Life, in many cases, isn’t exactly what we want it to be; or perhaps, what we’ve thought it to be. At some point in this journey of life, we realize that there is a lot more to our existence than just ourselves. What I’m trying to say is that for everyone, a time comes when you pretty much realize that the world does not revolve around you. You experience a rude awakening to the fact that everything around you aren’t exactly about you. Personally, I came to this realization when I failed the United Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (popularly known as JAMB in Nigeria).

This examination was a big deal, I must confess. To gain admission into any Nigerian University, every secondary school graduate had to write and pass the UTME. I did, but only the first part. As for the second, I flunked, alongside hundreds of people with whom I checked the results that fateful day as we hustled and struggled for hours at the JAMB office. That day, the star-student and star-human chips I had unconsciously carried on my shoulder were forcefully removed. Before then, I had viewed everyone else as sort of a support cast in the success story of my life. However, after failing that examination, I became one of those ‘failures’ myself. It was a very bitter pill to swallow.
In hindsight, I realize that failing that exam is one of the best things that ever happened to me. That experience taught me two vital lessons. One, you get exactly what you work for. Secondly, the world owes you nothing. It showed me, in a somewhat brutal, cry-your-eyes-out sort of way that I was not immune to failure or disappointment and that there was absolutely nothing my parents could do to protect or shield me from what life had in store for me. It made me man up to the question of whether I was indeed a failure or that I had simply failed this one time — in this specific instance. It forced me to grow up fast and decide to compete with all I had in this world. It taught me that perspiration is the seed from which good news emerges and that I would have to work really hard to get the things I wanted out of life.

Sadly, many of the young people I have come across are yet to come to terms with failure. In many cases, when they are faced with what they’ve done or the spectre of failure, they immediately convince themselves that it’s no fault of theirs. Instead, they submit to the victim narrative that some eagerly preach. They buy into the myth that the world owes them something and that someone is to blame for their inability to get what they are owed. Swiftly, they point fingers to their parents, friends, teachers, uncles, etc. (who are forever guilty of one thing or another). They also blame God (the all-time favourite culprit when things fail to work out as people would like) for their own failures and shortcomings. But the honest truth, which I hope people that think come to realize, is that the world really does not owe anyone anything. Rather, we are the ones that owe it to the world to give of our unique selves by becoming the best version of ourselves. Would we fail in the process of becoming who we need to be? Oh yes! But as individuals, we have to admit that the world does not revolve around us. We are simply humans existing for a fleeting moment on this spinning ball of dirt and water.
There is much more you can get out of life if you get this piece right. When you admit and acknowledge your failures, working on them and moving past them become possible. However, if you choose to drown in pity, pointing fingers at everyone but you, you might be taking a route that leads nowhere in the end.
Always remember these: Life happens, and failure is a part of it. The world owes you nothing, but you owe this world everything.