This is me in 2006 showing a software program on 2006/07 English Premier League fixtures to Hon. Raphael Tuju, the then Rarieda MP and Minister of Foreign Affairs, during my days at Starehe Institute. Looking on was Eng. Patrick Obath, the then Kenya Shell/BP Managing Director.
When I wrote in my previous story on this blog about my wonderful experiences at Starehe Institute, I forgot to say that I also watched soccer, especially the 2006 FIFA World Cup. I found it exciting to look forward to matches though I don't think my intention for watching them was to get enough tales to tell my friends.
Of the numerous world-class soccer players that I got to know back then, there was one who, to my mind, stood out from the crowd. That was Ronaldinho de Gaucho.
I admired Ronaldinho not only for his dribbling skills but also for his charisma and trademark grin. He seemed to be in love with the game as some other players frowned on the pitch. So much did I admire him that I put a picture of him on the home window of a software program I developed on the 2006 World Cup soccer fixtures.
And when the World Cup began in June that year, I strongly rooted for Brazil which had a talented and experienced attacking combo of Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. But alas! The team was sent packing after a quarter-final loss to France following a surprise goal by Thierry Henry. Watching Brazil lose made me so heartsick that I was unable to attend church the following day.
Although I no longer watch live soccer matches, I still love Ronaldinho who has long since retired from playing professional soccer. I occasionally watch videos I downloaded from the internet of him in action in his heyday during which he won La Liga and Champions League with FC Barcelona, Copa America as well as the FIFA Confederations Cup and World Cup with Brazil - the benchmarks of a truly remarkable soccer career.
Ronaldinho was an exceptional soccer player for shizzle. To the best of my knowledge, only Ronaldo (of Brazil) and Zinedine Zidane can rival him in their range of soccer achievements. I stand to be corrected.
From my love of watching soccer matches, I gleaned one lesson about the game: that the performance of a soccer team is not judged by how well it plays but by how many goals it scores. A star-studded team can play well by dribbling skilfully and making clever passes but if it fails to score, it is no better than that of lousy players.
After reflecting on that lesson, I have discovered that life, too, is like a soccer game in that we have to score on the important aspects of life such as love, peace, health and wealth if we are truly to be remarkable. If we try to live well by eating healthily, reading regularly and exercising physically but still struggle with low self-esteem, loneliness, poverty and hatred, then we are no better than alcoholics.
Let us therefore endeavor to score on those important aspects of life: love, peace, health and wealth, especially love. It's my belief that if we strive to love God, ourselves and what we do, then we will start scoring well in life like FC Barcelona's current prolific attacking combo of Messi, Suarez and Neymar.
These are some of my buddies at Starehe Institute where I bloomed. They are (from left) Duncan Kinai, Stephen Mutevu and Theophilus Kamwaro. (Photo courtesy of Duncan Kinai.) Starehe Boys' Centre, a well-endowed institution of which I am a proud alumnus, had an institute during our time where students from the school's high school division could enrol to pursue a course in either accounting or information technology (IT). Well, I didn't want to proceed into that institute as my high school years came to an end in November 2005 because someone had led me to believe the institute was not for sophisticated young men like the one I was striving to be.
As fate would have it, I failed to get a job after high school and my attempt to enrol at the upscale Strathmore College in Nairobi backfired simply because my parents could not afford to put me through that college. So I had no option but to report back to Starehe in January 2006 to join the institute where I had wisely applied for admission just in case things failed to work out.
And wow! My experience at the institute turned out to be wonderful! I took advantage of the marvellous resources at Starehe to grow intellectually by learning how to use a computer in the Institute labs that had a commendable student-computer ratio of almost 1:1. And by also keeping aflame my interests in public speaking and music thanks to the student meetings and several pianos in the school.
But the greatest resource at Starehe Institute was time. The IT course I pursued was relatively easy and the teachers were lackadaisical. A certain Mr. Kagete would, for instance, go for a whole week without turning up in class to teach us. I took advantage of those free times to swim, play football, do personal reading, improve my computer programming skills and browse the internet where I learnt more about the top American colleges where I applied for admission.
And on Sundays, I would sneak out of Starehe early in the morning to be with my hometown Catholic Church youth group where I almost fell in love with Gloria Thigwe, a beautiful and compassionate young lady who has long since been married to another man. Looking back, I think it was wise of me to sneak out of Starehe on Sundays and interact with the outside world.
As I reflect on those good old days at Starehe Institute, I feel proud of myself for blooming at the institute where I found myself planted against my wish. And that's the kind of blooming I am trying to achieve at the moment when I have found myself planted in my rural home at Kiserian in the Great Rift Valley. I am blooming impressively given my current levels of peace and creativity which I thought I could have attained only by attending Harvard, Yale or Stanford where I was denied admission thrice.
So I encourage you to also bloom where you are planted. If you are in a remote village school, study like never before and mesmerize students from elite schools with your literary skills. And if you have been forced back to your rural home because you went broke in the city, farm with some passion till your agribusiness becomes a case study at Wharton Business School. Bloom!
"Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice! Let everyone see that you are unselfish and considerate in all you do... Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything; tell God your needs and don't forget to thank Him for His answers. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand."
~Phillipians 4:4-7 (TLB)
About the Author
Name: Thuita J. Maina Nationality: Kenyan Lives in: Kiserian, Rift Valley, Kenya Mission: To inspire the world to godly living, one person at a time.
