For many years, my life felt like a painful pause while everyone else moved forward. I watched people my age achieve milestones I could only dream about. One by one, they graduated, secured respectable jobs, started businesses, bought land, built homes, and got married. Their lives unfolded beautifully, while mine seemed trapped in one long chapter of delay. Each achievement they celebrated felt like a reminder of everything I had failed to become.
What hurt the most was not even the struggle itself, but the loss of faith from my own family. At first, they encouraged me and told me to be patient. Over time, encouragement turned into silence. Silence turned into disappointment. I could see it in their eyes and hear it in their voices. Conversations about my future stopped completely, as if no one expected anything from me anymore. I became the example of “what not to become.”…CONTINUE READING
