When I was a first former in 2002, my brother Paddy was one of the three third formers chosen to attend the conference held in Germany that year. When he came back, he spoke highly of Germany and the marvels he saw there.
The following year, four third formers (not three) were chosen to attend the conference, perhaps because it was held in South Africa, which is not far from Kenya. One of the third formers was James Ebenyo, a housemate of mine.
One evening a day or two after Ebenyo came back from the conference, I asked him how it was. He gave me a colorful account of the conference and then told me the next one would be held in the U.S.
I was delighted to hear that because when I got into third form in 2004, I hoped to be one of the third formers chosen to attend the conference; I even stared at a map of the U.S. in the school library while imagining being in the U.S.
As my third-form days wore on, I anticipated hearing from Mr. Ndung'u that I had been chosen to attend the Round Square conference. But then came one morning when things appeared not to be aligning in my favor.
That morning, I heard my deskmate Martin Wamoni mumble something about the conference to our classmate Lawrence Sikuku, which made me have a gut feeling that the three third formers attending the conference had been chosen.
Sure enough, they had been chosen because when I asked Paddy who they were, he told me, and I was not one of them. (Paddy was then in the institute division of Starehe and one of the captains who chose the third formers.)
Hearing I had not been picked to attend the Round Square conference in the U.S. saddened me. But I didn't share my feelings with anyone, not even with Paddy. And that turned out to be my biggest high school disappointment.
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Also check out "Where Dreams Bloom: The Story of Starehe".
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A High School Disappointment
A True Story
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