Just For Laughs
There was this drunkard named Azoge who loved drinking at Josiah's Bar. On being told a certain Hon. Nanga was flying to America to be conferred a law degree so that he could be admitted to the bar, Azoge replied, "Why fly all the way to America to be admitted to the bar while you can get into Josiah's Bar any time?"
The 7 Deadly Sins
Pride
Envy
Gluttony
Lust
Anger
Greed
Sloth
Author's Note
I am learning to treat life as a journey, not a destination. So I am trying to enjoy each day as I anticipate to fulfill my dreams especially meeting my soulmate and traveling abroad. Tomorrow may never be mine.
Fun Facts
The fear of having no cell-phone service, running out of battery, or losing sight of your phone is called Nomophobia, reportedly affecting 66% of people.
A single Google search needs more computing power than it took to send Apollo 11 to the moon. The Apollo computer was less equipped than a modern toaster.
Besides being some of the biggest names in the tech industry, HP, Apple, Google and Microsoft share another commonality. They all started in garages.
~Extracted from Codingforums.com
Health Tip
So many of us take for granted the wonderful construction of the human body and the workings of its various parts. Some of us even expect it to function efficiently with less than the minimum care and attention. Learn the much you can about your body and how the care of it can help to give you that greatest blessing of all - good health.
Wonders of the Modern World
The Simplon Tunnel
The Sky-scrapers of New York
The Boulder Dam of Colorado
The Panama Canal
The Golden Gate Bridge
The Taj Mahal at Agra in India
The North Sea Oil Drilling Rigs
Great Example for Politicians
"My life in politics was a joy. I loved campaigns and I loved governing. I always tried to keep things moving in the right direction, to give more people a chance to live their dreams, to lift people's spirits, and to bring them together. That's the way I kept score."
~Bill Clinton
Scientific Marvels
Space travel
Heart surgery
Fibre-optics communication
Concorde
Computers & Radios
Anesthetics
The atom bomb
My Supreme Desire
Although I'd like to be rich and famous, my supreme desire is to be radiant: to radiate health, cheerfulness, calm courage and goodwill. I wish to live without hate, guilt, worry, jealousy, cynicism and envy. I wish to be honest, natural, confident, clean in mind and body - ready to say "I do not know" if it be so and to treat all men with kindness - to meet any loss, failure, criticism and rejection unabashed and unafraid.
Greatest American Presidents
Abraham Lincoln
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Franklin Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
Andrew Jackson
Making Peace With the Past
"Dwell not on your past. Use it to illustrate a point, then leave it behind. Nothing really matters except what you do now in this instant of time. From this moment onwards you can be an entirely different person, filled with love and understanding, ready with an outstretched hand, uplifted and positive in every thought and deed."
~Eileen Caddy
Toughest Colleges to Get Into
MIT
Princeton
Harvard
Yale
Stanford
Brown
Columbia
Why You Should Trust God
"Men and women who turn their lives over to God will find out that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities and pour out peace."
~Ezra Taft Benson
The 7 Greatest Scientists
Albert Einstein
Isaac Newton
Galileo Galilei
Nikola Tesla
Aristotle
Archimedes
Charles Darwin
You Matter
"Always be yourself. Never try to hide who you are. The only shame is to have shame. Always stand up for what you believe in. Always question what other people tell you. Never regret the past; it's a waste of time. There's a reason for everything. Every mistake, every moment of weakness, every terrible thing that has happened to you, grow from it. The only way you can ever get the respect of others is when you show them that you respect yourself and most importantly, do your thing and never apologize for being you."
~Unknown
The Most Industrialized Nations
United States
Japan
Germany
France
United Kingdom
Italy
Canada
Keys to Success
"...in his effort to withstand temptation, to economize, to exercise thrift, to disregard the superficial for the real - the shadow for the substance; to be great yet small, in his effort to be patient in the laying of a firm foundation; to so grow in skill and knowledge that he shall place his services in demand by reason of his intrinsic and superior worth. This is the key that unlocks every door of opportunity, and all others fail."
~Booker T. Washington
The 7 Social Sins
Politics without principle
Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Knowledge without character
Commerce without morality
Worship without sacrifice
Science without humanity
Cherish What You Love
"Cherish your visions, cherish your ideals, cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts - for out of them will grow all heavenly environment, of these if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built."~James Allen
The World's Largest Cities
London in England
New York in the United States
Tokyo in Japan
Berlin in Germany
Chicago in the United States
Shanghai in China
Paris in France
Benefits of Optimism
"In terms of success, optimistic people out perform their pessimistic colleagues. Research shows that they are consistently promoted higher and make more money while working fewer hours than those who think pessimistically. Optimists also contribute more significantly to social progress. It is the optimists who start and run successful companies, who win elections and carry out reforms, and who make breakthroughs in the realms of science and technology."
~Pepe Minambo
The World's Greatest Lakes
Caspian Sea in the Commonwealth of Independent States, C.I.S. (formerly U.S.S.R)
Lake Superior in North America
Victoria Nyanza in Central Africa
Aral Sea in C.I.S.
Lake Huron in North America
Lake Michigan in North America
Demonstrating His Love
"Take your communication for instance - the way you address others. It ought to be with loving, gracious and edifying words. Never talk people down. Never use words that hurt and demean people. Communicate excellently with others without destroying their self-image or making them feel sorry for themselves. Talk to people in a way that they never forget the excellence of your words, the love and grace of Christ that you communicated. It's how God wants us to love."
