This was one of my high school class study groups. It called itself Span One, a name they borrowed from a short story we studied for KCSE exams.
Starehe was my first choice when I was selecting high schools in February 2001, perhaps due to the way it did well in KCSE exams. And man, I studied hard to get into that school, sometimes rising as early as 5 a.m. to read.
When I made it to Starehe in 2002, I felt how hard I had studied to make it. So it wasn't natural brilliance that took me there, just plain hard work. Little wonder that I found it hard to beat my classmates in the school.
I ranked in the bottom ten during our first-form year. Then again, my hard work made me rise as our high school years wore on. By the time we were in fourth form in 2005, I had cemented myself among the top six.
Maybe it was due to the way I had improved academically that Mr. Geoffrey Karumba, our fourth-form class teacher, appointed me the leader of one of the study groups he split us into. I led the group well.
Engaging in social activities, I now realize, was part of the reason I improved academically. I even struck up conversations with girls during my fourth-form year. And the inter-class soccer competition we had that year thrilled me.
Our class coach in that competition was, well, a classmate of mine called Wilson Chira. He involved everyone, even the less athletically gifted classmates. I played as a defender.
Even though I can't remember which class won the competition, I will never forget the stunning free kick that a classmate made during one of the matches. Those were the days!
********************** RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story, you might also enjoy another one on "High School Chronicles".
With permission, I have extracted this picture from StockSnap. All rights reserved worldwide. When we started our engineering classes at JKUAT in May 2007, I befriended our Communication Skills lecturer named Prof. Paul Njoroge. He then lent me Bill Clinton's memoir which I read with the zeal of a he-goat on heat, perhaps to understand the thought process that made Clinton radiate charisma during his presidential years.
One library employee instructed me to stop reading about Bill Clinton when he spotted me carrying the memoir. Instead of heeding his instruction, I kept devouring the hefty memoir till it began to fall apart. Thankfully, Prof. Njoroge didn't mind seeing the memoir worn out when I returned it to him. He was such a nice professor.
After we closed for long holidays in December 2007, I bought my own copy of Bill Clinton's memoir and re-read it twice. I gleaned a number of valuable tips from it. Among the tips was to develop a liking for people, books, music, sports, movies and solitude.
Perhaps most importantly, I was touched by a short essay that Clinton wrote when he was a boy. The essay expressed the kind of person I was. Later on in 2012, I modified it [with apologies to Bill Clinton] to make it fully reflect the person I was and what I aspired to be. My modified version of the essay read:
I am a person motivated and influenced by so many diverse forces that I sometimes question the sanity of my existence. I am a living paradox - deeply religious yet not as convinced of my exact beliefs as I ought to be; wanting responsibility yet shirking it; loving the truth but often giving way to falsity; believing in moral rectitude but at times viewing obscene materials. I pity those, some of whom are very dear to me, who have never learnt how to live; I desire and struggle to be different from them but more often, I am almost an exact likeness. I detest selfishness, hatred, jealousy, envy and cynicism but I feel them in myself daily.
What a little boring word - I! I, me, my, mine, myself - the only things that enable worthwhile uses of these words are the universal good qualities which we are not too often able to place with them: love, faith, trust, regret, responsibility, knowledge. But the acronyms to those good qualities which enable life to be worth the trouble cannot be escaped. So I, in my attempts to be honest, will not be the hypocrite I hate, and will own up to their ominous presence in this young man, endeavoring in such earnest to be a gentleman.
I drilled the above essay into my head with ease and kept reflecting on it. Doing so has molded me into a truthful, authentic and discerning person.
These days, I always strive to tell the truth in all that I say and write. My faith in God has also increased thanks to the Bible study that I regularly indulge in.
Even though I have grown in faith, I feel in my bones that I am yet to trust God completely. A shadow of doubt still exists in my heart. For how else can I explain the worry, guilt and hatred I sometime experience?
In order to trust God completely, I have resolved to continue studying the Bible and other Christian literature. The other day, I subscribed to be receiving devotional articles in my email daily.
Apart from reading the Bible and other Christian literature, I will also be listening to beautiful hymns like "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus" which encourages us to take God at His Word.
Why, you may ask, am I ardently desiring to trust God completely? So that I can live in peace as God promises to those who trust in Him. In a world full of suffering and broken dreams, I believe that trusting God and taking Him at His Word are the best decisions a person can make.
*********************** RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story, you might also enjoy another one on "Growing in Faith".
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"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 Marital status: Single 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; I have therefore given up the things that weighed me down and I am now living my life to the fullest because the tomorrow I had always hoped to live my dreams 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 Tips
"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 give you that greatest blessing of all - good health."
"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
Radios
Computers
Anesthetics
My Supreme Desire
To borrow the words of Elbert Hubbard, my supreme desire is to radiate health, cheerfulness, calm courage and goodwill. I wish to live without fear, hate, guilt, worry and jealousy; to be honest, natural, confident, clean in mind and body - ready to say "I do not know" if it be so; to treat all men with kindness; and 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."
