i have said no to. I simply had to do nothing and as difficult as it was i did not give in at that moment even though i have been weaker at other times. He ended up failing the course and i hit an "A".
Everyone in class all asked if he did not sit beside me in the exam and they all asked me thesame. I felt so bad and i was really down for a few days. Those are some of the challenges you will face on the journey of change.

5.YOU MIGHT NOT EVEN BE RECOGNIZED
This is another sad thing about bringing about change. In most scenarios, the ones that struggle so much to bring about change most at times are not even recognized or acknowledged.
Someone else steals the glory for themselves but it does not matter because a true changemaker's mission is not to be recognized or become famous but is to impact lives with his vision and belief.

This is my experience when it comes to my journey to bring about change. I have learned a lot this far and continue to learn till this day. Knowing all this, i can better bring about change in my community and World.

The problem with Africans is, we tend to blame our leaders for every wrong thing in the continent but we fail to look at ourselves and acknowledge our own failures as citizens. You want change for your country; YES but when was the last time you did something for your country in this light or what are you doing as a citizen to get this change?
We tend to label our leaders as corrupt because their acts involve substantial sums and are on the papers and media but you in your own little domain also do same; that means if you were in their position you will be no different or better still worse.

We want change for sure and it starts with us as individuals. Just like corrupt spread like a wild disease, let change also follow that path beginning with individuals, their communities, countries, Continent and the World.

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I am a changemaker and i am only interested in seeing change achieved no matter what...
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