ALONE, SOLITARY, AND UNAIDED.
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When I just got admitted into University, aside from my studies, my major focus was to mind my business. In what way if you may ask? Attend lectures, submit assignments before the due date, and talk to fewer people, if at all none. That was so I don’t get involved in other people’s mess and not get them in mine also. That behavior was creeping in because the mindset was set. I attracted lonesome, solitude, and fewer engagements.
One moment changed it all; the 8-month ASSU strike. I attended events and meetings that emphasized the importance of community and togetherness. While I thought I could achieve the goals I set in mind, I forgot that people played a major role in making those goals come true. Working hard won’t always be profitable unless the luck of the people around us finds us.
I was so certain in the previous month that with solitude, there would be fewer distractions and my goals would be worth achieving. There was no one to share those goals with and even when people asked I didn’t share. The beliefs I had were limited; there was no room for improvement because I thought I could figure it all out, ON MY OWN. Well, turns out to be false.
You can achieve your goals, and get to the standard you set for yourself but you just can’t do it alone. Throughout the strike and after school resumption, I joined clubs and communities to connect with like minds and also learn from those that are where I want to be. Now their stories are stepping stones for me because I don’t have to start from scratch but from them-stories they told about their growth and the processes I now reform as mine.
I’m not against alone time, because I value the time I spend with myself. I’m just of the opinion that you need people to grow, you need to be part of a larger community that makes an impact not just in your life but in the life of others in extension. No one has it all figured out, but whilst in a community what you need to figure out becomes little. Two better heads are better than one and it takes two to tango.
In the words of Helen keller “Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much”.
And now I say, TO THE END OF WHAT’S LONG.
