Steemit Ultimate Challenge 8 Weeks - Week #4

Thank you very much @dobartim and other sponsors for giving me the opportunity to share my story.

And steemit was able to put a smile back.......

I have barely spent 23 years on planet earth but the situation of life has taught me things even some elderly people might not have been unfortunate enough to experience. Sometimes i ponder really hard if it was the same God that created both the masters and also the servants because i see no reason why some people were born to suffer even after their hardwork and then some people sit to enjoy the fruit of their labour. Could the cause of my thought be related to the fact that i am not fortunate enough to be one of the masters? The answer is a capital NO because i have been opportuned to live both lives and i know what it feels like.

My journey into the steemit world is something i cannot tell without my old memories attached to it. Maybe if life has been as i dreamed, i would not have found my wonderful steemit but the fact remains that everything in life happens for a reason.

let the journey begin.................

If only there is a second chance to come back to earth, then i will choose a better destiny

My name is Kareem Adeola and am a Nigerian. Born into a black nation is something i still have issues with but the fact that we are choiceless when it comes to things like that then i just keep mute. I guess relatives and friends were very happy i was born because there was a lot to celebrate my birth. I was born with a silver spoon. I was able to get the good things of life even at the slightest request. We had lots of friends and families that benefited from my dad's act of philantrophy and so this made my dad loved by both the old and young. Although i was still very young then but it seemed to me like the whole world was placed under my feet. With all these riches and enormous wealth my dad possessed, anyone would have expected him to have spoilt children but reverse was the case. My parents took their time to train us and luckily for them, we trailed the path they laid for us.

Life was so rosy for us until my dad ran into some problems with his bosses and this caused a stoppage in the contracts that was awarded to him. At first, this did not really affect us because my dad has put his money into other businesses that was bringing in money so we were still living fine. All of this enjoyment came to an abrupt end when my mum's sickness struck. It all started like a child's play and before we knew it, things started getting out of hands. We took mum to different hospitals but all was to no avail. They could not give us a specific diagnosis and so we just kept spending money until there was almost nothing left at home. My question is what could have been the problem? Why will there be an illness without a scientific backing? It might sound strange to you @dobartim but here in Africa, it is called the Black Magic. It is a sought of spiritual attack whereby you are been tormented and yet you don't even know the person or even the solution. Such cases are only solved miraculously by God. It might seem kind of hard for you to believe such a thing exists @dobartim probably because it is rare in your part of the world. Here in Africa, it is so common. You can take a break to Africa, Nigeria to be precised. I will be willing to host you and let you know many things.

May you live long mummy
I lost my faith in God as a result of this issue because i felt why will God watch my mom suffer even after the fact that she was his true worshipper. Why won't God fight for my mother and ease her pain? Why would God not intervene in her situation even with her going to mountains to seek him, denying herself
food all in the name of fasting, or even denying herself sleep?
In fact i had lost it completely. I hated it when people say there is a God somewhere because i felt there was nothing like that. I was proved wronged and that is why i still have the opportunity to be writing this right now because i should be in the grave by now and people should have even forgotten that i existed but my death still remains in the tomorrow that is yet to come.

Life became so unbearable for my family after my dad lost his job and the savings he had has been spent on my mummy's health. It was only at this point i got to realise that all the people we thought were our family and friends, those that my dad had helped when he still had enough, they all deserted us. It was just like a dream. The scenario i would never forget was when my father met a colleague of his that he assisted in paying his wife's hospital bill when she was almost at the point of death and asked him to just lend him a little amount of money so that he can foot the bills for the fees of my younger brother who just gained admission into the university. Suprisingly, this same man that my father helped while he was broke bodly gave and excuse that the only money left with him was the money he budgetted for his wife's shopping and so he would not be able to assist my father. I was told that men don't cry which i believed was true because i felt they were strong hearted people but to my greatest shock, my dad wept like a baby when he came home explaining to my mum the outcome of his trip.

I couldn't just imagine how someone could be that wicked. My dad was paid back with evil from people he has helped. This changed my mindset about helping people. It gave me a reason to hate humanity. I could not just contain the fact that someone you showed love could come back hurting you. The fall of a rich man can be a very bad thing. It took us time to adapt to the new lifestyle of not getting what we wanted. My younger ones were the most affected because they had to go through most of the pain. I was in the university already and in my final year so my dad had no choice than to source for my school fee using any means especially due to the fact that i was the first born. As for my younger ones, they were withdrawn from one of the best private schools into an almost free government school. My family became a complete definition of THINGS FALL APART.

Back in school, people noticed i became a saddist. I was no longer the normal fun filled and jovial girl. I started cutting off some of my friends even before they did because life has given me the mindset that people are only your friend when you have something to offer and so in order not to get disappointed again, i took the bull by the horn first. Things were really hard for me in school now. My school was attended by elites in the country and so the price was very much. The thoughts of what they might be going through at home kept ringing in my head because all the money my dad could get was going into my education. Due to this, i could not afford to be another dissappointment to my family again and so i had to cut out my social life entirely. I felt that was the only way to concentrate inorder to get good grades and maybe a scholarship to further my education. Even with this, i was not able to really make a good grade at the end of the first semester. I kept crying when i saw the result but my dad told me to stop crying and aim to be better in my final lap.

