I walked past the road with haste. There was mud everywhere as it had just rained. My feet were not spared, they were all covered with mud. My heart was busy making noise all around me. I could hear the sound like a diesel engine. If my heart was a genset, I bet it could light an entire house. I could not stop to rest or clean my shoes. I was late for work.

I would be lying if I said that I did not think of stopping for a little while just to get some air. But whenever I stopped, I was pushed to check my time which kept on telling me “You are late.” Time was not on my side and was moving so fast. I wondered why every clock seemed to rotate fast whenever you are late and the opposite happened when studying.

There you go! You guessed it right, I am a student. I study at one of the local public universities in the country. I like working during holidays. Usually, I apply for internships and that’s how I get myself some temporary jobs. This time I was working for a local brewery company. I was earning enough to take me through the next semester.

“Watch your steps! Can’t you hear the bell?” shouted an angry man just behind me. He was riding an old bicycle that passed by me in high speed. I was tempted to think its brakes were not working.
“Mwatopa ndi moyo eti!” continued the man.

“Pepani!” I apologised.

I was not happy with the rains that came that morning. The mud it had brought was spoiling my shoes and making my journey difficult. I reached the office somehow clean. I stopped just before getting into the premises to clean myself. Though it was not enough, it managed to do the trick. Only legends could unlock the puzzle.

There was something waiting for me at the office. I could smell a grenade about to explode. I knew I was in trouble but I had to man up and face the ‘big man in town’ – my boss! I had already gathered enough energy and confidence as I entered the lion’s den.

“Where have you been?” asked the man in a nice grey suit. He was sitting on my chair. My brain decided not to help as I failed to answer him properly. I was betrayed. He started to roar at me chasing both my energy and confidence out of the room. I was trashed, humiliated and I felt perplexed.

“Is my late coming worth all this?” I asked myself. I don’t remember the rest of the ‘sermon’ as I couldn’t get what he was saying. All I remember is that the whole day was spoiled and his nice suit turned ugly all of a sudden. My clock started rotating slowly. It was a long day.

I realised the need to be my own boss to prevent these kinds of scenarios. I started thinking of what I could do. I had attended several motivational talks, agricultural summits and innovation-related events in the past. All these didn’t matter until this time. I started searching for more information and ended up heading towards agriculture. I realised how I could use innovation, irrigation and technology in farming and produce enough yields to commercialise and create a form of employment for others.

This was my moment. I saw how we, the youth, were wasting a lot of time being caught up with white-collar jobs reducing our own productivity in the process. We have let employment define our fortune. I understood that there is more to life than a go-to-school-and-be-employed pattern we grew up following.

This moment changed the entire course of my life. I no longer view life in a nutshell as I used to. Thanks to my boss. He did not spoil my life as I thought that day, he somehow fixed it!

Tell us: What did you take away from this piece?