"A story about Myself"

Hello friend, I trust you are doing well with your loved ones. Today I am here to talk about my life, right from when I was a child up to this present moment of my life, as part of my entry to the contest that is organized by @goodybest. Happy reading a true life story of mine!

My Humble Self

Firstly, I am by name Joseph Afen, a very gentle-looking boy who was born and brought up in a noble family of Mr. and Mrs. Benedict.

The adage "Life is not a bed of roses nor is it full of thorns" refers to the possibility that we will occasionally experience both happiness and difficult emotional or mental struggles. Whatever the circumstances, let's hold onto the belief that there is always a great chance to succeed and improve our status. However, you can only achieve this by having confidence in God and relying on Him to make things better for you, which is exactly what has helped me get to where I am today.

Life was never easy for me growing up as a child; I thought there was no hope left and that I didn't matter to anyone. Today, because of my faith in God, I am happy. My classmates will often tease me that I have nothing to say when others are talking since they know where I'm from and how hard I work to make a living, but they never know my plans because back then, I was like nothing in the presence of people because I was so small and penniless.

Then, while other people were at school learning, I used to hawk akara for my mom. I would carry akara on my head and sell it from one street to another in order to provide a square meal and to take care of other financial matters, such as paying school fees and purchasing some stuff. When friends and neighbors make fun of me, I feel very ashamed. However, things began to improve in my family, and I was transferred to a better school than my old one since my parents wanted the best for me and my brothers and sisters.

However, the most emotional period in my life occurred when I was applying to a tertiary institution. I was looking for admission to study accounting at the University of Calabar as a holder of an SSC certificate. I took the JAMB examination more than three times in three different years, beginning in 2011 and continuing through 2014, but I was still denied admission to the university, and I have no idea what the issue was.

The majority of my high school friends had by that time already been accepted to study law, medicine, accounting, etc. at various universities, so I was still having trouble getting accepted to tertiary institutions.

Every time my friends who had previously been admitted returned from vacation, I felt so embarrassed since I had been emotionally depressed and had been really considering my future. Some of my friends, instead of supporting me, actually make things worse for me by calling me a lunatic and saying that I don't know how to read, which is why I haven't been accepted into tertiary institutions. At that point, the only things that came to mind for me were stabbing and a means of suicide.

Praise be to God Almighty because I later received an admission letter in late 2014, and today I'm an accounting graduate who hopes to become a Chartered Accountant next year.

My defense day	My NYSC day

Beside being a graduate, I have done my national youth service, during which I am currently learning web design and programming. Before, I used to depend on my parents for survival, but, to the glory of God, it is no longer like that because I am now the one taking good care of myself. I believe my days of struggle have ended.

What brings me down sometimes are;

• Negative Mindset
• Procastination
• Getting worried over a little issue
• Finance
• Feeling wick in prayers

Despite most of those things that bring me down sometimes, I do normally pick myself up through prayers and my favorite motivation, which often encourages me to do better. At some point I would ask myself if those that have made it so far have two heads, and whenever such a thought rang through my mind, I was motivated and encouraged to do better, and each time that I remembered Psalm 23

"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want." He maketh me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters. He restoreth my soul....biblegateway

Everything about me will become energy.

My dear friend, one of the things that keeps me going is prayer to God Almighty. Whatever I need in life or whatever I want to lay my hands on, I must make sure that I pray to God Almighty over it. I often pray for grace and wisdom.

Beside prayers, there are other things that keep me going, which are:

• Believing and putting all my trust in God
• Being faithful and trustworthy
• Dedication to things I do
• Supporting others
• Paying attention to what people say.
• Learning from my mistakes
• Learning from those at the top
• And never stop following my dream.

Part of these things are the things that keep me going forward in life. To that end, I would like to pass this message on to my readers.

Message1
My dear audience, giving up your dreams is not the best option, and passing through some struggle (circumstances) is not an option for you to stop pursuing your dreams of becoming great in life. Suffering does not kill; rather, it makes you stronger.

Message 2
Always do your best and leave the rest for God to take care of. Make sure you pray to God for help and direction before starting your day, work, etc.

Messsge3
Be happy and celebrate those that have made it in life so one day you can also be celebrated. Never envy anyone.

I am inviting; @simonnwigwe, @yakspeace and @adylinah.