From Broken Bones To Unbreakable Dreams

Hello, good day. I am here to take you through some challenges I have faced in recent years. My journey right from scratch hasn’t been an easy one; it’s fraught with obstacles that could easily make one surrender. Yet here I am, standing strong.

It all began in childhood, with a burning desire to become a lawyer. Imagine as a child, when asked about my ambitions, I’d boldly declare my dream to enter the legal profession. Despite the odd warnings meant to deter me – like the strange tale that lawyers are buried facing downwards – I stood my ground. This tenacity rooted in those early years set the tone for the rest of my journey.

As I climbed the educational ladder, the hurdles rose in stature. I weathered the storm of skepticism when voices around me suggested shifting gears to mass communication. Instead, I clung to my aspiration and carved my path into law. This resolve saw me through the highs and lows of university life.

The rollercoaster of emotions during my university years was steepened by health challenges, casting long shadows I had to step through. Yet, I emerged within the stipulated time, degree in hand, ready for the next phase. The journey thus far underscored the immense value of confronting and overcoming adversity from the earliest stages of life.

I’m going to take you back to a chapter in my life that felt like a relentless barrage of hurdles. After finally settling into my law studies, and getting accustomed to the university’s rollercoaster lifestyle, a daunting diagnosis came knocking – I had anemic heart failure.

Now, anemic heart failure isn’t just a disease; it’s a personal rebellion by your body in the midst of your biggest dreams. For me, it meant my heart was enlarging, struggling to pump, and every heartbeat was a pronounced struggle, a reminder of the fragility of life.

You’d think law school was challenging enough with the depth of material and the expectations resting on your shoulders. I had to multiply that by a factor of ten. Week after week, I journeyed from home to school and back, making sure to visit the hospital for blood work. I managed the impossible – balancing academia with a medical routine designed for survival, not convenience.

This isn’t the end of the gauntlet, though. Just when I thought I’d calibrated life’s demands with my heart’s rhythm, fate played its cruel hand. With six months of law school behind me and the final stretch three months ahead, a Saturday crash shattered my reality. Accident scenes are chaotic, filled with fragments of what was and what’s to come. I left with broken bones and a piece of my femur as a horrifying souvenir.

The doctors didn’t mince words; they had little hope for my survival. But here’s where my stubborn streak played in my favour. I clung to life with the tenacity of a storm-battered ship refusing to sink.

The repercussions of the accident didn’t just halt my academic progress; they annihilated it. Left behind while my peers advanced, the remaining three months of law school slipped away as I faced this new, darker adversary. I heard whispers of doubt wherever I turned, each one questioning my ability to catch up, to conquer not just law school, but life itself.

After every night comes a dawn, brimming with new possibilities. For me, the journey toward that new dawn was filled with anticipation and the echoes of a previous stumble. I’m not going to sugarcoat it; battling with the weight of failing the bar exam was soul-crushing. The day the results were out, I felt like the ground should swallow me up. Those emotions scorched through me, potent and fierce. But what I did next set the tone for the rest of my life.

In my opinion, true strength isn’t just about getting back up; it’s about pushing forward with more gusto than you had before you fell. Despite a third surgery that left me reeling, I had to gird myself for a re-sit. Less than two months was all I had before law school resumed, but I didn’t flinch. I decided to stay in the hostel, cut off from my comfort zone and the routine physiotherapy that eased my physical agony.

Picture this: every motion is a reminder of your fragility, but you’re burning inside with a resolve that’s forged in the hottest of fires. You can always adjust your approach down the road, but for me, giving up was never an option. The second time I faced the bar exam, I was a maelstrom of pain and determination. Yet, when the results cascaded in, they bore the fruit of victory – I had passed.

As I reflect on the dim corridors of doubt and the bright halls of triumph, I know that acknowledging my pain was essential. Processing the emotions – not as signs of weakness but as milestones of an extraordinary journey – was what sculpted me into the person I am today.

So my question to you today is, ‘What adversities are you facing that seem insurmountable?’ It’s not just about overcoming; it’s about emerging stronger. Let your broken pieces become the foundation for unbreakable dreams.