PLAYING MY PART IN THE BIGGER PICTURE

I got a call from my parents over the weekend telling me about a vacancy post they saw in the newspaper and wanted me to apply for. I refused. They were so shocked to my response and they could not understand when I explained to them that I have decided to take a different route with my career. I told them that I have decided to exert all my energy and time in doing work I am passionate about. Am not concerned about money (it has never been about the money for me) but rather knowing my purpose and finding a way to fulfill that purpose in all I do.

I have struggled to find my purpose in life. I have read a lot of books on this & I have had motivational talks to help me find my purpose. I felt lost not knowing my purpose. But every time I thought about it only ONE thing came to mind: I want to serve people. I did not know how, where & when but nothing gave me so much pleasure and joy. But all along I thought this purpose would be more deep and it would come to me in a dream or from a man of God (dramatic I know..lol) but it never did. Every time I thought about it, it all boiled down to the very same thing “Serving people”. But each year I would make resolutions to find that specific life purpose for me.

When I got selected to go to University of Malawi: The Polytechnic, to study Technical Education I was distraught I had never heard about this course and I never wanted to be a teacher because of how everyone else viewed teachers. In the past teachers were respected people in society and it gave parents so much pride to have a child that was a teacher. But times have changed and teachers are no longer respected as much, they get little pay and bad conditions for working. So no one really wants to be a teacher, or at least me and the circles I hang around with.  So the four years I spent at college studying something I was not passionate about were stressful and boring for me, that is why when I graduated, I never went into the teaching profession. I have always been a believer of everything happening for a reason, and I knew deep down that studying technical education was a stepping stone for me. It was a foundation built for greater things to come.

Working with Youth Empowerment & Civic Education (YECE) for the past 22 months has been an awesome experience and a great eye opener for me. YECE has exposed me to a lot of things that gets me fired up! I have met inspirational young people doing great things through this organization. And through all this I have finally found my place and role in the bigger picture. So as my project comes to an end this March, I have mixed feelings; am excited to start a new path and take a journey of self discovery of how best I can fulfill my purpose. Am also afraid at the same time, of leaving familiar grounds and the comfort ability of the environment and the people I have been with for the past 22 months, people that were more like a family than just workmates.  Even though I do not have another job lined up, yet, but I am excited to finally know what my purpose is and how fulfilling that purpose completes the bigger picture.