Things were going from bad to worse at home and i was in my final lap in school where my dad needed to pay the last school fee. After trying to get the money through every means and he was unable to, He had to sell the only last car in the house that he now used as a taxi. At this point i was already feeling like i was becoming a burden to the family because everything that was supposed to be used for the upkeep of the house was going into my education. This made me decide that rather than been a burden to my family, i would rather be a blessing no matter the cost. Out of my desperation in finding money through any means, I met with some set of girls whose lifestyle sent them to an early grave. May their souls rest in perfect peace. I might have been one of them but like i said earlier, it is not just my time yet. After mingling with them, they promised me i was going to make money once am ready to do their biddings. I knew these girls were prostitutes but i was trying to ignore it and pretend that i did not know what they were doing. I was finding it really hard to be with them but i had hardened up my mind that i will do whatever it takes to get money.

The much awaited period that changed my story came by even though it came along with sorrow. My new found friends told me we were going for a party i another town and so we were going to travel the next day. It was so obvious that we were going for men so i was asked to take a sexy gown. I did not have any because this was the first trip i was going with them. I was been referred to as sister mary because of the kind of gowns i wear to class

This was what i always looked like. Changing this lifestyle was something i could not contend with but that night, my mind was hardened already. So i wore what they gave me to wear and i felt i was looking like a stranger in my own body;

We travelled that night but we were unable to get to our destination because our car got spoilt on the way so we decided to lodge and continue the journey the next day since the party was to hold later in the night the next day. Luckily for me, it was located beside my younger brother's school so i decided to spend the night in his hostel.

It was that decision that changed my life.

I was in the room that night with my younger brother. After a long time of not seeing each other, we had a lot to discuss but i never told him about the reason am at his house. At the middle of our interaction, a friend of my brother jumped in and was shouting happily that he has won. Not knowing what was going on, i was just watching them. He told my brother that the writing contest he participated in, he was the lucky winner and he won 20 SBD. I got interested in the topic of discussion because he mentioned what i like doing best which was writing. When he left, i asked my brother to explain what the contest was like and that was how i got to know about steemit. Although he was not yet a member of the community then but he knew about it from his friends. I had to tell him to call that his friend who came to explain steemit to me fully. @official-hord was the name of the friend that acted as our stepping stone to progress.The only lie he told me was what became a saving grace to me because he told me that in a week, i will be swimming in money if i joined and this was what cancelled the thoughts of going to the party from my head.

Steemit did not only give me a second chance but it also saved my life

My friends told me to come join them at the park the next day so that we can continue our journey but i gave them an excuse that my brother was very sick so i would not be able to make it. Only three days later, i heard on the news that the bus my friends entered got involved in a ghastly accident and everybody died. I might also have been there if not for the gospel of steemit.
It was in december so i went home for the christmas break. Immediately i got home, i joined steemit along side my brother who also joined. Although i was not getting what i expected because i got into the platform to make quick money but the fact that i was saved from death through steemit, i concluded that come rain or sunshine, i will be consistent hoping that the hard work will pay. During the christmas break, my self and my brother were able to put a smile on the family's face after a long time. We took our younger sister out and she really enjoyed her self .
My parents could not just stop shedding tears of joy because their little children was the ones that catered for the house during the festive period.
My short period on steemit so far, gave me a reason to smile again. When i thought all hopes were gone, steemit raised a hope for me and my family. I met with some friends here on steemit that has been of great influence to my life both socially, mentally, educationally financially. These people have been my role model. They have made me realise that there is always light after every dark tunnel. On getting back to school, i realised my study pattern improved. I started thinking beyond the box. I started doing things that are unique because it was something i learnt from steemit. I went back to been the normal girl i was even though life has tossed me around. I am a big fan of photography.. I have always dreamt of having my own camera. With steemit, i was able to get a camera of my own. This camera was what i used in taking shots while in school. It was from the money i got from this in additions with the earnings i get from steemit is what i used as a means of survival.

Here was the first shot i took with the camera steemit gave me![FB_IMG_1517154918389.jpg]
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I might not be as rich as i wanted but am not as broke as i use to be. My life is really a testimony because steemit is like a God sent to me. I was able to complete my education without stress any longer because steemit was able to provide me with what i need and now i am a bonafide graduate. Here is a picture of me serving the nation. It is a compulsory 1 year service every Nigerian graduate must undergo

Even my family is proud of me all thanks to steemit. If steemit did not find me at the right time, maybe i would become a prostitute and become a disgrace to my family. I could not just keep this good news to my self alone so i also invited the likes of @stephanie007 @suzzy @damiyungmula

Steemit is something i want to go around telling people about. It is a place where talents is been discovered. I see my also becoming a whale one day where by i can help the community. I want people out there to also benefit from steemit.
I must confess @dobartim, i love you so much for been there for steemians all over the world. You have given opportunity for people to tell their stories..

Keep the good work going sir
For as many that are also willing to participate, here is the link

https://steemit.com/steemitultimatechallenge/@dobartim/45eugt-steemit-ultimate-challenge-8-weeks-prize-fund-2000-sbd-week-4-registration-is-in-progress